Commercial performance and sponsorship of SL

[DlEHARD]

Gee that is poor reading...

[bar red]

It's amazing we haven't got sponsors for the GB tour later this year with all the preparation that has gone into that. Just about sums this topic up.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

53 minutes ago, Dave T said:

 

Steeden are missing off there. 

Kingstone Press and Specsavers deals have ended.

That's really poor - by the looks of that i'm beginning to think we might have some new commercial partners/sponsors.....we just haven't been told and/or updated anywhere. Even amateur clubs understand the importance of keeping this kind of thing up to date.

[Dave T]

Just now, bar red said:

It's amazing we haven't got sponsors for the GB tour later this year with all the preparation that has gone into that. Just about sums this topic up.

Indeed. We are just scrapping around getting whatever we can.

Our international game has no partners and I now believe that now Specsavers and KP have left there are none left from the 2013 WC. 

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

That's really poor - by the looks of that i'm beginning to think we might have some new commercial partners/sponsors.....we just haven't been told and/or updated anywhere. Even amateur clubs understand the importance of keeping this kind of thing up to date.

Probably the most up to date place for sponsors logos is the ad boards on player and coach interviews post-match. This year we have removed KP and Specsavers and they haven't been replaced.

[Dave T]

23 minutes ago, RP London said:

well doesnt that just sum it all up!

On the ref sponsorship point, in the Test Series the refs had the Enjoy the Game thing, which meant nowt. 

3 months later, the RFL launched the Enjoy the Game initiative....

[The Future is League]

23 hours ago, Dave T said:

This seems to be one of the first times in recent years that we have not seen new partners on board for SL in the lead up to the season.

The refs now have no shirt sponsor.

No WCC sponsor. 

When are we going to start to see increased focus in this area?

Perhaps when the RFL decides to actively go looking properly looking for sponsors and commercial opportunities instead of waiting for the sponsors to come to them.

 

[Dave T]

11 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

Perhaps when the RFL decides to actively go looking properly looking for sponsors and commercial opportunities instead of waiting for the sponsors to come to them.

 

To be fair the RFL have announced Coral as the new cup sponsor. 

Aren't we meant to be in a whole new world where SLE take control and deliver better results?

Also, to be fair, my post was being challenging and making a point. I do accept that these things won't just fix overnight, but I am surprised to see us actually lose sponsors and not replace them.

[NotToday]

6 hours ago, RP London said:

RL talks the talk about being "cutting edge" and being at the forefront etc but i do find they lack a little in the "e" side of the game. Their interweb presence isnt great, the website and app are iffy at times and the streaming has been poor. They could really lead the line with this but it is an area they lack.

 

Even at the least, the SL youtube channel could link all the other clubs' and Rugby AM's youtube pages on their 'Channels' page. https://www.youtube.com/user/ukrugbyleague/channels

I think most clubs have a YT channel but they tend to lack views. Most audiences probably don't even know they exist! They need to be centrally linked somewhere for people to find them easily.

They should also update their 2013 RLWC channel to make it a dedicate page for all the RLWCs; upload most of the games on there in HD except maybe the semis and finals.

They should upload the Super League Show online in HD as well. Some of the episodes are uploaded by third-party channels but they're probably inconsistent. They could do so on a 2-day delay from date-of-air.

[Dave T]

29 minutes ago, NotToday said:

 

Even at the least, the SL youtube channel could link all the other clubs' and Rugby AM's youtube pages on their 'Channels' page. https://www.youtube.com/user/ukrugbyleague/channels

I think most clubs have a YT channel but they tend to lack views. Most audiences probably don't even know they exist! They need to be centrally linked somewhere for people to find them easily.

They should also update their 2013 RLWC channel to make it a dedicate page for all the RLWCs; upload most of the games on there in HD except maybe the semis and finals.

They should upload the Super League Show online in HD as well. Some of the episodes are uploaded by third-party channels but they're probably inconsistent. They could do so on a 2-day delay from date-of-air.

On Youtube, SL have two channels:

Super League TV - the last video is an ad for last Saturdays game. No highlights or clips of the great action we saw.

SL Highlights - last highlights are the international series.

The media setup of Super League really is a joke.

[Pulga]

I think blanket statements like "X brands/companies think rugby league has Y image" are incorrect. 

How do the Brisbane Broncos get $16m worth of jersey sponsors?

 https://www.nrmdigital.com.au/news/broncos-new-jerseys-reveal-amid-16m-sponsor-windfa/3105518/

Why can't English clubs/the whole game there shake their old image?

 

Why aren't English clubs picking the brains of Aussie clubs to see what they can emulate?

 

Why does the Wolfpack seem to have some really good sponsors?

Is it a purely English problem?

 

 

[PREPOSTEROUS]

11 minutes ago, Pulga said:

I think blanket statements like "X brands/companies think rugby league has Y image" are incorrect. 

How do the Brisbane Broncos get $16m worth of jersey sponsors?

 https://www.nrmdigital.com.au/news/broncos-new-jerseys-reveal-amid-16m-sponsor-windfa/3105518/

Why can't English clubs/the whole game there shake their old image?

 

Why aren't English clubs picking the brains of Aussie clubs to see what they can emulate?

 

Why does the Wolfpack seem to have some really good sponsors?

Is it a purely English problem?

 

 

Rugby League in Australia is a major sport, Rugby League in England is not.  Compare the NRL to the Premier League and those figures are dwarfed. 

[Pulga]

1 minute ago, PREPOSTEROUS said:

Rugby League in Australia is a major sport, Rugby League in England is not.  Compare the NRL to the Premier League and those figures are dwarfed. 

So it's not a rugby league problem. It's a perception problem.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Pulga said:

So it's not a rugby league problem. It's a perception problem.

