Clippers’ Expanded Partnership With Honey Will Include Jersey Patches Moving Forward

The Los Angeles Clippers announced Friday they will be expanding their partnership with tech company Honey, with the newest element focusing on jersey logo patches for the 2020-21 season and beyond.

Honey, an L.A.-based company founded in October 2012, offers a suite of free tools to help consumers save time and money while shopping online. They can be used as a prominent resource, notably as a browser extension, that works to compile coupons for shoppers for various websites.

From the beginning of the relationship between Honey and the Clippers, which included months of meetings in early 2019, both sides knew it was only the start of a fruitful business venture. Scott Sonnenberg, the Clippers’ Chief Global Partnerships Officer, noticed how determined Honey was to market at a higher level.

“For them, with a startup here in L.A. and that entrepreneurial spirit, and now just starting to grow, they really wanted to make a big splash,” Sonnenberg said.

In September 2019, the Clippers announced their renovated practice facility would be renamed, “Honey Training Center: Home of the L.A. Clippers.”

From there, everything progressed, and the symbiotic relationship saw new levels emerge throughout the season. Honey stayed true to its mission of valuing consumers, as they partnered with Clippers guard Patrick Beverley with the “Steal of the Deal” campaign. It gave fans a chance to purchase home game tickets for only $10 during the 2019-20 campaign. A few months later, Honey worked with superstar Kawhi Leonard by incorporating him into their celebrity ad spots, featuring a commercial where Leonard blocks consumers from spending too much money while online shopping.

Friday’s news of the Clippers changing their jersey patch logo to further advertise Honey is, by far, the biggest splash since launching their partnership.

“The number of impressions the patch garners is significant, and when the NBA announced the opportunity for teams to pursue patch (advertising) three years ago, brands were clamoring over them,” Sonnenberg said. “And every team had sold within the first year.”

As Sonnenberg mentions, a lot of these companies appearing on the newest NBA jersey patches are only just beginning their pivot into sports advertising. The NBA has opened that avenue … and businesses will gladly step into it.

“And here we are three years later, you’re seeing new brands that haven’t had these Sonnenberg said. “A lot of the brands you see doing these deals, it’s their first sports marketing deals. It’s Honey’s first, and prior to them, it was Bumble for us.”

Per the Clippers’ press release, fans will be able to purchase jerseys with the Honey patch included. Staying true to Honey’s vision, using the code ‘HONEY15’, shoppers will be able to save 15% on Official Clippers Jerseys featuring Honey’s logo in the team’s eCommerce store, the Clippers Fan Shop. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they will have special deals available for fans.

As for the future of sports advertisements, particularly in the basketball world, this is only the beginning. The NBA has found tremendous success with these jersey patches and by encouraging these type of business deals, so expect more visual marketing to be used by teams as the success continues to grow.

“I think the NBA has historically been known as the most progressive in looking at new opportunities compared to some of the other major sports leagues,” Sonnenberg said. “The NBA was the first to come out with the jersey patch. The revenue that is generating for the teams, and ultimately for the NBA as well, that other leagues can’t ignore that. I do think there’s going to be other patch opportunities for other teams and leagues going forward.”