103 replies to this topic

[jannerboyuk]

eh?

you just said the deal was embarrassing, the Kyle thing was late to the argument. If Kyle was your main concern why didn't you mention that straight away? To quote
"super leagues " official" bingo partner....

i am now worried the powers that be are turning our sport into a joke "

[roughyedspud]

let me try and clear up my stance..


had we signed up with mecca bingo,i can see physical,promotional value in that..we could have had physical events,meet and greets at bingo halls,proper face to face promotion of our sport and try and get the people we meet at the bingo to come and watch RL if they don't already..


you ain't gonna get that from someone sat on their ###### playing bingo on a computer screen who are more likely just gonna shut down any "pop up" advertising our sport!!

[jannerboyuk]

let me try and clear up my stance..


had we signed up with mecca bingo,i can see physical,promotional value in that..we could have had physical events,meet and greets at bingo halls,proper face to face promotion of our sport and try and get the people we meet at the bingo to come and watch RL if they don't already..


you ain't gonna get that from someone sat on their ###### playing bingo on a computer screen who are more likely just gonna shut down any "pop up" advertising our sport!!

so your main problem isn't the Kyle factor?

[roughyedspud]

you just said the deal was embarrassing, the Kyle thing was late to the argument. If Kyle was your main concern why didn't you mention that straight away? To quote
"super leagues " official" bingo partner....

i am now worried the powers that be are turning our sport into a joke "

sorry i was referring to the fact they are closely linked to jeremy kyle..

im all for getting as many sponsors are possible....as long as they "fit"

[Derwent]

"it lumps the game in with the 'Jeremy Kyle' type market" What? any more than say having Oldham in SuperLeague? That really would bring Jeremy Kyle into disrepute!

You can be as snide and obtuse as you like, in your usual style, it doesn't bother me one bit. The fact is that Foxy Bingo pay more than £1m per year to sponsor the Jeremy Kyle show. Why do you think that is ? They'd hardly do so if they didn't think that it fitted their demographic target. By implication SL is also something they see as attracting the people they wish to reach.

Like I said, which you chose to ignore, I'm not having a go at the Foxy Bingo deal. It wouldn't bother me if our partners were Greggs, Primark, Poundland and Blue WKD if that's the most lucrative option, or a return to beer and fags companies. But by going for lowbrow sponsors there is a consequence of portraying the sport as something that has an average demographic that buys those products regularly. Again that is absolutely fine so long as you accept that you can forget about blue chip companies. There is an implication that if you target low end sponsors then you are saying your product is low end too otherwise why the association ? Most marketing people will tell you that brand perception is crucial.

[Bedford Roughyed]

But by going for lowbrow sponsors there is a consequence of portraying the sport as something that has an average demographic that buys those products regularly. Again that is absolutely fine so long as you accept that you can forget about blue chip companies. There is an implication that if you target low end sponsors then you are saying your product is low end too otherwise why the association ? Most marketing people will tell you that brand perception is crucial.

You assume that they have targetted 'lowbrow' products/companies. Maybe, just maybe, they are the only ones interested?

[Wellsy4HullFC]

If we want blue chip sponsors with a higher demographic, the game has to work towards that. You can't just expect them to turn up. Turning down sponsorship at the moment isn't going to make us any closer to that. We need money to build towards it. We have to accept where we are and plan to where we want to go.

Some people want us to go from A to C without going through B. that isn't realistic and they have to get over that.

[Derwent]

You assume that they have targetted 'lowbrow' products/companies. Maybe, just maybe, they are the only ones interested?

That may well be the case. But if it is then what does that say about the general perception of the sport ? In many ways us targeting them is infinitely preferable to them targeting us.

[dkw]

Anyone who thinks our sport is in any position to turn its nose up at a sponsorship deal because of its association with something low brow really needs to take a step back and realise how difficult it is to attract sponsors of any kind at the moment. People saying they would be happy being sponsored by cigarette or alcohol companys also must realise if they were allowed to sponsor tv shows then ones like the kyle show would be exactly what they would go for.

[RedPhoenix]

let me try and clear up my stance..


had we signed up with mecca bingo,i can see physical,promotional value in that..we could have had physical events,meet and greets at bingo halls,proper face to face promotion of our sport and try and get the people we meet at the bingo to come and watch RL if they don't already..


you ain't gonna get that from someone sat on their ###### playing bingo on a computer screen who are more likely just gonna shut down any "pop up" advertising our sport!!

Surely if it's a better deal financially the RFL would have been stupid to turn it down.

Need all the help and support we can get, don't see any issues.

[Methven Hornet]

You can be as snide and obtuse as you like, in your usual style, it doesn't bother me one bit. The fact is that Foxy Bingo pay more than £1m per year to sponsor the Jeremy Kyle show. Why do you think that is ? They'd hardly do so if they didn't think that it fitted their demographic target. By implication SL is also something they see as attracting the people they wish to reach.

Like I said, which you chose to ignore, I'm not having a go at the Foxy Bingo deal. It wouldn't bother me if our partners were Greggs, Primark, Poundland and Blue WKD if that's the most lucrative option, or a return to beer and fags companies. But by going for lowbrow sponsors there is a consequence of portraying the sport as something that has an average demographic that buys those products regularly. Again that is absolutely fine so long as you accept that you can forget about blue chip companies. There is an implication that if you target low end sponsors then you are saying your product is low end too otherwise why the association ? Most marketing people will tell you that brand perception is crucial.

