A Shirt with a Thousand Shepherds: A Marketing Ploy Saves a Club in Peru

Through an unconventional marketing idea and tactic, the Peruvian club Deportivo Municipal managed to overcome the financial crisis it has been facing after launching a new jersey bearing the names of 1,000 different sponsors. The club leveraged the loss of its main sponsor to transform its official kit into a crowdfunding platform that allows small businesses to participate in supporting the club.

According to The Athletic, the Lima-based club redesigned its jersey to resemble a grid comprising 1,000 small squares in black and white, with each square designated as an advertising space featuring the name of one of the participating sponsors in the project.

The club set the price for each space at $60, enabling small businesses and enterprises across Lima to appear on the official jersey. This initiative combined commercial sponsorship with crowdfunding, rather than relying on a single company for primary sponsorship.

The idea came after Deportivo Municipal lost its main sponsorship contract, amid financial difficulties despite its historical status in Peruvian football and four domestic league titles.

The campaign successfully raised approximately 254,000 Peruvian soles, equivalent to nearly $75,000, according to figures announced by the club. The small spaces distributed across the jersey have thus become a source of income helping to address the financial crisis.