Newcastle United chief explains Japan boost with 'fantastic' Adidas announcement & Arsenal comparison

While Newcastle’s players sometimes struggled with the hot and humid conditions in Japan - the work the club did away from the football pitch was arguably the highlight of the trip.

Eddie Howe’s side beat Urawa Red Diamonds 4-1 before losing 2-0 to Yokohama F. Marinos to conclude Tokyo tour at the Japan National Stadium on Saturday. But there were also several supporter engagement events throughout the week.

From the third kit launch in central Tokyo, a meet and greet with Shola Ameobi, a surprise appearance from Sandro Tonali and a rooftop beer garden gathering - Newcastle’s efforts were non-stop.

Reflecting on the pre-season trip, Silverstone told The Gazette: “It's been amazing - perfect considering the sense of engagement we've got from the trip and meeting new fans over here in Tokyo.

“We've just been overwhelmed by the support. We've had a fan over from Taiwan, we've got the Thai Mags, the Japanese Mags, the Hong Kong Mags, the Singapore Mags, Australians as well as all the Geordies that have come over as well - it's just been brilliant.

“It's been an amazing experience, I think the preparations have been good, obviously it's important to get that balance between engaging the fan base and giving the players the preparation they need for the new season.

“It's been fantastic and great activation for Adidas which has also gone down really well, so I'm really happy.”

The launch of Newcastle’s new retro-inspired Adidas third kit in Tokyo - which was later modelled by Bruno Guimaraes, Alexander Isak and Joelinton at the Shibuya Crossing and worn for the match against Yokohama -formed a key part of Newcastle’s commercial and engagement strategy for the trip.

Discussing the Adidas partnership, Silverstone added: “It has been fantastic. I'm obviously a bit of a saddo and I've been walking around all of the Adidas stores and just seeing our products next to Arsenal, Man United and actually between Real Madrid and Arsenal at Shinjuku Adidas.

“The [Newcastle Adidas products] are sold globally which builds our brand, our retail revenue and the launch campaign with Adidas here, which has been worked on for months, was fantastic. The players loved it as well to be part of a real global brand moment at Shibuya Crossing.”

Newcastle visited the United States last summer for the Premier League Summer Series and had considered doing the same again this year only to decide on Japan instead. While The Magpies are relatively well-established in America, the trip to Tokyo presented an ideal opportunity to grow the club’s brand in the world’s most populous city.

Explaining why the club opted against going to America once again this summer, Silverstone admitted: “Every big club is travelling to either the US or to Asia and engaging with those fanbases, getting games, getting preparations.

“Going to America again this summer would have been quite a saturated market because there were a lot of teams over there and we wanted to change. As we grow and build, we have to make a great effort to engage with all of our fans in different regions and build those fan bases.

“I think this trip to Japan has been justified by seeing what it has meant to the fan base here.

“In order to grow as a club, we have to grow internationally. That international growth impacts sponsorship, merchandise, retail, Adidas etcetera so engaging and growing in foreign markets is vital - that is what we are committed to doing.”