As debate continues over Scottish football's commercial value the company that has sponsored the latter stages of this season's League Cup has reported that the return on its investment has out-stripped its most optimistic expectations.
QTS stepped in to back the tournament at the semi-final stage which saw the Old Firm meet for the first time in three days, while the New Firm also met one another, so they knew that the competition would attract additional interest.
However Alan McLeish, the company's founder and managing director, has still been thrilled by the unanticipated nature of the competition's reach.
"QTS enjoyed unprecedented media exposure, to a value in excess of £1m, through promotion with SPFL and clubs in the lead-up to and during the semi-finals," he said.
"The Celtic v Rangers semi-final was broadcast live in 54 countries worldwide, reaching a potential audience of more than 129m homes in all corners of the globe and it looks like we've got our money's worth out of the press on the run up to the final as well."
Since the company also sponsors Kilmarnock FC, the Premiership club that is closest to its Strathaven base, sports lover McLeish explained that while there had initially been a benevolent element to the deal in the desire of what is a fast-growing company to offer backing to a national competition it had ultimately turned out to be surprisingly successful in outright commercial terms.
"We decided to support the Scottish League Cup as presenting partner because we believe that it's extremely important to support Scottish football and ensure that it remains something special with the fans," he said. "This was a mass media campaign for us and the results in partnership with the SPFL and the clubs have been unbelievable. Each team brought brilliant support to Hampden Park and the atmosphere was electric on both days. It's great to see that Scottish football still gets the support it deserves. We can't wait for the final."
Given the vast discrepancy between the most recent television deals agreed by English football and the Scottish game and the controversy that has arisen as a result, McLeish added that there is a clear message for the corporate world and broadcasters in terms of the benefits of getting involved with the national game and he called on them to respond.
"Our deal as presenting partner with the SPFL has been far more beneficial than we first thought," he reiterated, noting that the Celtic v Rangers match had captured a peak of 64 per cent with the domestic television audience and an average of 55 per cent, while the United v Aberdeen match the previous day had attracted 25 per cent of that afternoon's Scottish viewership.
"The presence the QTS brand received during the semi final stages and run up to the final has been great. "When you compare the sponsorship model to England and farther afield, you can see that Scottish Football has just as strong an impact with press and broadcast media.
"It's a shame that it doesn't attract the same mass broadcast attention when you look at viewing figures and audience share from semi final games, but hopefully more companies coming forward to support Scottish football could influence this."
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