Rugby League told to play to its strengths ... but World Cup still waiting for sponsors

[amm]

Other than Hertz, Marriott and Steeden, who are the others? I've not seen anything.

bottom of the page

http://www.rlwc2013.com/

[GeordieSaint]

bottom of the page

http://www.rlwc2013.com/

 

I'd forgotten Gullivers Travel but that isn't plenty. Are there any more in the pipeline Roughyedspud you are aware of?

[Saintslass]

The top salesmen in my industry earn a packet, I seriously doubt they are passionate about web printing over sheetfed. It doesn't always work like that. Being passionate can be an asset, it also can be a hindrance.

 

And how come the game has never done these things before? Why is it the current/previous regimes fault?

The point is, surely, that they are passionate about selling?  What we need is someone who is passionate about marketing, for example, and then set them loose on the sport.  Whether they love rugby league or not is surely irrelevant?  It's whether they have a hunger for their job and a competence in it that counts.  The trouble is, it is really hard to imagine Nigel Wood, who seems to have a finger in every single pie, being sufficiently astute to recognise what such a person looks like.  I can only envision him signing more administrators.

Edited June 24, 2013 by Saintslass

[Saintslass]

Other than Hertz, Marriott and Steeden, who are the others? I've not seen anything.

Kingstone Press have been advertising on Premier Sports that they are a partner of the World Cup, although I have seen no press release specifically about them coming on board.

 

Then again, it's quite a while since I've seen any kind of press release about the world cup at all.

[GeordieSaint]

Kingstone Press have been advertising on Premier Sports that they are a partner of the World Cup, although I have seen no press release specifically about them coming on board.

 

Then again, it's quite a while since I've seen any kind of press release about the world cup at all.

 

That's good news. More please...

[JohnM]

The art of the press release is indeed an..art.  In any case, as has been mentioned elsewhere, I think we'd struggle to be heard at present over the cacophony of Wimbledon, krikit, lions, run up to the soccer season, etc. I think the trick is to roll with the punch and counter attack as the WC gets nearer.

Edited June 24, 2013 by JohnM

[EastLondonMike]

Haven't kingstone come on board with England?.. maybe that's it.

[JohnM]

If you are not passionate about what you sell you will never get value for it an example of how a united sport could use the findings - we probably have a fan base of 300k who attend a game more than once a season, that equates to an annual spend at the supermarket of £1.5 billion pa, £300m on insurances, £1b at pubs/restaurants, gas/ electric/phones etc

Now unite that spend behind a united game and you have something to really sell

 

If you are not passionate about what you sell.... Tend to disagree.   Given  Passion is an intense emotion  compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.  We need our target market to be passionate.

[amm]

Good point Mags - OR she

 Thank you, I accept, first of all I'd like to say thank you to my family........

[Dave T]

I saw AIG linked the other day on a sponsorship website - have no idea how credible it is though. Was listed alongside Hertz and Marriott.

 

AIG are I think a partner of the RU Sevens circuit, as are Hertz and Marriott so maybe they are being targeted.

[sweaty craiq]

If you are not passionate about what you sell.... Tend to disagree.   Given  Passion is an intense emotion  compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something.  We need our target market to be passionate.

 

The target market must be passionate of the benefits to them from the partnership, it is the sign of a good and passionate salesman who creates that desire in them. A brilliant salesman creates exclusivity from the partnership which raises the SP due to having multi parties fighting to win it. If you are selling a product technical skills are important when selling a perception then passion plays a greater role in the process, passion is also infectious.

You cannot start a cold call by asking excuse me are you passionate about RL, you create that passion - initially by the perceived benefits, then by the actuals and then by the fear of losing them as you work the mutual benefits from the partnership - often at this point the decision makers can become passionate about the product which makes the contract extension very easy.

[Futtocks]

I watched the tennis yesterday. That Belgian guy beating Nadal was pretty good and I can see why certain companies would want to be associated with it. But later I watched the Warrington - Wigan game and it knocked it bandy.

If not one major business wants their name associated with that then I can only assume they are incompetent and are listening to some terrible advice.

Major companies should be having fist fights for the rights to sponsor RL.

I'd imagine the majority of the people who make those sort of decisions weren't even aware that the Wire/Wigan match was on.

[Derwent]

 

I'd imagine the majority of the people who make those sort of decisions weren't even aware that the Wire/Wigan match was on.

