Value for sponsors

[EastLondonMike]

I was recently watching the highlights of the recent Panthers v Roosters game and it reminded me how much value the Aussies give to their sponsors. On both the major networks that broadcast RL, and especially through their replays of tries scored. Fox have the 'Harvey Norman replay' and Ch.9 have the 'Isuzu D-Max replay', both of which are a constant feature in all televised games.

Going back to the world cup, quite quickly we all knew how much it was for chips and gravy at KFC in Australia!

I seem to recall many other aspects of the game being commercialised, such as big plays throughout a half, and i think even half time is sponsored, or has been in the recent past.

Compare that to SL broadcasts, where we don't have any sponsorship of such things as replays of tries scored, or big moments in the game, which is surprising considering SL does generally look to the NRL for where and how it should progress in such ways. Or even the projection of sponsor branding onto the pitch, which is prevalent in the NRL and in other sports, and again is a way to give greater value to sponsors albeit only to the people watching on TV or online.

And compare again to the highlights packages currently shown on youtube via the SL youtube channel, most of which have no commentary or anything, aside from crowd noise, even the televised games don't always seem to carry the SKY commentary (some do, some don't), but instead have the silence broken by the sound of the mic'd up ref.

I think the NRL have proved the above are perfect vehicles for giving sponsors increased or extra value, and for us in the uk and in SL, where quality sponsorship is hard to come by, it surprises me no end that we haven't embraced such a thing.

Compare how many sponsors are visible/Audible in the NRL highlights to the SL highlights.

Catalan v Saints : 

 

Panthers v Roosters: 

 

[RigbyLuger]

Might not be allowed on TV here, but we can certainly up our game online. Our videos are generally poor, and it can't be hard to put a voiceover on them, surely?

[Damien]

7 hours ago, RigbyLuger said:

Might not be allowed on TV here, but we can certainly up our game online. Our videos are generally poor, and it can't be hard to put a voiceover on them, surely?

This is why the promise in the reduced TV deal of Sky videoing every game not happening is so poor. Quality match coverage offers so many possibilities.

Edited July 5, 2022 by Damien

[gingerjon]

17 hours ago, EastLondonMike said:

I was recently watching the highlights of the recent Panthers v Roosters game and it reminded me how much value the Aussies give to their sponsors. On both the major networks that broadcast RL, and especially through their replays of tries scored. Fox have the 'Harvey Norman replay' and Ch.9 have the 'Isuzu D-Max replay', both of which are a constant feature in all televised games.

Going back to the world cup, quite quickly we all knew how much it was for chips and gravy at KFC in Australia!

I seem to recall many other aspects of the game being commercialised, such as big plays throughout a half, and i think even half time is sponsored, or has been in the recent past.

Compare that to SL broadcasts, where we don't have any sponsorship of such things as replays of tries scored, or big moments in the game, which is surprising considering SL does generally look to the NRL for where and how it should progress in such ways. Or even the projection of sponsor branding onto the pitch, which is prevalent in the NRL and in other sports, and again is a way to give greater value to sponsors albeit only to the people watching on TV or online.

And compare again to the highlights packages currently shown on youtube via the SL youtube channel, most of which have no commentary or anything, aside from crowd noise, even the televised games don't always seem to carry the SKY commentary (some do, some don't), but instead have the silence broken by the sound of the mic'd up ref.

I think the NRL have proved the above are perfect vehicles for giving sponsors increased or extra value, and for us in the uk and in SL, where quality sponsorship is hard to come by, it surprises me no end that we haven't embraced such a thing.

Compare how many sponsors are visible/Audible in the NRL highlights to the SL highlights.

Catalan v Saints : 

 

Panthers v Roosters: 

 

We did used to have sponsors on the video ref screen. It's kind of glazed over me now if we still do that.

Post-match presentations used to involve a Tissot watch.

Nowadays, it seems our only active sponsor is Betfred.

[Dave T]

There are clearly differences in product placement acceptance between Aus and the UK, but there is definitely something in the OP. 

As a sport we struggle to get sponsors, yet in reality we should be able to offer a hell of a lot to sponsors, we should be more flexible than anyone. We have opportunities for sponsorships all over our assets, yet we have gone backwards.

Where is the sponsor logo on the ball that we had? 

Where is the man of the match sponsor? 

Where is the VR sponsor? 

Where is the Magic Weekend sponsor? 

Where are the pitch sponsors? 

Which company sponsors the clock and stats on TV coverage? 

Where are the sponsors when going to ad breaks on Sky and C4? 

These are all indicators of two things. Firstly, that times are hard, sponsorship has dried up, we aren't the only comp reliant on people like Betfred. Secondly, that we are performing poorly and seemingly offer little. 

