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This Week in Sponsorship
BYD accelerates into sponsorship
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!
13th November 2024
Deal of the week
Sydney Roosters x BYD
Brand: BYD
HQ: China
Category: Auto
Deal type: New
Tier: 1 (Major)
Context: The Sydney Roosters have announced BYD as the Club’s new Major partner, in a five-year deal. The brand will take the shirt front asset of both the Roosters’ NRL and NRLW teams.
Auto Category
100k new cars are sold each month in Australia, in a fiercely contested category, with over 10 brands competing for 75% of the market.
There has been particularly strong growth in sales for electric vehicle manufacturers e.g. MG and GWM, both now cemented in the top-10 car brands for new sales in Australia.
Almost all major car brands are active in sponsorship, with objectives to drive consideration and preference in the 100K purchases made each month.
Auto Sponsorship
Auto is the largest sponsorship category in Australia, at 8% of all sponsorship spend.
This is driven by Tier 1 deals such as Toyota x AFL, Kia x AO, and Isuzu Ute x A-Leagues, plus strong competition in Clubland, especially in AFL.
Toyota and Kia currently dominate share of sponsorship with these deals, creating an excess share of voice to protect and grow their share of market. Both brands have grown their share in the last 12 months.
Toyota and KIA dominate sponsorship, beyond their market share
How to grow sponsorship share
The most efficient way to grow sponsorship share is to target areas where there are fewer competitors.
Auto category share: % of all sponsorship investment from Auto category
Auto is under-represented in Rugby League (with Kia at Tier 2 with the NRL, and fewer Clubland deals than AFL). The category is also under-represented in NSW, due to the skew of the above fanbases, and fewer club deals (despite Chery signing with the Sixers and Thunder last month).
Auto Market Map, by State
This under-investment means that a NSW-based NRL club provides ideal opportunity to quickly gain sponsorship share amongst NRL fans and NSW residents.
With the Roosters, BYD will become one of the most prominent Auto sponsors in the NRL, with c. 10% sponsorship share. This is in contrast to Chery, with a similar sized deal, but joining a more cluttered AFL environment, helping compete with other Auto brands, but at 4% sponsorship share.
Furthermore, BYD will occupy the major asset of one of the most-watched teams in the country, providing a particularly strong platform to reach fans. They also allow a new market entrant to become embedded into Australian sporting culture.
Growth in action
Chery provides an ideal case study for a new market entrant, growing their online search by 73% in the first year of their St Kilda partnership (sales data not public).
Chery has further backed its sponsorship strategy with a new partnership with CNSW – this time reaching Cricket fans, in NSW and in summer, providing an ideal complement to their St Kilda activity.
Google search for Chery
BYD is already one of the fastest-growing car brands in Australia. The partnership provides them with the platform to further grow their penetration in the Australian market.
Further implications
Hyundai was previously the Auto partner of the Roosters - effectively using Club partnerships for a presence in multiple States and multiple Leagues. The Roosters partnership was their only presence in NRL and NSW, which may make a rival team appealing.
Sponsorship Matrix, by State and Code (Oct 2024)
Elsewhere, WA provides particularly clean air for an Auto partner, with Mitsubishi’s recent deal with the Wildcats the only partnership in the State (in sharp contrast to SA, with major partnerships for Toyota x Crows and MG x Port).
Overall, the BYD x Roosters deal grows Auto’s lead as the most valuable sponsorship category, yet many vacancies remain for new entrants to compete, or existing brands to protect their share.
For more on the Auto category, or a demo of the Scout Platform, drop us a note.
Other notable deals
NEW
🏉 The NRL has welcomed JD Sports as the official Presenting Partner of Rugby League Las Vegas for seasons 2025 and 2026, as well as becoming the Official Sports Retail Partner of the NRL Premiership.
🏉 The South Sydney Rabbitohs announced a new deal with AirTouch as the Head Coach, air-conditioning and smart home partner, marking the first time AirTouch has partnered with an NRL club.
🏉 Essendon has agreed a four-year deal with PUMA as the Official Apparel Partner of Essendon’s AFL team and the Official Footwear Partner of both the men’s and women’s programs.
🏉 Gold Coast Suns announced a three-year partnership with Zambrero as the club’s exclusive quick service restaurant partner and will feature on the top-back of the club’s 2025 playing and training guernseys.
⚽️ Also in QSR, Brisbane Roar welcomed Australia’s fastest-growing fast-food company Guzman y Gomez (GYG) on board as a club Official Partner for the 2024/25 season.
🏏Melbourne Stars announced five:am Organic Yoghurt as the Platinum Partner for WBBL|10, on the back of the Stars WBBL jersey and across LED signage.
🏏Sydney Sixers announced a new partnership with tech-driven pool-cleaning brand Aiper, serving as a Major Partner of the club’s BBL side.
🏏Hobart Hurricanes has partnered with TasWater as the official hydration partner of the W/BBL teams for the coming season, featuring on kit, team eskies and venue signage.
🏐 Queensland Firebirds have signed BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) as the Foundation Partner of the Queensland Firebirds Futures Academy (QFFA).
RENEWALS
🏀 NBL will enter its seventh season in partnership with Bunnings Warehouse, with the return of the Backing Ballers program.
🏉 NSW Waratahs Women has extended its partnership with Knight Frank for a further three years.
⚽️ Melbourne Victory confirmed that RUBIX. has returned as the Club’s Official Data Partner for the 2024/25 season, following a successful first year of collaboration.
⚽️ Sydney FC announced the renewal of their partnership with Labour Connect - Recruitment Services
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