Exactly. One would have had an audience of a couple of hundred thousand while the other probably had an audience of tens of millions. Sponsors aren't particularly interested in the actual action on the field/court, they are more concerned about the exposure it brings their brand. We offer minimal exposure compared to other sports, hence why we struggle to attract blue chip sponsors. If you have £1m to spend on sponsorship you're going to get much more value from a small logo on a F1 car than you are from being the headline sponsor of SL or the RLWC.

[Futtocks]

Exactly. One would have had an audience of a couple of hundred thousand while the other probably had an audience of tens of millions. Sponsors aren't particularly interested in the actual action on the field/court, they are more concerned about the exposure it brings their brand. We offer minimal exposure compared to other sports, hence why we struggle to attract blue chip sponsors. If you have £1m to spend on sponsorship you're going to get much more value from a small logo on a F1 car than you are from being the headline sponsor of SL or the RLWC.

And they won't be aware of the match after the event either. Today's papers will be full of Wimbledon, Football transfer rumours, Australians sacking their Cricket coach and the obligatory page or two of filler about the RU Lions. The magnificence of Warrington v Wigan last night will, for the majority of the British public, have passed by totally unnoticed. If any other sport of comparable size had put on that kind of display, people would be talking about it for days or even weeks.

Edited June 25, 2013 by Futtocks

[Southern Softie]

Last night's game was simply amazing and it still amazes me that rugby league seems to be the world's biggest kept sporting secret.

If major companies are not prepared to sponsor rugby league in this country, what can the RFL do to change this?

[EastLondonMike]

The RFL should speak to a company like Brandon..

 

http://www.brandoncompany.com/

 

Use people that know what they're doing and who know how to reach the targets you want to reach.

[Futtocks]

Last night's game was simply amazing and it still amazes me that rugby league seems to be the world's biggest kept sporting secret.

If major companies are not prepared to sponsor rugby league in this country, what can the RFL do to change this?

It would require a fundamental change in the way the media choose to portray the game. What we get is a cocktail of contempt, deliberate dishonesty, condescension or just being ignored altogether. Not even the most rabid keyboard warrior can blame the RFL for not being able to turn that around. Actually, come to think of it, they probably would.

[amm]

The RFL should speak to a company like Brandon..

 

http://www.brandoncompany.com/

 

Use people that know what they're doing and who know how to reach the targets you want to reach.

 It's bugging me because I can't find it in my history from the other day. I saw they use a company that other sporting organisations do too....as it hasn't really made the desired impact, maybe they should use a new one like you suggest, from outside the familiar sports world. Maybe they already do?

[EastLondonMike]

There are plenty of opportunities out there for RL, they just need the right people with the right amount of knowledge to realise that. At the moment we don't have those key people in those key positions.

[Dave T]

We get bigger audiences than a lot of sports. Yet they get decent sponsorship. ..it has to be down to perception, at least a lot of it is.

Look at the way the RFL offer southern based journos free wining and dining at events like the CC Final - yet they still can't be arsed turning up.

This is what we are up against, its not all down to the RFL being useless as plenty seem to think.

What sports get decent sponsorship thet get lower viewing figures than us?

[sweaty craiq]

RU, Golf

[Dave T]

RU, Golf

International sports. 

 

We may get higher figures for certain comps - but overall, their exposure is far far far in excess of anything we have. 

[Southern Softie]

It would require a fundamental change in the way the media choose to portray the game. What we get is a cocktail of contempt, deliberate dishonesty, condescension or just being ignored altogether. Not even the most rabid keyboard warrior can blame the RFL for not being able to turn that around. Actually, come to think of it, they probably would.

Absolutely agree. Even if this year's rugby World Cup is a success, I'm half expecting something along the lines of Martin Samuel's hatchet job from the last World Cup here - "and now for a sport no-one cares about - rugby league".

[hoff]

Before I got into watching Rugby League (and bearing in mind that I come from a 100% football mad family) I genuinely thought Super League was to the Aviva Premiership what the championship was to the Premier League just from how it was portrayed on tv and in the media.

[Dave T]

I am talking about netball etc. They manage to get people like Fiat on board. This isn't a pop at netball either.

I aren't expecting a deal for RL that outstrips the Champions League or whatever but it is worth more than nothing.

But who knows the value of that deal? The fact is that we have got sponsors on board - Heinz, Foxy, Tetleys, Irn Bru, Brut, Kingstone Press, Gillette, Northern Rail, ISC and Rhino are all partners of the RFL.

 

We do have people interested, but it would appear not prepared to pay for full title rights at the moment. We may be asking £1m when the Netball SL could be getting £100k.