Western United has recently added BrandScent to their list of partners signing a three-year deal to help create a signature scent at their home ground, Ironbark Fields.
Based out in Truganina in Melbourne’s west, the multi-award-winning scent marketing agency, run by Suji and Jeeva Sanjeevan, made their name through the TV show Shark Tank in 2023.
BrandScent are now breaking into the Australian sporting landscape and are hoping to collaborate with other sporting organisations as well.
Leading and coordinating these partnerships is Nathan Perrone, Western United’s Commercial Partnership Executive, who has been at the club since February 2022.
Perrone describes how BrandScent initially got onto the club’s radar regarding a potential partnership.
“A lot of credit goes to my former boss Chris Speldewinde (who formerly worked in the GM commercial role at Western United),” he said to Soccerscene.
“He started these conversations with Jeeva and Suji at the backend of last year and became connected through the local community.
Despite being a relatively small business, BrandScent has already worked with a range of companies in Australia and internationally.
With this collaboration, Western United got the opportunity to talk and potentially expand their list of partners. Alongside BrandScent, they were able to add a partner who was local to the area.
“They provided us with contacts and new clients that we could talk to,” Perrone said.
“They have worked with massive companies not just in Australia but globally, such as American Express and Arnott’s.
“For them too, it was important to support local and break into the sporting space and do a proper partnership.”
Ever since their inception, Western United have shown their strong support towards Melbourne’s western suburbs throughout the years.
The club are partners with the Wyndham City Council, Victoria University and Werribee & Western Automotive Group to name a few and are all located out west.
“We’re really emphasising the chance to connect with fans and businesses in the region, to help the whole Wyndham City Council and those in it to provide better opportunities,” Perrone said.
It has taken some time for Western United to cement their place in the west, having to wait for Ironbark Fields in Tarneit to be completed.
For both the men’s and women’s teams, they have had to play their home games elsewhere – such as AAMI Park, City Vista Recreation Reserve and North Hobart Oval.
“For us as a club, it’s been challenging when we haven’t been in the region we had hoped to be from year one,” Perrone said.
However, Western United have finally established Ironbark Fields as their home and for local businesses such as BrandScent, it will make it easier and more accessible for them to collaborate with projects such as creating the club’s signature scent for the upcoming season.
“It’s a three-phase project,” Perrone added.
“Phase one was introducing to some staff and players how it works.
“Everyone was smelling scents and trying to get an understanding of what smells represent the club and the first phase is essentially done.
“They’re now working on some things based on everyone’s feedback and they’ll come back to us to refine it again.
“They’ll do some more research, and we’ll go into the final stage and start to roll it out.”
In addition, both Western United and BrandScent are aiming to connect with the local clubs in the west through their partnership.
“We are looking to do more opportunities with players and even local clubs to create a workshop where you can create your own fragrance,” Perrone said.
With the support and resources from BrandScent, Western United are hoping to leave a lasting impression to those who come down to Ironbark Fields.
“For a new client commercially or a new player or staff member you want to make it very welcoming,” Perrone said.
“With the scent created by BrandScent, it will help leave a good impression and hopefully create a positive reaction.”
