One day before Harry Kane arrived at Bayern Munich another 30-year-old Londoner, with a bigger online following than the England captain, was sealing a different type of deal with the Bundesliga giants.
KSI, the internet celebrity approaching 6 billion views on YouTube, and his co-founder Logan Paul had announced their Prime drink was to become Bayern’s isotonic partner in a deal which the club’s chief marketing officer said will help their ambition to “reach a new audience.”
It was the latest eye-catching move for a brand that is growing inexorably despite the concerns of health officials and bans from its high-caffeine product being sold in Canada and New Zealand.
And the relationship with football has become a key pillar of a business that has generated more than £200m from sales in a little more than 20 months.
Arsenal were the first big club that Prime partnered with in July of last year, Barcelona joined up earlier this summer and now big-name players such as Erling Haaland and Alisha Lehmann are coming on board.
So far it is a link-up that is working for all sides as Prime looks to rival the likes of Lucozade and Gatorade and football clubs experiment with ways to engage with Gen Z fans.
“Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich will understand the appeal of KSI and Logan Paul to their younger fans and they will see it as a way to build engagement with that fanbase all the while providing Prime with a global platform to enhance brand awareness,” Ben Peppi, the commercial expert at JMW Solicitors, tells Mirror Football.
“These clubs would be wise to learn from Prime’s team too as to what insights and opportunities could be afforded through the influencers’ own power.”
KSI and Logan Paul were former rivals on the internet and in the boxing ring but have now seen their shared business interest take off
A large slice of Prime’s success is zoned in on an issue football chiefs have long been worried about: engaging young people. Executives, without much substance, have complained of kids turning away from the sport because they have waning attention spans (rather than many families being priced out by exorbitant ticket prices and TV subscription fees).
“It is a myth,” Peppi says, to suggest that teenagers do not have the attention span required to immerse themselves in the game. They are just consuming it differently and, he says, “it is the duty of broadcasters, clubs and rights holders to deliver that content in a meaningful manner.”
Yet there is a belief that such crossovers will benefit clubs. “Exciting partnerships with challenger brands at the forefront of Gen Z culture will no doubt aid the club’s development in engaging these fans as long as they are being activated correctly,” Peppi adds.
From the outset Prime’s primary audience has been teenage boys who subscribe to the social media channels of both KSI and Paul and the distinction of them being founders of the drink rather than ambassadors has been vital.
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Its bright, garish packaging and similarly fluorescent flavours, unpalatable to most adults, have had a magnetic effect. So too the bans and strategy of making it rather hard to buy in its early months, to such an extent it was being resold online for the price of a bottle of good wine.
“They are founders, not just brand ambassadors,” Peppi adds. “A savvy marketing plan – notably scarcity and ‘limited edition’ tactics – has helped turn Prime into an online sensation, aligning to the ‘drop culture’ methodology employed by brands targeting the Gen Z community.
“While having two big names as the face of the product is incredibly important and a significant contributor to Prime’s success, marketing buzz does not guarantee success – the operators in the company are smart and their success has not just happened by chance.”
There is also a sense that Prime is positioning itself smartly in a market expecting impending flux - in the Premier League, at least. With plans to ban gambling companies from appearing on the front of shirts from 2026 there will be plenty of opportunities appearing.
Various flavours of Prime for sale in a shop window in London.
And Prime’s raison d’etre has been clear: to challenge the likes of Gatorade and Lucozade in the saturated energy drinks market.
At the same time many clubs’ commercial departments are becoming smarter around what brands they should be affiliated with - especially after the backlash from fans over the rapid cryptocurrency boom and bust.
“Supporters are more socially aware and there is now an expectation to use resources available to align with brands and businesses that match not just the club’s values, but that of its community too,” Peppi says.
“It is also in a commercial department’s interest to do their homework in order to protect a club’s image against negative coverage, as well as insert fast exits into contractual obligations should things turn sour and – perhaps most applicable in this instance – all parties working together to promote shared values and ethics.
“On the flip side, fans know that with FFP rules, clubs need to increase revenue and commercial partners are a critical element to that, although they will not forgo their ethical, moral and cultural beliefs just to generate funds.
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Watch KSI vs Tommy Fury and Logan Paul vs Dillon Danis
The time for talking is almost over as KSI and Tommy Fury will bury their rivarly once and for all as they face off in Manchester on Saturday, October 14th. Logan Paul will also be fighting at the event in front of what is expected to be a sell-out crowd.
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“There is a heightened sense of social responsibility which exists among fanbases and that has resulted in a rapidly evolving sponsorship landscape and fan sentiment yielding more power than ever before.
“Within that there is always opportunity, but in an age where sport carries such powerful cultural influence and a scrutiny of sponsorship has never been higher, responsibility now falls on rights holders to hold their commercial power to greater account and inspire future generations.”
And if there is one thing about KSI and Logan Paul that cannot be disputed it is their cultural influence. Bayern’s press release confirming the partnership said that Prime “has pressured long-term brand competitors for market share in the isotonic category to see a 3.2 percent market-share in just over 12 months of operation.”
Dry corporate speak, you might think, but also proof of the drink’s success and why football, like its Gen Z consumers, is so eager to be part of the ride.
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