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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 

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30th October 2024

Deal of the week

Bellerive Oval (Cricket Tas) x SharkNinja

Brand: SharkNinja

HQ: USA

Category: Appliances

Deal type: New

Tier: Stadium Naming Rights

Context:

Last month, SharkNinja replaced Liberty as the naming rights partner of the A-League Women, in its first major sponsorship move in the Australian market. At the time, we discussed the Appliances category and the implications of the deal (read here).

This week, SharkNinja announced an expansion to their portfolio, signing a deal with Cricket Tasmania for the naming rights of Bellerive Oval, which will now become Ninja Stadium. The deal includes apparel assets with the Hobart Hurricanes WBBL and BBL teams.

What this latest deal means for SharkNinja and the Appliance category:

Before the Bellerive Oval deal, SharkNinja accounted for 15% of sponsorship spend from Appliances brands. This deal will propel them into 2nd overall, above Fujitsu and only behind Hisense.

Before the deal:

SharkNinja’s sponsorship of A-Leagues made them the dominant player over the summer period, with competitors mostly favouring winter properties.

Through Football’s geographically balanced audience, SharkNinja was able to achieve a relatively balanced share of sponsorship investment across the major states. This is not the case for their competitors, whose activity in either AFL or NRL properties creates significant imbalances state-by-state. E.g. Hisense (NRL) skews heavily toward NSW and QLD, whilst TCL (AFL) reaches VIC, WA, SA and TAS fans.

What the Bellerive Oval deal does for SharkNinja:

Bellerive Oval’s audience profile is a near-perfect complement to SharkNinja’s current portfolio:

• Further entrenching their dominance of summer audiences, through the venue’s extensive Cricket content (particularly BBL/WBBL).

• At the same time, providing winter content (AFL matches) allowing them to reach sports fans year-round.

• Growing their national footprint with a deal that disproportionately reaches Tasmanians and Victorians, two of their weakest markets.

With QLD now the weakest market for SharkNinja, could a club deal in the Sunshine State be next on their agenda? A Brisbane Lions AFLW partnership would provide coverage during the September/October shoulder season (currently a quiet period for SharkNinja’s partner properties).

Finally, having opened an office in Australia just over 12 months ago, it is clear that SharkNinja is seeking brand awareness and recognition as they look to take on more established competitors. Naming Rights partnerships provide great bang-for-buck in this regard, delivering outsized mentions in media relative to other sponsorship types.

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Other notable deals

NEW

🏟️ 🏏 Cricket Tasmania has announced that Bellerive Oval will become Ninja Stadium, with Appliances company SharkNinja brought on as its new naming rights partner. The deal includes apparel assets with the Hobart Hurricanes WBBL and BBL teams.

🏏 The Melbourne Renegades have announced RMIT University as the new Major Partner of their WBBL team for the upcoming season.

🏏 Sydney Thunder have announced a new partnership with Chinese automaker, Chery, as the club’s Official Vehicle Partner for WBBL10 and BBL14.

🏁 Supercars has announced that global energy drink brand, Monster Energy, has signed on as the Official Energy Drink of the Repco Supercars Championship.

🏀 The WNBL has secured a significant partnership with Ford Dealers Network ahead of the 2024-25 season.

🏀 Chilled pasta and sauce brand Latina Fresh joins WNBL as Major Partner ahead of 24/25 season

⚽️ Adelaide United has announced Foodland Supermarkets as Community Partner and the official naming rights sponsor for Coopers Stadium’s Family Park for the 2024/25 Season.

⚽️ Melbourne City has announced a new partnership with Vitasoy, one of Australia’s leading plant-based food and beverage brands, ahead of the 2024/25 A-League season. Vitasoy’s logo will feature on the front of the Men’s shorts and training kit sleeves, as well as across LED signage at AAMI Park on match days.

🏉 Geelong Cats have announced a partnership with Birkenstock Australia Pty Ltd.

🏉 TAB has extended with the New Zealand Warriors, securing a partnership that will now run through to the end of the 2029 season.

⚽️ Western United has partnered with another academic institution in Western Sydney with Good News Lutheran College joining as a Community School Partner.

RENEWALS

🏁 Boost Mobile has officially extended its partnership with the Repco Supercars Championship through 2025, which includes continuing as the naming rights sponsor for the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500. Additionally, Boost Mobile will continue its support of Supercars qualifying sessions with the Boost Mobile Pole Award.

⚽️ Chemist Warehouse has recommitted to the Wellington Phoenix, re-joining as a Premium Partner. Their logo will continue to feature on the back of the shirts for both the men's and women's teams for the next three A-Leagues seasons.

⚽️ Sydney FC has renewed its partnership with property developer Billbergia for a fourth consecutive year. Billbergia will continue as the sleeve sponsor for the A-League Women’s team and the back-of-shorts sponsor for the Sydney FC Youth Academy teams under a new one-year agreement.

⚽️ Adelaide United has announced that Comwire IT has increased and expanded its partnership to become the naming rights sponsor of their premium hospitality offering

🏃‍♀️ Chemist Warehouse has reaffirmed its commitment to Australian athletics, signing a five-year partnership agreement with Athletics Australia, continuing its support of athletes across all levels, nation-wide.

🏉 Men’s clothing retailer Hallensteins has extended and broadened its commitment as the New Zealand Warriors’ official fashion partner. The partnership has been extended until 2026.

🏉 Elastoplast have confirmed that they have re-signed with the South Sydney Rabbitohs as their exclusive sports tape supplier.

🏉 The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have announced that local company M&J Chickens will continue their long-standing partnership with the Club for the next three years.

🏏 The Sydney Sixers have announced that the club will continue their partnership with home access solution specialists, Merlin, across the WBBL10 and BBL14 seasons.

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