Sponsorship Problem?

[DaveyDee 421]

1 hour ago, Demonland said:

*cough* Tom Scully *cough*

Too soon?

Nay I'm happy to support Tom - for a $1m dollars a year over 5 years contract and the perfect job for my dad - hell I probably would have done the same.

Just damn annoying we took him at pick 1 - but GWS where kind enough to give us Big Jesse Hogan so you win some you loss some. ( but please note I'm not commenting in public if I thought we won or lost the deal in the end - but no complaints from me. ) It could have been worse. 

[Lucifers Hero 40,509]

This isn't about sponsorships per se http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-bombers-buy-australian-esports-team-abyss-20171207-h00vmw.html  but over time it may have a big impact on the inherent viability of AFL clubs.

Once the esports outfit starts to wear the AFL club colours, in this case Essendon, the exposure its sponsors get will greatly overshadow that from AFL games, members etc.  Sponsors will be knocking their door down to get on board.   In the meantime the small clubs struggle to get sponsors.

Forgive me a moment of cyncism (and jealousy) but the rich clubs will get richer and the poor ones...

Hope we get a FOJ sponsor soon - one that will stick with us for the long haul. 

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

14 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

I'd be talking to one of Amazon's new business partners in Australia, GetSwift. That's the company run by Joel MacDonald and which has Joel and James Strauss as significant shareholders. (In Joel's case "significant" means about 140 million dollars worth.) 

They aren’t marketing to end-users.

[praha 11,253]

7 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

This isn't about sponsorships per se http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/essendon-bombers-buy-australian-esports-team-abyss-20171207-h00vmw.html  but over time it may have a big impact on the inherent viability of AFL clubs.

Once the esports outfit starts to wear the AFL club colours, in this case Essendon, the exposure its sponsors get will greatly overshadow that from AFL games, members etc.  Sponsors will be knocking their door down to get on board.   In the meantime the small clubs struggle to get sponsors.

Forgive me a moment of cyncism (and jealousy) but the rich clubs will get richer and the poor ones...

Hope we get a FOJ sponsor soon - one that will stick with us for the long haul. 

I'm not entirely convinced with esports. it's a super competitive market and unless you compete successfully in NA and Asia, the financial benefits are minimal. You also won't attract good players unless you'r prepared to outlay most of the winnings to the actual team. Some smaller esports teams only give a small percentage to the players because they'r seen as a stepping stone to more reputable teams.

it's the kind of thing where you need to invest millions in order to start off high from the very beginning. I don't think any of the Afl teams getting involved are going that deep.

imo some AFL clubs are seeing the financial benefits based on the success of NA and Asian teams, without truly understanding or appreciating the cost to actually set this up. Blizzard was asking for tens of millions just to buy a license for the Overwatch league. This is a league that atm has appealing projections, but there are still huge question marks over the viability.

ultinately it all comes to sponsorship money and purchasing intent. Gamers are traditionally firmly in that high purchase intent category, but they won't get involved if the team/players aren't competitive on a global scale.

[Lucifers Hero 40,509]

4 hours ago, praha said:

I'm not entirely convinced with esports. it's a super competitive market and unless you compete successfully in NA and Asia, the financial benefits are minimal. You also won't attract good players unless you'r prepared to outlay most of the winnings to the actual team. Some smaller esports teams only give a small percentage to the players because they'r seen as a stepping stone to more reputable teams.

it's the kind of thing where you need to invest millions in order to start off high from the very beginning. I don't think any of the Afl teams getting involved are going that deep.

imo some AFL clubs are seeing the financial benefits based on the success of NA and Asian teams, without truly understanding or appreciating the cost to actually set this up. Blizzard was asking for tens of millions just to buy a license for the Overwatch league. This is a league that atm has appealing projections, but there are still huge question marks over the viability.

ultinately it all comes to sponsorship money and purchasing intent. Gamers are traditionally firmly in that high purchase intent category, but they won't get involved if the team/players aren't competitive on a global scale.

Thanks for that info.

I wonder where Essendon's  'Abyss' leagues (Ocean Pro League and Oceanic Challenger League) fits into the global heirarchy of esport leagues?

 

I can see why the AFL wants in on this - the vast majority of people into esport are <30 age group and known to watch little FTA TV preferring to pick and choose what, when and how they watch.  On-line seems the preferred medium.  I suspect that group is underrepresented in the AFL spectator demographics.   So in 20 years the AFL audience may shrink (relatively speaking) and clubs will compete with the likes of esports (and new 'sports' yet to be invented) for memberships and sponsors.  So the AFL would be looking to tap into that age group and simultaneously extend the regional/global reach of its brand to attract bigger sponsors.  

I agree, clubs can easily get their fingers burnt if they can't get/keep top esport players.  Those with deep pockets can withstand that but the smaller clubs may never even have the chance to get in on the action.  

It could be that soon (next decade) not having an esport team could disadvantage clubs seeking sponsors.  And those that do have one will find it a lot easier to attract global brands as sponsors.

