This is one of the more forced partnerships in recent memory. If ever there were an example of the almighty dollar having the final say, this would be it. On Tuesday, the UFC announced on their website that they’d reached an agreement with convenience store chain 7-Eleven.
The officially released statement has all the professionalism you’d expect from an official release, but you can’t help but wonder if it was written by The Onion News Network.
“7-Eleven is one of the world’s most innovative and consumer-friendly brands and we’re thrilled to launch this new sponsorship,” UFC Vice President of Global Partnership Activation Brette Sadler said. “We look forward to continuing our ongoing engagements with consumers in the U.S. and Canada with new and exciting fan activations, such as our BIG GULP sweepstakes.”
“UFC has a huge fan base of both male and female young adults who like to shop at convenience stores, making this promotion a great match-up,” said 7-Eleven Marketing Director Maria Trujillo.
Here is more about the sweepstakes:
The sweepstakes, which runs through Sunday, December 31, 2017, allows fight fans in the U.S. and Canada to purchase and/or collect UFC branded BIG GULP’s (30 oz.) with designs featuring UFC gloves, a UFC Octagon and select UFC athletes. Athletes included on these collectibles include: UFC welterweight champion TYRON WOODLEY, UFC men’s bantamweight champion CODY GARBRANDT, UFC women’s bantamweight champion AMANDA NUNES, former UFC light heavyweight champion DANIEL CORMIER and UFC featherweight YAIR RODRIGUEZ.
There is no shame in striking a partnership for purely financial reasons. That appears to be the case here. There are plenty of people who love the UFC, and love 7-Eleven, but you’d be hard pressed to find one that has yearned to combine the two.
Expect to see a lot of 7-Eleven product placement in the Octagon for as long as this deal is in place.
The partnership brings with it a few promotional opportunities for fans to win/purchase some swag.
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