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This Week in Sponsorship is Scout’s weekly wrap-up of the latest deals in Australian sponsorship with a special focus on the Deal of the Week. Check out previous articles, or sign up if you were forwarded this email.

The need to know this week:

• Feature analysis: 🎽 Port Adelaide’s major partnership with guernsey sponsor GFG has an uncertain future, following the companies financial woes. This week’s feature analysis explores which categories and brands best suit Port Adelaide, based on market dynamics and their existing sponsorships.

• 🏟️ “Queensland Country Bank has announced the extension of its naming rights sponsorship at Queensland Country Bank Stadium for a further four years, securing a decade-long partnership with Stadiums Queensland. Now entering the final year of the initial six-year term, Queensland Country Bank CEO Aaron Newman said the renewed agreement will extend until December 31, 2029, reinforcing their commitment to supporting world-class entertainment and sporting events in North Queensland.“

• 🎽 “The Port Adelaide Football Club is proud to announce MG Motor Australia has extended its major partnership with the club for a further three years. After initially signing with the club as part of MG's launch into the Australian market, the automotive brand has experienced significant growth and is now comfortably one of the country's best-selling car brands.“

• 👕 “The nib Newcastle Knights and McDonald Jones Homes are excited to announce the extension of their partnership until 2027, taking the relationship to beyond a decade.“

See below this week’s feature analysis, unpacking which brands and categories to target, plus all the latest deals.

Enjoy!

26th February 2025

Scouting a new major sponsor

After a turbulent week for GFG, the future of its Port Adelaide jersey sponsorship has been thrown in the air. The Advertiser is reporting that Port are now ready to sever ties with their major sponsor entirely after they missed several payments.

If Port Adelaide are to replace the GFG jersey spot, where might they look next? We take a look at how the Scout Platform can help answer exactly that (access to free subscribers for a limited time only).

Port’s Portfolio by Brand

First, let’s take Port Adelaide (Men’s) existing portfolio.

Being able to view other partnerships helps Port understand where they sit in that brand’s overall sponsorship mix.

For example, brands like KFC and Tyrepower are extremely active in sponsorship – benchmarking and showing the relevance of Port to their sponsorship mix will be especially important.

For other sponsors like Union Pay, who only sponsor Port Adelaide, reporting may focus more on the benefits of sponsorship as a whole.

Port’s Portfolio by Category

Next let’s consider Port’s revenue from each sponsorship category, and how this compares vs market benchmarks.

Port has a particularly high share of revenue from Auto, Restaurants, Energy and Mining, thanks to the Major / Co-Major Status of MG, KFC, Santos and GFG.

We can also compare these vs relevant benchmarks, i.e. what % of revenue comes from these categories across the landscape, across other (Men’s) Clubs, across AFL, and across SA.

The Gap shows where Port is getting “overs”, compared to these benchmarks. For example, Port is outperforming its benchmarks especially from Energy and Mining, which make up a smaller share of landscape spend - noting these categories are relatively highly invested in SA.

More importantly, where is Port “unders” compared to market benchmarks?

Amongst the top categories where Port has a gap compared to market benchmarks:

• Banking – while Port has a sponsor here (Credit Union SA), it appears at Tier 3 – a lower spend level than the category gets elsewhere. This is therefore a category that might “step up” into a higher tier deal.

• Airlines – one of the top categories in the landscape, with medium spend in Clubland and AFL. However, there is an absence of Airline spend in SA. This can also be a positive – Port offers clean air (no pun intended) to an Airline partner in the State.

• Specialty Retailers (e.g. Harvey Norman, Bunnings, Adventure Kings, or SA-based Weber) – all of which have top tier partnerships with other teams/leagues.

• Non-Bank Lenders - high investors in Clubland, favouring top tier deals.

Gaps analysis to identify Brand Targets

From these priority categories, Port can identify all available brands with “gaps” in their sponsorship portfolios in AFL and SA. The below brands – from available categories – have multiple partnerships across multiple markets, and multiple sports, but Port Adelaide would solve their “gap” challenge in BOTH AFL and SA.

Category analysis

Alternatively, Port can prioritise a specific category.

Taking Non-Bank lending, the category is a significant investor in Clubland, generally opting for top tier deals to help drive exposure and be seen as leading brands.

The category has also seen signifcant movement in the last 12 months, with Dynamoney entering the market, while Liberty, La Trobe and RedZed have dialled back, potentially signalling available funds.

Furthermore, investment from the category is still relatively low in AFL (3 deals) and SA (1 deal). A new brand therefore enters a relatively clutter-free environment, quickly gaining share of the sponsorship market.

A brand such as RedZed has a sponsorship weakness in AFL (North deal expired) and in SA (with Storm deal skewing towards VIC + NRL States). They may be a candidate to replace Port’s GFG deal, if seeking a more national footprint.

To see this for your portfolio, or for a demo of the Platform, reach out for a chat.

Portfolio analysis helps rights holders with:

• Productivity – prioritising the categories and brands with the largest upside for your portfolio

• Market intel – know the category, the brands, and their current challenges in terms of existing sponsorship

• Tailored solutions – cut through with messaging on how your team solves brand challenges

Get in touch with Mark or Alex to learn more, or join industry professionals upgrading to Scout Pro for more regular news, analysis, and partial access to Scout platform.