For us, we struggle to get an Australian 'household' name sponsor and it will be even harder competing for the 'global' sponsor.   The clubs with existing global brands:  Emirates, Mazda, Toyota etc are in a good position.  Maybe this is the opportunity to expand our relationship with Southern China Airlines (but they also sponsor Adelaide Crows who already have an esport team). 

Edited December 7, 2017 by Lucifer's Hero

[La Dee-vina Comedia 17,009]

6 hours ago, Clint Bizkit said:

They aren’t marketing to end-users.

Fair point. Do they operate any retail brands?

I note, also, that as far as I can tell, AHG didn't market to end users and quite frankly, I couldn't see what value sponsorship had for them either.

 

[old dee 23,998]

2 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Fair point. Do they operate any retail brands?

I note, also, that as far as I can tell, AHG didn't market to end users and quite frankly, I couldn't see what value sponsorship had for them either.

 

My last car was bought from an AHG dealership. I went there on the basis they were a MFC sponsor when there  were closer  dealerships available. But I do agree with your view. I am in the market again but this time I will look closer to home.

[La Dee-vina Comedia 17,009]

4 minutes ago, old dee said:

My last car was bought from an AHG dealership. I went there on the basis they were a MFC sponsor when there  were closer  dealerships available. But I do agree with your view. I am in the market again but this time I will look closer to home.

Serious question: Did being a MFC member give you any benefits when buying the car? (such as price discount, cut-price servicing, etc) 

[old dee 23,998]

2 hours ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Serious question: Did being a MFC member give you any benefits when buying the car? (such as price discount, cut-price servicing, etc) 

I did get a better deal than the other dealer I went to during the process.

Was it better than I could have extracted by just driving a hard bargain?

Good question Not sure however I have had a good relationship with their service department since.

Conclusion I suspect I got the same deal a non MFC member driving a hard deal would have got but they knew I was an MFC member and that may have benefited the club.

If the club had a sponsorship deal with another car supplier I would go out of my way to get a price however I would need to be interested in the vehicles they were selling.

PS I recently used "I select" to change my car insurance.

[Sir Why You Little 37,297]

A winning MFC with the name “Melbourne” would be an ernormous positive for a Sponsorship. 

But i think the NT deal would cause problems with many prospective deals. 

It’s 2 Home games that are not part of the deal, that is a lot of exposure lost and may be why most of our sponsorship deals seem to be in the B Grade category. 

[PaulRB 6,432]

I'd have thought a shrewd marketing manager would see the Demons as an ideal and value sponsorship target, given where our list is at (talent and potential) plus the story that will accompany our rise over the next few years.

Multinationals who want to be seen as contributing to local communities would be the obvious target, Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook..?

Show us the money!!! 

[Cards13 9,117]

Working for a small corporate who does sponsor an AFL team and having worked at a medium corp who sponsored the Hawks there are so many layers to these kinds of things.

• Is it a brand only play? If so how much is the spend/over how many years? How long is the season so the brand is in play for as long as possible? Can you use those $$ in other ways to drive more brand or sign ups? Can you get more eyeballs through a billboard on Citylink or more from digital spend than this sponsorship?
• How big is the member base/how much access to them do you get to pitch your product (whats the reach)? Is the club on the up and potential for new members in yrs 2 and 3 etc.
• Does the product you have align/can it be sold to the members/fans?
• What kind of acquisitions do you think you can get out of the members and other fans who may see your product?  The old company did well out of Hawks, they signed up just before hawks won the first of the 4 flags. Lower cost, lower CPA for first couple of years, decent take up by members with an ok CPA.
• How well do you work with the club? We have an awesome relationship with our club who work hard to provide value to the partner.
• In our case what kinds of values does the club have and do they align with or exceed our values? We are constantly pitched to by NRL clubs... no fkn wwwaaayyyy mate!
• What kind of access can you get to other sponsors/partners/anyone else associated with the club or code?
• etc etc

It is pretty subjective especially if it is a brand play only (but clubs provide "value metrics" you need to pick apart), acquisitions and CPAs are easy to measure.

[Sir Why You Little 37,297]

25 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

Working for a small corporate who does sponsor an AFL team and having worked at a medium corp who sponsored the Hawks there are so many layers to these kinds of things.

• Is it a brand only play? If so how much is the spend/over how many years? How long is the season so the brand is in play for as long as possible? Can you use those $$ in other ways to drive more brand or sign ups? Can you get more eyeballs through a billboard on Citylink or more from digital spend than this sponsorship?
• How big is the member base/how much access to them do you get to pitch your product (whats the reach)? Is the club on the up and potential for new members in yrs 2 and 3 etc.
• Does the product you have align/can it be sold to the members/fans?
• What kind of acquisitions do you think you can get out of the members and other fans who may see your product?  The old company did well out of Hawks, they signed up just before hawks won the first of the 4 flags. Lower cost, lower CPA for first couple of years, decent take up by members with an ok CPA.
• How well do you work with the club? We have an awesome relationship with our club who work hard to provide value to the partner.
• In our case what kinds of values does the club have and do they align with or exceed our values? We are constantly pitched to by NRL clubs... no fkn wwwaaayyyy mate!
• What kind of access can you get to other sponsors/partners/anyone else associated with the club or code?
• etc etc

It is pretty subjective especially if it is a brand play only (but clubs provide "value metrics" you need to pick apart), acquisitions and CPAs are easy to measure.

