And spend it on... Don't forget eveb £100,000 more would be just over £7,000 more per club! Free nationwide advertising (which could attract additional sponsors) will be of greater benefit to all.

Maybe the RFL have realised that like there franchise model ideas, it's not all about the quick fix!

P.s. What about the other 4 SL clubs?

I hope Mr Hughes voted for the Stobart deal. Long term the Stobart deal could be very good.

Not 100% sure on this but aren't there proposals to ban gambling website sponsorship / advertisement or at least to restrict it?

Could have been a factor.

People complain about the lack of advertising. But when we affectively have paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to advertise, people are complaining we haven't taken the money. So the RFL can't win here.

I'm not sure how much this sort of advertising is worth in order to compare a monetary value of the Stobart deal with BetFair, but when you consider it's "as little as £29 a day" to advertise on the side of the motorway (according to Google), then to get 300 adverts year-round at that price would cost £3,175,500. For £1.2m (equivalent of engage deal), we'd only get 113 billboards at £29 a day all year. And if you value Stobart's deal at £1.2m, we're getting advertising at £11 a day for each truck.

If that's a fair comparison, then that's a tremendous deal we've got.

The distance travelled by Stobart lorries in one day is equivalent to 24 laps of the earth. Must be a tiny company

They might have REALLY fast lorries!

You are me and I claim my fiver



BTW,


It all depends where the advert is placed. There was a time (pre 200icon_cool.gif when the "torch", a billboard at the end of the M4 retailed at £250,000 a month!!!

This current sponsorship deal brings more to the table than Engage did (or betfair would) IMO and the fact that there were at least 2 interested parties is another positive.

And remember - Stobart's have their own (admittedly very, very boring) TV programme on Channel 5.

Well i hope i'm wrong about the Stobart deal, i just have my doubts that people seeing a Stobarts lorry with say, for example a
picture of Jamie Peacock on the A1 near Edinburgh would generate enough interest to gain new supporters. The only way the sport will get proper national exposure is more coverage on national television imo.

You would hope that the Stobarts exposure will make that more likely, if the other option had been 100/200 Grand + , then perhaps, but 50 K each ( the equivilant of 1 players contract ) isn't, or shouldn't be that important

Exactly, which is why I said "at least". I was using the lowest possible price to highlight how great a deal it could potentially be advertising wise.

I can understand some of the clubs' issues though with regard to no physical money for the deal. The RFL are basically using what is their money to advertise (basically they don't get a choice in the matter). Don't the RFL have a budget set aside for this sort of advertising? Should the clubs get at least a little something in return?

I think the deal is far better than the BetFair deal, but apparently our chairman is the leader of a group of clubs to speak out against the deal!

..........especially if the RFL get clever and include a text to win number on the livery.....data collection and all that!!!!!!

Do people actually text these things?! I mean, yeah some people must as they wouldn't keep doing it, but I've never actually met anyone that has done it (or admitted it at least!).

Quote ="Wellsy13"Do people actually text these things?! I mean, yeah some people must as they wouldn't keep doing it, but I've never actually met anyone that has done it (or admitted it at least!).'" In about 2003, I knew of 1 guy who was delivering in excess of 400,000 SMS messages a day to random numbers telling people they had won 1500 notes or a prize to that value.....to collect, they had to dial 090......... Now, if he was paying 2.5 p per text including data and delivery, then he was spending 10k a day........an 0900....number at a 1.50 a minute rate, pays out at about 1.15 after Vodafone take their cut, so he would need, so to round it up, say 9,000 minutes. Each call lasted 4.5 minutes, so he needed 2,000 people from 400,000 to respond, or half a percent response rate to break even..... ....the point of this story? After 1 month, he paid for his Mercedes SL55 AMG in cash........so to answer your question, yes, people do text in I digress.....a text to win competition could be for for something like a family holiday to Disneyland. Once someone enters, they receive a reply saying that to complete their entry, they have to attend an ESL game and that they can buy a discounted ticket at www.stobartextleague.co.uk and enter their code....... ...you get name, address, mobile, email and team of choice all for giving up a 10% discount on a match day ticket. No limit on the number of times you can enter...........

Quote ="Wellsy13"Do people actually text these things?! I mean, yeah some people must as they wouldn't keep doing it, but I've never actually met anyone that has done it (or admitted it at least!).'" In about 2003, I knew of 1 guy who was delivering in excess of 400,000 SMS messages a day to random numbers telling people they had won 1500 notes or a prize to that value.....to collect, they had to dial 090......... Now, if he was paying 2.5 p per text including data and delivery, then he was spending 10k a day........an 0900....number at a 1.50 a minute rate, pays out at about 1.15 after Vodafone take their cut, so he would need, so to round it up, say 9,000 minutes. Each call lasted 4.5 minutes, so he needed 2,000 people from 400,000 to respond, or half a percent response rate to break even..... ....the point of this story? After 1 month, he paid for his Mercedes SL55 AMG in cash........so to answer your question, yes, people do text in I digress.....a text to win competition could be for for something like a family holiday to Disneyland. Once someone enters, they receive a reply saying that to complete their entry, they have to attend an ESL game and that they can buy a discounted ticket at www.stobartextleague.co.uk and enter their code....... ...you get name, address, mobile, email and team of choice all for giving up a 10% discount on a match day ticket. No limit on the number of times you can enter...........