Check out the full list of Scout Pro features

Notable deals of the week

NEW/EXPIRED

🎽 “The Melbourne Football Club and LEGO Australia are set to have some fun in 2025, with the iconic brand joining as the Official Toy Partner of the Melbourne Football Club. The LEGO® brand, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of play materials, will add to the joy of the red and blue, showcasing its support across the club’s AFL and AFLW programs.”

🎽 “The Sydney Swans have partnered with leading IVF clinic Adora Fertility, in what is the first ever fertility partnership with an AFL club. The two-year partnership will see Adora Fertility become the Official Partner of the club’s AFL and AFLW teams and the club’s Official Pride Partner.”

🎽 “The Melbourne Football Club and the House of Darwin Foundation will make dreams come true in 2025, with the launch of a special partnership. The Demons, through their community platform in the Jim Stynes Foundation, will join forces with the Darwin-based charity organisation, aiming to have positive impact in the Northern Territory region with particular focus on the young people who call these communities home.”

👕 “Wests Tigers are thrilled to announce that OzCar, one of Australia’s leading pre-owned vehicle retailers, has joined the club as Back of Shorts Sponsor for the 2025 NRL season.“

👕 “The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Australia’s number one plaintiff law firm, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.“

🏐 “The Melbourne Mavericks are thrilled to announce Gerni as a new official partner of the club for the upcoming 2025 Suncorp Super Netball season. This exciting partnership will bring a range of engaging activities and benefits for fans and local netball clubs alike”

🏐 “Adelaide University – Australia’s new university for the future launching in 2026 – will be the official principal partner of Netball SA and the Adelaide Thunderbirds commencing in 2025. The partnership will ensure investment into netball at all levels, from grassroots through to the elite, as the two organisations focus on community engagement and inspiring the next generation of leaders”

🏁 “Hydraulink joins forces with MSR (Matt Stone Racing) for 2025 Supercars Championship. This exciting collaboration sees Hydraulink branding featured on Cameron Hill's car throughout the season, reinforcing the company’s commitment to high-performance engineering and reliability.”

🏍️ “Kawasaki, a brand synonymous with motorcycle racing for over 60 years, is the new naming rights partner of the Australian Supersport Championship. Kawasaki’s commitment to the championship comes at a thrilling time for the Supersport class, which has undergone a massive rejuvenation in recent years as well as continuing to be a major feeder category for the premier Superbike class.”

🏍️ “The 2025 Penrite ProMX Championship presented by AMX Superstores (ProMX) is adding a shade of green, with Kawasaki Australia to become the new naming rights partner of the MX1 class. Just days after announcing a major commitment to the 2025 Australian Superbike Championship, Kawasaki Australia has now followed suit in the motocross paddock as it doubles down on its support of Australia’s major motorcycle racing championships.”

🎙️ SHOUT Collective have announced two deals with Kayo Sports partnering with the Dyl & Friends and Bloke In A Bar podcasts for their respective footy seasons.

RENEWALS/UPGRADES

🏟️ “Queensland Country Bank has announced the extension of its naming rights sponsorship at Queensland Country Bank Stadium for a further four years, securing a decade-long partnership with Stadiums Queensland. Now entering the final year of the initial six-year term, Queensland Country Bank CEO Aaron Newman said the renewed agreement will extend until December 31, 2029, reinforcing their commitment to supporting world-class entertainment and sporting events in North Queensland.“

🎽 “The Port Adelaide Football Club is proud to announce MG Motor Australia has extended its major partnership with the club for a further three years. After initially signing with the club as part of MG's launch into the Australian market, the automotive brand has experienced significant growth and is now comfortably one of the country's best-selling car brands.“

🎽 “Delighted to announce our (Adelaide Crows) long-standing association with RAA will continue for another five years, with the Club’s official Member Partner extending its support! The latest deal ensures the iconic South Australian brand will remain as Premier Partner of the Club’s AFL and AFLW teams until the end of 2029.”

🎽 “The Brisbane Lions are excited to announce that The Advertising Works has jumped onboard for another three seasons, extending their time as a partner of the Club.”

👕 “The nib Newcastle Knights and McDonald Jones Homes are excited to announce the extension of their partnership until 2027, taking the relationship to beyond a decade.“

👕 “The Gold Coast Titans are thrilled to continue their partnership with Shine Lawyers as the club's official legal partner in 2025 after a successful first season together last year.”

🏁 “Supercars is pleased to announce the renewal of its long-standing partnership with PIRTEK. The extension of the agreement comes in a milestone year for PIRTEK, as 2025 marks the company’s 45th anniversary of operation. The partnership between PIRTEK and Supercars, which has been ongoing for 28 years, will see PIRTEK continue as the Official Hose, Pit Lane Fuel Hose and Pit Lane Air Hose Supplier of the Repco Supercars Championship for the next two years.“

🏁 “We’re (Tickford Racing) excited to continue our partnership with DBA for a fifth season, keeping performance at the forefront with Australia’s leading brake rotor manufacturer.”

🏍️ “Australian lubricants giant Penrite Oil has renewed its significant commitment to the ProMX Championship, and in 2025 will continue as naming rights partner for a fifth successive year.”

Want to make sure your latest sponsorship is featured? Let us know here for a shoutout in our weekly wrap-up and a chance at a feature in Deal of the Week.

Partnership Opportunities

🏀 Basketball Queensland - “Basketball in Queensland is on the rise, from grassroots to our stars of the future! BQ invests in our player and coach pathways to retain and develop our community members. Want to explore a partnership with Basketball Queensland? Complete an EOI via the link below!”

Keen to promote your current partnership opportunities? Reach out for a chat.

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