Excellent Breakdown and not suprising. 

This is why i am concerned about the NT Situation. Yes we make money on that deal, but at the same time other prospective deals are not finalized because other clients do not get value for their $$$

we MUST find alternative ways to make up those NT dollars ? 

[Cards13 9,117]

30 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

Excellent Breakdown and not suprising. 

This is why i am concerned about the NT Situation. Yes we make money on that deal, but at the same time other prospective deals are not finalized because other clients do not get value for their $$$

we MUST find alternative ways to make up those NT dollars ? 

The more relevant qs for the Dees is does the NT $$ outweigh potential lesser $$ they may receive by playing in NT, do those 2 games scare off sponsors? 

Our partner plays some games in Tassie, we don't sell our product in Tassie so it decreases the value for us but overall we see it is good value even though Tassie games don't help us.

[Sir Why You Little 37,297]

12 minutes ago, Cards13 said:

The more relevant qs for the Dees is does the NT $$ outweigh potential lesser $$ they may receive by playing in NT, do those 2 games scare off sponsors? 

 

That is exactly my point C13

2 home games in the Desert ? is not good value for most sponsors, our name is the Southern State City. 

It is hard enough to get any sponsors, but we are always going to offer 2 less games...

when we sign off on the NT deal i will open a bottle of Moét

[Demonland 73,465]

58 minutes ago, Sir Why You Little said:

when we sign off on the NT deal i will open a bottle of Moét

Not if we sign up Bollinger.

[Straight Sets Simon 23,113]

2 hours ago, Cards13 said:

Working for a small corporate who does sponsor an AFL team and having worked at a medium corp who sponsored the Hawks there are so many layers to these kinds of things.

• Is it a brand only play? If so how much is the spend/over how many years? How long is the season so the brand is in play for as long as possible? Can you use those $$ in other ways to drive more brand or sign ups? Can you get more eyeballs through a billboard on Citylink or more from digital spend than this sponsorship?
• How big is the member base/how much access to them do you get to pitch your product (whats the reach)? Is the club on the up and potential for new members in yrs 2 and 3 etc.
• Does the product you have align/can it be sold to the members/fans?
• What kind of acquisitions do you think you can get out of the members and other fans who may see your product?  The old company did well out of Hawks, they signed up just before hawks won the first of the 4 flags. Lower cost, lower CPA for first couple of years, decent take up by members with an ok CPA.
• How well do you work with the club? We have an awesome relationship with our club who work hard to provide value to the partner.
• In our case what kinds of values does the club have and do they align with or exceed our values? We are constantly pitched to by NRL clubs... no fkn wwwaaayyyy mate!
• What kind of access can you get to other sponsors/partners/anyone else associated with the club or code?
• etc etc

It is pretty subjective especially if it is a brand play only (but clubs provide "value metrics" you need to pick apart), acquisitions and CPAs are easy to measure.

In bold is a key point, it's less and less about exposure and more about having direct access to customers and stakeholders.

[Cards13 9,117]

1 hour ago, Clint Bizkit said:

In bold is a key point, it's less and less about exposure and more about having direct access to customers and stakeholders.

Stakeholders who have larger opportunities you might be able to tap into. 

Coterie is key as well, the big business guys in those, Presidents functions you get to chat to people etc etc. All plays into it.

[machine11 142]

We should get sponsorship from lite and easy... win win for all

[DaveyDee 421]

12 minutes ago, machine11 said:

We should get sponsorship from lite and easy... win win for all

FYI

Lite & Easy used to sponsor the Tigers - they were the coach sponsor to be precise. Dima was a ripping bloke yet had a good sense of humour about his sponsor. 

However, original owners sold out and I have a feeling it was to a Hawthorn supporter - but dont quote me on the second part - hehehehe 

No Ive never been a member of Lite & Easy, no I dont work for Lite & Easy. 

[64" 97]

Stuff sponsorship let us the members be the main stakeholders.

[Demons11 7,096]

On 06/12/2017 at 8:58 PM, deefella said:

Just wanting to know what the go is in regard to major sponsorship? We seem to struggle to hold on to sponsors for sustained periods, AHG appear to have parted ways? Are we on the look for another major sponsor a bit concerning?

AHG pulled out of all its sponsorship, not just at Melbourne 

[dpositive 1,818]

I did suggest last year that we approach the Aust meat industry.

plenty of opportunities for campaigns based on red and blue meat intake.

Elite athlete diets, recipes etc. = potential visibility

[AllMyTeamsAreWank 564]

Jaguar Landrover would be the obvious choice. 

[praha 11,253]

On 08/12/2017 at 7:07 PM, 64" said:

Stuff sponsorship let us the members be the main stakeholders.

it ain't 1964, 64. that just doesn't cut it anymore.