They think it’s all over, it could be now…

The news that Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss might buy Chelsea Football Club from Roman Abramovich has prompted speculation that he could use the soccer team to promote his Halter Ranch winery in California.

There has been much talk regarding Chelsea FC’s rumoured sale to Swiss billionaire, Wyss. However, using the 2022 world soccer champions to spread awareness of the mogul’s 200-acre estate which produces “sustainably grown Bordeaux and Rhône-style wines” might not be as simple as it appears.

For a start, Wyss has said: “I can well imagine starting at Chelsea with partners.”

Any such partners would no doubt have their own interests to publicise. The notion that buying a high-profile sporting entity rather than coming to the table with a sponsorship deal also raises questions about the economics involved, given the finite volumes that Halter Ranch, based in Paso Robles, produces for Wyss.

Even amortised over many years, the price would add enormously to the cost of every bottle.

Furthermore, Premiership rules have so far prevented a new owner from naming a team after a business; rather, they flag their ownership through shirt advertising (e.g. Etihad at Manchester City) or by naming the stadium (e.g. Emirates, after the Dubai airline) at Arsenal.

It is not without relevance that Stan Kronke, the owner of Arsenal FC as well as a host of US sports teams including the Los Angeles Rams  NFL franchise, has not linked said teams commercially with his Screaming Eagle super-premium Napa wines.

Conversely, the Paul Ricard race circuit in southern France is named after the late founder of the pastis spirit whose company eventually became Pernod Ricard.

There are four basic routes for drinks companies to associate themselves with sports, and to promote corporate or brand awareness.

The first is through ownership of a team itself. Here the outstanding example is Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder and chief shareholder of the Red Bull energy drink empire he founded in 1987.

Rather than following a traditional marketing approach, Red Bull has created a “brand myth” through buying up or launching successful sports teams including RB (Red Bull) Leipzig in the top flight German soccer league, RB Salzburg in Austria and by far and away its biggest success, the Red Bull F1 Grand Prix Racing stable for which current world champion Max Verstappen drives.

A rather less successful owner was Indian former billionaire Vijay Mallya who bought the Bangalore franchise in Indian Premier League cricket and named the side Royal Challengers Bangalore to back the Indian whiskey produced by his United Spirits group.

The cricket team has had considerable success, which has continued under Diageo, which bought control of United Breweries in 2013. Mallya, meanwhile, has crashed into bankruptcy and fled India where he has been found guilty of fraud and money laundering. He is due to be extradited from the UK once an “outstanding  legal matter” is resolved.

Indebtedness eventually led to Mallya ceasing to be the prime sponsor of the former Force India F1 outfit (although he did not use the racing team to promote a brand, but rather as a personal vanity project).

The root of Mallya’s downfall, however, was his Kingfisher airline, which collapsed into spectacular bankruptcy owing £1.15 billion in 2012. He had named it Kingfisher after the successful beer brand produced by his United Breweries (now controlled by Heineken).

He deliberately chose the name because many Indian states prohibit beer advertising (or promotion via sports). The move is thought to be behind the long-running animosity between Mallya and prime minister Narendra Modi.

The second route for drinks companies to promote themselves through sport is by owning or promoting an event.

Mateschitz, who is reportedly worth £24 billion, has also been extremely successful in developing Red Bull  through proprietary extreme sport events such as Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, Red Bull Air Race and  Red Bull Crashed Ice.

These underline the idea of peak performance backed by the “Red Bull gives you wings” slogan which has had such impact worldwide among party-goers, amateur sportspersons and even exam candidates seeking a caffeine-induced boost.

A somewhat less risky route is to sponsor an existing successful event that is already a fixture on the sporting calendar and simply add a brand name to it.

In racing, the Hennessy Gold Cup has long been the feature race at the Newbury autumn meeting.

Similarly the Grand National at Aintree has had a string of drinks sponsors from Seagram and John Smith’s to Crabbies.

Martell, however, may look back with less than satisfaction at the fall-out from the two-day postponement of the event in 1997 because of a bomb scare, and the 1993 abandonment after protests by animal rights groups.

Diageo’s Guinness enjoys naming rights to the rugby Six Nations championship in Europe but the value may be eroded by advertising laws. France’s Loi Evin bans all advertising and promotion of alcohol, which means that for Les Bleus’ home games, the Stade de France is bedecked with “Greatness” (not Guinness) banners.

Last autumn Ireland introduced a similar law.

Scotland’s premier rugby competition is named after Tennants beer while in South Africa Castle beer features in its rugby and cricket competitions. Pernod Ricard’s Royal Salute prestige Scotch has chosen polo in India as a recognition vehicle; in the past, England cricketers have all worn Tetley beer logos on their shirts.

At a more closely targeted level, Pol Roger Champagne backs the annual Lords versus Commons clay pigeon shooting contest.

Cricket has long been a fertile avenue for drinks companies. Wolf Blass and Hardy’s have spent heavily over the years but it was a South London publican, Bernie Coleman, who was one of the early pioneers of the relationship between the sport and alcohol.

In 1988 Surrey County Cricket Club was, in Coleman’s words, “skint”.  As its president he persuaded brewer Foster’s to put its name to the famous Oval ground in return for £1 million in sponsorship. Lord’s was aghast but the trend was established.

Today, stadium sponsorships are global ranging from the Thatcher’s cider stand at Bath rugby club to the Bud Light patio at the enormous Levi’s stadium outside San Francisco.

Some sponsorships have had less than the desired result. When Cardiff brewer Brain’s had its logo emblazoned on the Welsh rugby team kit, the fact that it appeared initially on the rear of their shorts caused ribald comments from opposing fans.

Direct advertising at sporting events is a multi-billion pound sector, ranging from Coca-Cola being a prime sponsor of the Olympics and Winter Olympics to Budweiser spending more than some nation’s national debt on a prime TV slot during America’s Superbowl.

But even some of the most prominent campaigns have been forced to alter.

Liverpool FC and Carlsberg had to part company as TV advertising of alcohol became much more heavily regulated around the globe and Diageo has had to pull back from having Johnnie Walker branding featured directly on McLaren cars to promoting the whisky via a trackside slogan “Keep Walking”.

Whoever buys Chelsea has some big decisions to make.