Mahalo Man United

Palm tree-fringed Hawaiian beaches and British football make for strange bedfellows but the link up between sunglass supplier Maui Jim and footballing phenomenon Manchester United (News 22.02.19) could be a match made in heaven.

Maui Jim’s links to golf and tennis are well established but it recently went looking for a partner in the Premiership arena in an effort to expand its brand recognition and customer reach. After talking to five or six clubs it chose Manchester United but not simply because it is the biggest name in world football. ‘We are very excited about this,’ says Martijn van Eerde, international marketing manager. He says Man Utd was chosen because of the relationship built up during the bidding process. ‘We asked the clubs what they were going to do to support us,’ he says they were delighted by what Man Utd did. Among other things it included a fly on the wall style video of players trying out the product and giving their thoughts on the quality of the lenses.