[EastLondonMike]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

There are clearly differences in product placement acceptance between Aus and the UK, but there is definitely something in the OP. 

As a sport we struggle to get sponsors, yet in reality we should be able to offer a hell of a lot to sponsors, we should be more flexible than anyone. We have opportunities for sponsorships all over our assets, yet we have gone backwards.

Where is the sponsor logo on the ball that we had? 

Where is the man of the match sponsor? 

Where is the VR sponsor? 

Where is the Magic Weekend sponsor? 

Where are the pitch sponsors? 

Which company sponsors the clock and stats on TV coverage? 

Where are the sponsors when going to ad breaks on Sky and C4? 

These are all indicators of two things. Firstly, that times are hard, sponsorship has dried up, we aren't the only comp reliant on people like Betfred. Secondly, that we are performing poorly and seemingly offer little. 

Times are definitely harder, especially when it comes to getting sponsors to part with some cash.. But in the industry i work in, which is sports related fashion, over the last year or so we've seen a lot of sponsors spending again, and a lot of new sponsors from non-traditional industries getting involved in sport in a big way.

But even for a pittance, we should be able to generate some additional income through all of the things you've listed above Dave, and more. You can literally commercialise everything from the kick-off to the half time to the post match interviews.

We saw Papa Johns get involved last year, albeit tentatively, and that wasn't built on. Maybe they weren't keen, maybe it was the RFL/SL who couldn't find a way to keep them interested, but they could have easily become our version of what KFC is to the NRL.

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, EastLondonMike said:

Times are definitely harder, especially when it comes to getting sponsors to part with some cash.. But in the industry i work in, which is sports related fashion, over the last year or so we've seen a lot of sponsors spending again, and a lot of new sponsors from non-traditional industries getting involved in sport in a big way.

But even for a pittance, we should be able to generate some additional income through all of the things you've listed above Dave, and more. You can literally commercialise everything from the kick-off to the half time to the post match interviews.

We saw Papa Johns get involved last year, albeit tentatively, and that wasn't built on. Maybe they weren't keen, maybe it was the RFL/SL who couldn't find a way to keep them interested, but they could have easily become our version of what KFC is to the NRL.

Agreed - and the Papa Johns sponsorship tbh is a bit of a case study in how toxic our game can be at times. I have rarely seen such negativity around a sponsorship deal (maybe the Stobart deal) - but for the RL media, fans and others to so actively and publicly criticise a partnership was not helpful.

The deal may have seemed small time, but sometimes these things can grow on an intitial deal - and I think sometimes as fans we need to stop and think about the harm we can do to the game.

[RigbyLuger]

6 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Agreed - and the Papa Johns sponsorship tbh is a bit of a case study in how toxic our game can be at times. I have rarely seen such negativity around a sponsorship deal (maybe the Stobart deal) - but for the RL media, fans and others to so actively and publicly criticise a partnership was not helpful.

The deal may have seemed small time, but sometimes these things can grow on an intitial deal - and I think sometimes as fans we need to stop and think about the harm we can do to the game.

Add the players to that moaning about the free food they were given.

[Dave T]

19 hours ago, EastLondonMike said:

Going back to the world cup, quite quickly we all knew how much it was for chips and gravy at KFC in Australia!
 

 

On things like this, I think somebody referred to Tissot (it may have been you) - but done well, these things can really stick. Tissot were probably one of the highest profile sponsors that we all remember that were involved - and I expect their deal was really modest.

At the World Cup in 2013 we had really professional presentation of the sponsors - we used the big screens to great effect for example, and many announcements in the ground were sponsored.

TBH, what all this screams of is lack of resource over anything else. There is nobody who is responsible for just making sure this stuff gets done - I've worked for organisations before where it is all about return on investment and then forgetting about some of the softer things (or rather things that are seen as softer things rather than a core part of your proposition).

[Dave T]

Just now, RigbyLuger said:

Add the players to that moaning about the free food they were given.

Yes, I did mean to mention players. 

We really are an unfriendly, ungrateful, snivelling bunch of toxic morons at times, generally speaking.

[RigbyLuger]

16 minutes ago, Dave T said:

TBH, what all this screams of is lack of resource over anything else. There is nobody who is responsible for just making sure this stuff gets done - I've worked for organisations before where it is all about return on investment and then forgetting about some of the softer things (or rather things that are seen as softer things rather than a core part of your proposition).

Our "rolodex" so to speak, consists on Betfred for sponsorship, Lizzie Jones for anthems and Alex Simmons for entertainment.

[EastLondonMike]

21 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Yes, I did mean to mention players. 