The thread is about UK Rugby League. 

[Pulga]

13 minutes ago, Dave T said:

The thread is about UK Rugby League. 

I get it. But the point I'm trying to make is that the root of the problem is the perception of the game (and seeming lack of ability to change that in England) rather than a problem with the head honchos ability to seek sponsors.

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Pulga said:

I think blanket statements like "X brands/companies think rugby league has Y image" are incorrect. 

How do the Brisbane Broncos get $16m worth of jersey sponsors?

 https://www.nrmdigital.com.au/news/broncos-new-jerseys-reveal-amid-16m-sponsor-windfa/3105518/

Why can't English clubs/the whole game there shake their old image?

 

Why aren't English clubs picking the brains of Aussie clubs to see what they can emulate?

 

Why does the Wolfpack seem to have some really good sponsors?

Is it a purely English problem?

It's certainly a problem in with English RL and likely French RL too.

In Australia, RL is big in 2 of the 3 biggest states which account for about half the total population, so it's a big time sport and big time sponsors are happy to be involved.

In England, RL is big in one small region which has lost ground economically and in stature compared to other regions in recent decades and pretty much unknown/ignored elsewhere, so it's a small time sport.  As a small time sport, those big money sponsors are unlikely to want to be involved and the present and past moaning about London, Catalans and Toronto just makes that worse.

[gingerjon]

2 hours ago, Pulga said:

So it's not a rugby league problem. It's a perception problem.

It's a rugby league in Europe problem.

You might as well ask why, if the New England Patriots can get £Xm in kit sponsorship, the Hastings Conquerors need to run a gofundme for new pads.

[Cowardly Fan]

8 minutes ago, Pulga said:

I get it. But the point I'm trying to make is that the root of the problem is the perception of the game (and seeming lack of ability to change that in England) rather than a problem with the head honchos ability to seek sponsors.

I'd argue it's both. There are brands that would want to be associated with Rugby League even with its current image. 

Also changing an image is difficult:

Stella Artois has a down-market image in UK (wife beater nickname). It's tried for a long time to get rid of that with premium advertising 'reassuringly expensive' with limited success. 

I work with a company who are still associated with a bad sponsorship from 5 years ago, which gives them a cheap image. 

Both companies have much bigger budgets than Rugby League

[Chamey]

Also, no premium or blue chip company is going to get involved in a sport that is most prominently sponsored by Patient Claim Line, Mushy Peas, and a northern speciality rubbish train company.

[MSW87]

On ‎2‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 7:11 PM, Cowardly Fan said:

I don't know the past numbers, but you can look at it in terms of our properties and sponsorship categories.  From category point of view

• We have - car, rail, betting, glasses, cider, sports equipment, patient claim & mushy peas
• Some notable gaps - spirits, wine (and potentially beer if you can split it from cider), watch, airline, travel, banks, mobile

I've possibly forgotten some current sponsors and gaps, but looking at that there's still a lot of potential. 

In terms of properties as well they need to be creative in making these.  One example from football is training kit sponsorship, that was genuinely revolutionary a few years ago in a mature market and the first club to do it got a £10m deal from it.  Now all clubs look for a training kit sponsor and it appears obvious.   

I would suggest the reason for the notable absences you list is the underlying demographic for RL is not attractive to these businesses.

Rugby League is predominantly played in areas of lower socioeconomic status. Organizations look to align their sponsorship with their target demographic. Watches and Airlines target audience is not a rugby league crowd. You only have to look at the car brands that associate with our sport to confirm that (Kia vs Mercedes Benz with Tennis and BMW with Golf).

There is also the issue of exposure. The aggregate attendance of SL is less than that of Anfield or Old Trafford. Why not sponsor a game there - you hit all groups from working classes through to the corporate fans. In addition, you get access to a global audience. I would guess* sponsoring one game at United would give more exposure than sponsoring super league for a whole year.

The positive note is that through the introduction of Catalans, Toronto, with London's resurgence and with the efforts made to grow the sport internationally, we are starting to open up to new demographics and have international reach. This will, in time, draw bigger brands.

*Updated as it's better to include accurate figures than assumptions so I looked this up, in 2017/18 season United's average cumulative audience was 64.1m per game.

[RP London]

On 2/8/2019 at 1:19 PM, Cowardly Fan said:

I work with a company who are still associated with a bad sponsorship from 5 years ago, which gives them a cheap image. 

 

you work for eddie stobart?

[Dave T]

World Club Challenge sponsor announced by SLE.

 

BetFred.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, scotchy1 said:

The WCC has far bigger problems than who sponsors it this year.

I love it. I really enjoy the 'will they won't they' dynamic of the game, and then we just play it again like we have for the last couple of decades without fail.

[Dave T]

Just now, scotchy1 said:

I can't imagine any other competition where biggest question throughout the build up is whether its worth bothering to play and in what format we will do it.

I can't think of it happening once in another competition and we do it every year.

The quickest win and lowest hanging fruit in world sport would be to just book a stadium today for next year and start selling a WCC that is definitely happening.

I don't think we even bother with the format discussion any more do we? It is one of the most depressing traditions in the RL calendar.

[Mattrhino]

25 minutes ago, scotchy1 said:

I can't imagine any other competition where biggest question throughout the build up is whether its worth bothering to play and in what format we will do it.

I can't think of it happening once in another competition and we do it every year.

The quickest win and lowest hanging fruit in world sport would be to just book a stadium today for next year and start selling a WCC that is definitely happening.

To be fair Scotchy the Super Cup and WCC in soccer has always had that stigma.

The difference is that in Soccer there are loads of other games and international club comps. In RL we have one.

I really does beggar belief that we can't properly organise one game a year between us and the NRL.