Agreed. Stobart have got a fantastic deal out of this and will be absolutely delighted. They agree to change the livery of 100 trailers, the cost of which is probably more than covered by Sky & Heinz paying them to have their logos on there, and in return they get 2 hours of almost constant advertising on primte time TV on a Friday night for the next 3 years. Whatever the total value of the advertising is that we receive, they will exceed that value in a matter of weeks.

Advertising and brand marketing is a strange thing though, how many potential Stobart customers haven't heard of them ? , or will be convinced to use them because of their SL association ?

It is more of a status symbol to them, than a customer winner

SL will benifit via subliminal type advertising in area's outside the heartlands , it isn' t a case of some body seeing a truck and instantly thinking " I'll watch that this week, " or I'll sign up to SKY for that , it is more subtle than that

Explain how no one will be any wiser after three years...

Quantify 'a few' and you'll have your answer.

Here's another angle. How much would it cost your club to advertise on six massive moving billboards for three years? Let's face it, all clubs market their product even if they simply rely on fans to wear their club colours around town. Few if any clubs will have considered sticking their colours on an articulated lorry but it will definitely be seen and by a lot of people. The back alone will have people gawping at it, possibly for ages if stuck in a queue.

We may never know how effective the next three years is or it may become clear very quickly. That's the risk of marketing anything. Could be a waste of time and money or could hook people left, right and centre. Time will tell but I think this is a good move because it's a necessary one. RL desparately needs some exposure, and Stobart is a very sound brand to be associated with.

Good point really. I guess time well tell.

Pretty sure Irn Bru lorries already mention they sponsor the Super League on Sky Sports....

... and they pay Sky for that privellege.

Stobart must be loving this deal

It is a good deal for Stobarts and Sky. Also in the longer term it could be good for all the clubs if the livery of the lorries with say for instance London my club has a contact etc on it. If all super league clubs have lorries with their details whizzing over the uk then it is free advertising. I am sure Gutterfax will expand further when the other side of the world wakes up.

How many Irn Bru lorries mention the Super League? I don't think I've even ever seen an Irn Bru lorry on the motorway!

It's a very poor comparison.

When Stobart say they have a 2,200-odd fleet, is that 2,200 in the UK? Or throughout Europe? Are they all lorries? Are some small trailers, etc.?

I think when people say it's only a small percentage of their fleet, we need to look at what the original number actually means first rather than assume that 1/22 Stobart lorries we see will be a SL one.

Which main sponsor would attract more 'partners' for SL Stobart or Betfair?

The RFL should still get a betting partner though but as a major sponsor with mass advertising (and don't see why that couldn't be expanded) Stobart should and hopefully will attract more sponsors to the game.

Well people take notice of Eddie Stobart wagons enough for some to spend their free time spotting them, so if they're prepared to do that...

Each to their own. but a strange hobby.

Assuming a "value" of £1million that's £3333 per club per year for a massive, mobile billboard. Less than the cost of a 1 page advert for 1 day in the Yorkshire Evening Post

As I wrote on the Broncos board. If there are lorries whizzing round the M25,M4,M1,M3, M23, and Main artery A roads like the A4, and A316,A315, South and North circulars then the Broncos have got a good deal. Upto each individual club to utilise this to its maximum potential.

Wasn't the Betfair deal worth 750,000 pounds?


Like many who are mocking the RFL and the game of rugby league on this thread, but hey ho.

I like the deal.
SL has a problem with image and profile.
I believe this will help to improve both.

Indeed. People have been moaning for years that SL lacks a national profile. This can only help "brand awareness".

But that's only going to happen if the SL lorries venture further than a few industrial estates up north

How do they get to them indests? hidden roads DOH

Irn Bru, i wonder which haulier has there distribution contract eh

So rugby league is the second most watched sport on sky sports behind football. We have a whole weekend where Super league dominates the channell for two days. A huge play-off series and grand final which gets massive viewing figures, Stobart will have their name next to all of these events along with everything on the internert, every time the competition gets mentioned... and all we have in return is 100 trucks. I can't believe we havn't got a penny. I could have negotiated a better deal than that, it is a disgrace. Yes the trucks look great but compare this to other deals in sport. Coventry City FC got 1million from their shirt sponsor! You telling me Cov City have a higher profile than super league? What are the RFL playing at? I assumed the trucks were part of the deal. It seems not that way.

No wonder we are so far behind Union when they are negotiating deals with Aviva worth 20million over 4 years.

The people at Stobart have pulled off the best deal in the history of sports business.

Yeah, well, you can do that when you get umpteen pages of exposure in the national press every week (including the off season). However, rugby league doesn't. Which is why rugby league needs 100 trucks and rugby union can pull off a four year deal with Aviva worth £20 million.

PS: Not only is RL the second most watched sport on Sky behind Premiership soccer, it's the fourth biggest televised sport period. You wouldn't know it though by the amount of press attention we get.

That is a small part of it. I honestly think I could have negotiated a good deal. Super league is actually a brilliant league to sponsor, the RFL need to tell people about it. Sell it. They clearly have not done a good job of that. I don't think 20million is realistic, the RFU have pulled a rabbitt out of the hat but we can certainly be getting a few million for a great product with such great TV coverage.

Please do tell us, how would you negotiate a better deal? Tell us your pitch? How you'd go about approaching companies, etc.

Twice you've said this, so it's not just a throw-away comment.

Being a University student I don't have time to put together a pitch to post on a message board just to prove a point. What I will tell you is this is the stuff I study. I had a chat just today with one of the most important people in the country in sports business. He was the first on BBC news when Real Madrid signed Ronaldo because they wanted his opinion. Speaking to him about this deal, he found it shocking.

Either way, do you honestly think 100 trucks was the best the RFL could do for the kind of coverage Stobart will now receive? Is that a fair deal? Stobart have pulled off a stunning deal for their company. Super League has got some free advertising which looks ok on the face of it but shocking compared to other sponsorship deals in all areas of sport. Like I said, Coventry City FC got a million pound deal just from their shirt sponsor. If Coventry City can do that I'm sure super league deserves quite a bit more. Super league gets a lot more coverage than Coventry City FC.

How on earth can the RFL suggest this is a good deal compared to other 'current' deals within proffesional sport? They can't.

I suspect the RFL set their targets too low which gave them little room for negotiating, actually, thats a lie, that is what the experts at Coventry University think. I am inclined to agree.

While my original post seems to suggest I am some kind of 'know it all'... I am not at all. But I will agree with people who research sponsorship and work in this area. I am merely studying it. I have ambition to work in Marketing within RL and sort it out