Good Morning,

Welcome to the Scout Newsletter, an exploration into the data behind the Australian Sport and Sponsorship Landscape.

This Week in Sponsorship is a weekly wrap up of the latest deals and renewals with a special focus on the Deal of the Week.

The Scouting Report is a monthly long-form deep-dive covering topics of interest to the sponsorship industry. Check out previous articles 

Enjoy!

Deal of the week

Auckland FC x ANZ

Brand: ANZ New Zealand

HQ: Auckland

Category: Banking/Finance

Deal type: New

Tier: Premium (2)

Context: Last week, Auckland FC announced a new major partnership with ANZ Bank New Zealand. The deal come off the back of Liberty Financial dialling back their investment in the A-Leagues, renouncing the Naming Rights to the A League Women’s competition to SharkNinja - and potentially opening the door to more Banking/Finance partnerships in clubland.

More on Banking sponsorship investment:

• As expected, sponsorship investment is dominated by the Big 4 Banks with the exception of Suncorp who hold a sponsorship portfolio significantly greater than their overall market position.

• The category skews towards Women’s properties and Grassroots programs (CommBank & Women’s Cricket, NAB AFLW, Suncorp Super Netball, ANZ Netball Champs NZ).

• Whilst the top 5 spend similarly on sponsorships, their strategies are markedly different. CommBank dominates Cricket and Football, sports with a national and international footprint (supporting their strong market share amongst new Australians).

• NAB and Westpac sponsor AFL and Rugby League respectively, skewing towards the respective markets of those sports, while Suncorp has a heavy presence in the QLD market.

• ANZ has the most diverse cross-code portfolio, now holding partnerships across five of the top codes, with a heavy presence the NZ market (NZ Cricket, Netball NZ and Auckland FC). All else being equal, this cross-code strategy provides greater unique audience reach as each new sport reaches a different pool of fans.

• Furthermore, ANZ are the only Big 4 Bank with deals in clubland (Drua and Auckland FC), with Banks tending to favour lower-risk NSO or Venue partnerships. Whilst potentially the riskier strategy (reputation damage from player behaviour issues), clubland partnerships offer more direct channels (memberships, hospitality, social/digital) for Brands to speak to fans. Will the deal open the door for more banks to back clubs?

For more Banking insights, check out some of our recent analysis:

QCB signs major new deal with Brisbane Heat

Banking and venues (Shark Park rights for sale)

For a full breakdown of the Banking category, or for a different look at what’s going on in sponsorship, drop us a note.

Other notable deals

NEW

⚽️ ANZ has been named as an Official Partner and Official Bank of Auckland FC.

🏀 Foot Locker have announced a major partnership with the WNBL for the 2024/25 season.

🏁 Sportsnet Holidays, a leading sports travel and experience provider, and Supercars, have announced a new partnership making Sportsnet the Official Travel and Tours Partner of the Repco Supercars Championship.

🏟️ Pirate Life Brewing has come on as the naming rights partner for RAC Arena’s level one lounge, now known as the Pirate Life Bar.

⚽️ Western United has announced Silvans Integrated Facilities Services as a Platinum Partner for the next three years.

⚽️ Brisbane Roar have welcomed Carina Leagues Club on board as a Silver Partner and 2024/25 Ninja A-League Women back-of-shorts sponsor.

🏏 Adelaide Strikers have announced a new partnership with Lightforce, a South Australian based manufacturer of high-performance lighting products.

⚽️ Auckland FC has signed digital-only wagering brand, betcha to a partnership deal.

RENEWALS

⚽️ A-Leagues has announced the extension of its partnership with Boost Mobile, making the telco an Official Partner for the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s and Ninja A-League Women’s competitions.

🏉 Carsales has announced the extension of its partnership with the Sydney Swans for another season.

Not yet subscribed?

Sign-up to receive these articles direct to your inbox.

Our services

Reach out for a chat to learn more:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Are you hiring? Get in touch with our partner business, Talent Economy.

Partner with industry experts, Talent Economy, to unearth top talent across the Aussie media, sport, entertainment and marketing sectors. Head to talenteconomy.com.au, follow on LinkedIn or email [email protected].