On Wednesday afternoon, one day before it was publicly revealed that the Sounders have made a partnership with Seattle-based online retailer Zulily, select members of the Seattle Sounders’ organization unveiled the newly embellished kits to an energetic crowd at Zulily’s headquarters in downtown Seattle.
Several hundred employees gathered for a meeting in The Atrium, an airy gathering place at the company’s Belltown office. Initially, Zulily’s executive staff, led by CEO Jeff Yurcisin and CMO Kevin Saliba, revealed the company’s new logo. Suddenly, “Salute to the Olympians,” the Sounders’ theme song for over 40 years, piped through the speakers and soccer players entered from both sides of the stage.
To the right, Seattle Sounders FC. To the left, Seattle Reign FC. Both of the city’s men and women’s professional soccer clubs sported Zulily’s new logo embellished on the kits. The crowd immediately burst into a standing applause.
Four Sounders stood in front of hundreds of Zulily employees on Wednesday afternoon to reveal the new jersey partnership. Photo by Mike Fiechtner.
Sounders owner Adrian Hanauer ushered onto the stage for remarks on the new groundbreaking partnership between the three organizations.
“We are so excited to have you join our family,” Hanauer told the audience. “To be connected in this way, the Sounders, the Reign, Zulily – it’s such an exciting partnership to us.”
Hanauer went on to explain how MLS is a league on the rise, with a young, tech-savvy fan base with strong loyalty and brand affinity to the clubs. Multiple times, he stated the excitement for partnership and activation opportunities between the Sounders and Zulily.
“Overall, our vision organizationally is to create moments, enrich lives and unify through soccer,” Hanauer said. “That really dovetails nicely as we talk with Zulily how our brands overlap and how they work philosophically, and how we feel about our customers, our partners, our fans, our employees and together how we can make sure we deliver amazing experiences for all of our stakeholders.”
Hanauer continued: “I want to thank Zulily – we are so excited for what the future holds. You are part of our immediate family now. Welcome.”
Next, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer took the stage. He introduced each of the four players who posed in Rave Green – Chad Marshall, Brad Smith, Jordan McCrary and Alex Roldan. A man of the people, Schmetzer then invited each Zulily employee to attend the season opener on March 2 at CenturyLink Field.
After final remarks from Yurcisin and a meet-and-greet opportunity with the players, it became official: The Zulily Era has arrived.