We really are an unfriendly, ungrateful, snivelling bunch of toxic morons at times, generally speaking.

On this also, there really should be someone briefing clubs and players directly and making the position quite clear. No negativity, engage with the sponsor on social media ie "thanks to @papajohns for the Pizza" etc etc and manage that engagement to give greater value. 

Maybe it is down to resource, but such a thing highlights a lack of focus on certain areas. I've noticed on Linkedin recently a number of new roles within the RFL, so additional resource is there.

[RP London]

36 minutes ago, EastLondonMike said:

Times are definitely harder, especially when it comes to getting sponsors to part with some cash.. But in the industry i work in, which is sports related fashion, over the last year or so we've seen a lot of sponsors spending again, and a lot of new sponsors from non-traditional industries getting involved in sport in a big way.

But even for a pittance, we should be able to generate some additional income through all of the things you've listed above Dave, and more. You can literally commercialise everything from the kick-off to the half time to the post match interviews.

We saw Papa Johns get involved last year, albeit tentatively, and that wasn't built on. Maybe they weren't keen, maybe it was the RFL/SL who couldn't find a way to keep them interested, but they could have easily become our version of what KFC is to the NRL.

I think the bit in bold is key... I dont think the RFL is very good at "thinking outside of the box". They go back to the traditional stuff far too easily and while that is not necessarily a bad thing they don't look to the new enough. There is a lot out there to go at but how much are the RFL and clubs actually pushing into that. I do wonder how much they go out and look or these things and how much they just expect companies to come to them.. I feel its the latter more than the former

[Barry Badrinath]

20 hours ago, EastLondonMike said:

I was recently watching the highlights of the recent Panthers v Roosters game and it reminded me how much value the Aussies give to their sponsors. On both the major networks that broadcast RL, and especially through their replays of tries scored. Fox have the 'Harvey Norman replay' and Ch.9 have the 'Isuzu D-Max replay', both of which are a constant feature in all televised games.

Going back to the world cup, quite quickly we all knew how much it was for chips and gravy at KFC in Australia!

I seem to recall many other aspects of the game being commercialised, such as big plays throughout a half, and i think even half time is sponsored, or has been in the recent past.

Compare that to SL broadcasts, where we don't have any sponsorship of such things as replays of tries scored, or big moments in the game, which is surprising considering SL does generally look to the NRL for where and how it should progress in such ways. Or even the projection of sponsor branding onto the pitch, which is prevalent in the NRL and in other sports, and again is a way to give greater value to sponsors albeit only to the people watching on TV or online.

And compare again to the highlights packages currently shown on youtube via the SL youtube channel, most of which have no commentary or anything, aside from crowd noise, even the televised games don't always seem to carry the SKY commentary (some do, some don't), but instead have the silence broken by the sound of the mic'd up ref.

I think the NRL have proved the above are perfect vehicles for giving sponsors increased or extra value, and for us in the uk and in SL, where quality sponsorship is hard to come by, it surprises me no end that we haven't embraced such a thing.

Compare how many sponsors are visible/Audible in the NRL highlights to the SL highlights.

Catalan v Saints : 

 

Panthers v Roosters: 

 

professional polished tv sports presentation,

 

Could you imagine ben proe stuttering trying to do a sponsor spot on a replay?

 

or bill arthur getting interrupted by baz and tez saying some irreverant waffle?

[Barry Badrinath]

12 minutes ago, RigbyLuger said:

Our "rolodex" so to speak, consists on Betfred for sponsorship, Lizzie Jones for anthems and Alex Simmons for entertainment.

i stared at my phone a lot this morning, when seeing a tweet from the official superleague account, telling me how excited they are to have alex simmons....

 

 

jesus.

[EastLondonMike]

5 minutes ago, Barry Badrinath said:

i stared at my phone a lot this morning, when seeing a tweet from the official superleague account, telling me how excited they are to have alex simmons....

 

 

jesus.

He must have compromising photos of Ralph Rimmer or something.. 

[EastLondonMike]

8 minutes ago, RP London said:

I think the bit in bold is key... I dont think the RFL is very good at "thinking outside of the box". They go back to the traditional stuff far too easily and while that is not necessarily a bad thing they don't look to the new enough. There is a lot out there to go at but how much are the RFL and clubs actually pushing into that. I do wonder how much they go out and look or these things and how much they just expect companies to come to them.. I feel its the latter more than the former

Tech and new tech is the main Industry that i've seen getting involved with the sports I work with.

[whatmichaelsays]

Things like the "Harvey Norman replay" you wouldn't be allowed to do here. You could have replays and TV graphics sponsored (the Premier League does this with EA Sports), but you wouldn't be allowed to have the commentator reference it, as it would be considered that the advertising is influencing the programme output. 