Isn't it a question of the sport having that demographic rather than portraying it that way? If the sport wants to attract the better class/higher value sponsors then it has got to break out of a few northern, working class communities.

[Griff9of13]

Personally I don't really see a difference between an on-line bingo company and a bookmakers such as Bet Fred which the RFL turned down last year. However, you have to consider that beggars can't be choosers. So if Foxy Bingo are willing to give money to the game who can really complain, we're not exactly beating potential investors off with a stick at the moment.

[gingerjon]

If we're going to have an official bingo partner I'm struggling to see how we can do other than have a low-brow bingo company on board. There aren't any high brow ones out there.

I do see a difference between this and the bookies being league title sponsor. Just as I'd see a difference between having an official refreshing alcohol beverage and being known as the Tennents Super Super League.

Hopefully there will be a range of 'official partners'. I await the official sushi supplier with interest.

[Saintslass]

Isn't it a question of the sport having that demographic rather than portraying it that way? If the sport wants to attract the better class/higher value sponsors then it has got to break out of a few northern, working class communities.

Well, not quite. Heinz has a massive factory in Wigan and has had for years. I think our beans are baked there. I wouldn't call Heinz low brow, would you? Here in St Helens while Pilkington is now Japanese owned - alas, alas - and thus shrinking from the town which provided it to the floatglass world, that isn't a low brow company either. It is just a company which has consistently favoured rugby union, bar a couple of seasons of Saints shirt sponsorship once the Japanese had taken over. The higher value companies are largely interested in higher value sports and that is why we don't tend to attract them IMO. While we may have a presence on both the BBC (intermittently) and Sky, we have zero presence in the newspaper columns and precious little in the way of online community or even regular, easily accessed TV promotion. However, I do agree that the higher value companies tend to have their base in the south, where the money is. That is one reason why we need to continue striving to support the Broncos, Skolars and amateur teams in London and around the south generally. (Another reason is simply that it's great to see rugby league played down there) Getting flat cap northerners to see that though is another challenge altogether. Many of them are still stuck in the 1970s at best in terms of their degree of enlightenment (and I say that as a born and bred northerner).

[Dave T]

Genuine quetion - is it just rl fans who are snobby about sponsors?

[Derwent]

Anyone who thinks our sport is in any position to turn its nose up at a sponsorship deal because of its association with something low brow really needs to take a step back and realise how difficult it is to attract sponsors of any kind at the moment. People saying they would be happy being sponsored by cigarette or alcohol companys also must realise if they were allowed to sponsor tv shows then ones like the kyle show would be exactly what they would go for.

You're missing the point. If we are happy to have those low end sponsors then great, lets have a clear strategy and set about exploiting that market as much as we can. Nothing wrong with that at all.

But we seem to be in a halfway house where people still talk about potential blue chips while signing up to deals like this one. You're not going to get both ends of the market.

So, if the Foxy Bingo end is what butters our bread then let's make a conscious decision to exploit it, accept we are perceived as a low value working class product and use that as a strength instead of being ashamed of it. Make it our differentiator if you will.

[CANETMAN]

The problem is the current perception of RL from potential sponsors is that the majority of fans are social demographic C 2 D and E which is at the rock bottom of any sport in the UK.

This is a shocking deal and sends out the wrong message we have gone from the likes of POWERGEN/ENGAGE/GILLETTE/NISSAN/LHF HEALTHCARE etc to FOXY BINGO and soon to be announced deals with BRUT (Which is aimed at morons)

The potential deals are there with better brands you mark my words

CM

Edited by CANETMAN, 19 January 2013 - 05:53 PM.

[CANETMAN]

Also i must add that obviously the RFL have NO interest in the Catalan Dragons and hopefully soon to be Toulouse franchise with deals like this.

FOXY BINGO cannot be advertised in France and anyway do not exist their.

BRUT is not available in France and anyway i cannot see anyone buying it even if it was.

The soon to be announced ale deal for the CC cannot be advertised in France.

We should be targeting brands that are at least available in both countries

What has happened to brand SL Europe we seem to be heading backwards to brand SL council estate in the north of england.

CM

Edited by CANETMAN, 19 January 2013 - 06:16 PM.

[Marauder]

Also i must add that obviously the RFL have NO interest in the Catalan Dragons and hopefully soon to be Toulouse franchise with deals like this.

FOXY BINGO cannot be advertised in France and anyway do not exist their.

BRUT is not available in France and anyway i cannot see anyone buying it even if it was.

The soon to be announced ale deal for the CC cannot be advertised in France.

We should be targeting brands that are at least available in both countries

What has happened to brand SL Europe we seem to be heading backwards to brand SL council estate in the north of england.

CM

The French goverment should put more money (If they do) into SLE.

[Gav Wilson]

Also i must add that obviously the RFL have NO interest in the Catalan Dragons and hopefully soon to be Toulouse franchise with deals like this.

FOXY BINGO cannot be advertised in France and anyway do not exist their.

BRUT is not available in France and anyway i cannot see anyone buying it even if it was.

The soon to be announced ale deal for the CC cannot be advertised in France.

We should be targeting brands that are at least available in both countries

What has happened to brand SL Europe we seem to be heading backwards to brand SL council estate in the north of england.

CM

The French clubs cope well enough in Union playing in the Heineken Cup...