Quote ="gutterfax"In about 2003, I knew of 1 guy who was delivering in excess of 400,000 SMS messages a day to random numbers telling people they had won 1500 notes or a prize to that value.....to collect, they had to dial 090......... Now, if he was paying 2.5 p per text including data and delivery, then he was spending 10k a day........an 0900....number at a 1.50 a minute rate, pays out at about 1.15 after Vodafone take their cut, so he would need, so to round it up, say 9,000 minutes. Each call lasted 4.5 minutes, so he needed 2,000 people from 400,000 to respond, or half a percent response rate to break even..... ....the point of this story? After 1 month, he paid for his Mercedes SL55 AMG in cash........so to answer your question, yes, people do text in I digress.....a text to win competition could be for for something like a family holiday to Disneyland. Once someone enters, they receive a reply saying that to complete their entry, they have to attend an ESL game and that they can buy a discounted ticket at www.stobartextleague.co.uk and enter their code....... ...you get name, address, mobile, email and team of choice all for giving up a 10% discount on a match day ticket. No limit on the number of times you can enter...........'" Gutters when can you come back and give Our lot in TW2 a hand

Quote ="gutterfax"In about 2003, I knew of 1 guy who was delivering in excess of 400,000 SMS messages a day to random numbers telling people they had won 1500 notes or a prize to that value.....to collect, they had to dial 090......... Now, if he was paying 2.5 p per text including data and delivery, then he was spending 10k a day........an 0900....number at a 1.50 a minute rate, pays out at about 1.15 after Vodafone take their cut, so he would need, so to round it up, say 9,000 minutes. Each call lasted 4.5 minutes, so he needed 2,000 people from 400,000 to respond, or half a percent response rate to break even..... ....the point of this story? After 1 month, he paid for his Mercedes SL55 AMG in cash........so to answer your question, yes, people do text in I digress.....a text to win competition could be for for something like a family holiday to Disneyland. Once someone enters, they receive a reply saying that to complete their entry, they have to attend an ESL game and that they can buy a discounted ticket at www.stobartextleague.co.uk and enter their code....... ...you get name, address, mobile, email and team of choice all for giving up a 10% discount on a match day ticket. No limit on the number of times you can enter...........'" Gutters when can you come back and give Our lot in TW2 a hand

Exactly. Plus as the franchise system still showed most clubs would probably just take the extra cash down under to throw at someone.

You'd certainly think the Stobart deal has more potential for further partnership developments on coming years too.

So if each club gets 6 lorries each who decides which route each lorry takes?, and will it be on rota system so each club gets a chance to advertise their truck through an area of possible opportunities?.

Could there be a fall out if clubs get get preferential routes over others?. I'm guessing the London Broncos trucks would get the south east corner of the country...would the Hull clubs get the East coast etc?

Not to mention how the trucks will actually look...going to be interesting, who will start the first truck spotting thread?

The trucks will cause havoc on the cobbled streets of Lancashire.

No doubt it'll be the RFL's fault if one is involved in a pile-up.

The RFL response would include something along the lines of RL being a "collision sport"...

Bloody hell.

Well done SL, get them Trucks (sorry, Lorries) painted up.

Stobart Group secures titles rights to Super League

Stobart Group, the UK leader in transport and distribution, has partnered with Super League in a cross-marketing deal to secure title naming rights to Rugby League’s elite club competition.

The new agreement, which will run until the end of the 2014 season, will see the competition become the Stobart Super League with the Stobart brand featuring prominently across all 14 clubs.

In a pioneering new partnership focusing on exposure and promoting greater awareness of the game, the newly-designed Stobart Super League artwork will adorn 100 trailers of the company’s famous red and green trucks, with an Eddie Stobart vehicle passed, on average, every 4.5 minutes when driving on the UK’s major roads.

Each of the 14 clubs will have trailers branded with images of their players and team colours.

Commenting on the new partnership, Super League Chairman Richard Lewis said: “The deal with Stobart is excellent for the Super League clubs and the competition as a whole.

“The Super League clubs turned down other offers and took a strategic view that the brand values of Stobart are closely matched to those of Rugby League.

“The Super League clubs are excited by the multi-layered sponsorship that services the game and the competition on a number of levels in a way never seen before.”

Stobart Chief Executive Andrew Tinkler said: “Eddie Stobart has become a Superbrand due to the public exposure of our 2,250 trucks, driving millions of miles each week.

“Now we can help build the Super League brand and promote Rugby League and its brilliant clubs through the exposure our fleet and Superbrand status offers.”

He added: “We have a successful history with the game through our relationship with Widnes Vikings, and believe there is a strong affiliation between the Stobart brand and the army of Rugby League fans. We can’t wait for the Stobart Super League to get started and for our new branded trailers to hit the road.”

The partnership will dovetail alongside a new five-year television contract with leading broadcaster Sky Sports, which will see up to 70 televised games each season, starting with Widnes Vikings versus Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on Friday February 3 2012.

Rugby League continues to be a major feature in the Sky Sports portfolio as the most watched domestic league outside of football, and the fourth most popular televised sport in Britain.



The Stobart Super League is launched on Wednesday February 1 with a convoy of branded Eddie Stobart trucks driving from Widnes to Old Trafford.

The first televised game of the new season will take place on Friday February 3 at Stobart Stadium, between Widnes Vikings and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (8.00pm).

The lorries look brilliant. Publicity the length and breadth of Britain.