But the sentiment of the OP is right, and something that the sport really struggles with. 

If you look at the 2013 World Cup, we had a host of new sponsors but to my recollection, only Specsavers furthered their involvement beyond that and one has to ask why - what attempt was made to grow those accounts? What value was offered? What feedback did the client provide? It seems poor that only one of those accounts was grown. 

League-wide, we don't really seem to offer any sort of consistency of service to potential partners. Some clubs are able to provide on-pitch branding, whereas others aren't allowed to (and if that's the case, why isn't tech used to overcome this, because it has been trialled before?), Some clubs have full-pitch LED perimeter advertising, some only partial-pitch and some none at all. I know this will be down to cost, but it's another inconsistency on offer and the league really should be mandating a minumum standard here. Some clubs have permanent video screens, others don't. Some clubs have very active social media presences and a high level of content output, whereas others don't. Some clubs are more willing to make their players available for media appearances than others. All of this means that, as a sponsor, you can't really be sure about what you're buying.   

At the risk of making this about club loyalties, you do seem to get an impression about which clubs are good at this and which aren't. A client from a previous agency I worked at was actually the main sponsor of Wigan Warriors for a period in the late 00s. They were thoroughly underwhelmed by the value the club offered and weren't going to renew for a second season until the club offered a significantly knocked-down rate for year two. If their experience of being Wigan's main commercial partner was typical, maybe it isn't a surprise to see the club having a revolving door of partners and a new main shirt sponsor seemingly every season. 

Leeds on the other hand, treat their sponsors like gods and the hospitality and attention they get is genuinely very good. Maybe it's also no coincidence that partners like Leeds Building Society, Arla Foods, Berrys, Global, SMUK, Leeds Becket and others seem to be much happier to agree renewals and longer-term deals? 

 

[Barry Badrinath]

2013 had obscure sponsors.

 

Not on the high street, online clothes retailer.

 

Hertz rent a car, a bit more well known but not exactly a day to day company (unlike bachelors)

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, Barry Badrinath said:

2013 had obscure sponsors.

 

Not on the high street, online clothes retailer.

 

Hertz rent a car, a bit more well known but not exactly a day to day company (unlike bachelors)

GoDaddy are not obscure, they have multi billion dollar revenue.

[Scubby]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

Agreed - and the Papa Johns sponsorship tbh is a bit of a case study in how toxic our game can be at times. I have rarely seen such negativity around a sponsorship deal (maybe the Stobart deal) - but for the RL media, fans and others to so actively and publicly criticise a partnership was not helpful.

The deal may have seemed small time, but sometimes these things can grow on an intitial deal - and I think sometimes as fans we need to stop and think about the harm we can do to the game.

You saying it could have grown to additional toppings from Tuna and Sweetcorn? Maybe some garlic bread thrown in?

The sponsorship was a few pizzas in the dressing room after games. The game did not benefit financially. It is the kind of sponsorships some charity fun days get not a fully professional major UK sport. It deserved criticism as small time.

Do you think Gatorade pay nothing to put bottles in the coaches boxes and press conferences for NRL games? Or is it all the blue liquid you can drink?

Edited July 6, 2022 by Scubby

[gingerjon]

Just now, Scubby said:

You saying it could have grown to additional toppings from Tuna and Sweetcorn? Maybe some garlic bread thrown in?

The sponsorship was a few pizzas in the dressing room after games. The game did not benefit financially. It is the kind of sponsorships some charity fun days get not a fully professional major UK sport. It deserved criticism as small time.

And now we don't have that sponsorship and none came along after it.

The deal did have value. It was on the same terms as clubs and leagues have hydration partners (for example) where all that happens is free drinks get provided.

[Barry Badrinath]

10 minutes ago, Damien said:

GoDaddy are not obscure, they have multi billion dollar revenue.

True, but as a hardcore rl fan who attended a loooot of 2013 World Cup games, I didnt remember that they were one of the 3 main sponsors.

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

And now we don't have that sponsorship and none came along after it.

The deal did have value. It was on the same terms as clubs and leagues have hydration partners (for example) where all that happens is free drinks get provided.

Yes its easy to laugh but it illustrates where we are. As you say the deal did have value and is better than no deal.

Saying the NRL has this and that is more akin to saying the Premier League has this and that. Unfortunately RL in this country operates in a different sphere.

[Damien]

3 minutes ago, Barry Badrinath said:

True, but as a hardcore rl fan who attended a loooot of 2013 World Cup games, I didnt remember that they were one of the 3 main sponsors.

But I did. In fact they are the only one I really recall off the top of my head