AFL & NRL long-term growth plans, overlooked benefits of major sports events, marketing genius from Puma

Mar 27, 2024

Today’s lineup:

The AFL and NRL are significantly investing in their long-term growth plans
There are major benefits often overlooked when measuring the ROI of government investment in major sports events
“Marketing genius from the team at PUMA” - Saturday Scoop Channel 7

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OMO extended their partnership with Sydney Swans

Marsh extended their partnership with the AFL, throwing its support behind the AFL’s national talent pathways system

La Vida Homes became the principal partner of Perth Glory for the next 3 years

Jim Beam increased their support to the Newcastle Knights to appear on the back of shorts

SIXT Australia became a major partner of GIANTS Netball, signing for 2 years

Nick Kyrgios became an ambassador of UNLCKD

Mary Fowler became an ambassador of Weet-Bix, joining other Australian Weet-Bix family members such as Brett Lee, Ellyse Perry, Alex de Minaur and Josh Giddey

The AFL’s new team, Tasmania Devils have almost reached 170,000 foundation members

The $225 million upgrade to Marvel Stadium is complete

Network 10's coverage of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix reached 3.2 million fans

Bastion announced that they’re launching Project32 - “A revolutionary athlete development program that goes beyond traditional partnerships”

Juventus and TikTok Italia joined forces to promote women’s soccer

Nike’s new deal is controversially ending German soccer’s 70-year relationship with Adidas

The AFL & NRL are significantly investing in their long-term growth plans

Both codes reported record-breaking revenues in 2023:

AFL: $1.07 billion
NRL: $701 million

...and now both codes are pursuing varying growth strategies to continue this trajectory.

The NRL are making an ambitious move by reportedly committing $200 million over the coming 5 years to grow the game in the USA, by opening their season in Las Vegas' $2 billion ($3b AUD) Allegiant Stadium.

The aim of this new expansion initiative is to create new fans, generate new revenue streams via broadcast, sponsorship, ticket sales, corporate hospitality and capture a share of the $30 billion US sports betting market - Here’s everything you need to know.

The NRL has just released some positive results post their 1st-year double-header season launch:

Match attendance

40,746 – a record for a rugby league game on American soil

TV broadcast: Fox Sports 1 (US)

61,000 average viewership for Manly vs Rabbitohs
44,000 average viewership for Roosters vs Broncos

*These are the 2 most watched NRL matches in the US on record

Media coverage

100 pieces of US media coverage was secured during event week and post event across some of US media’s biggest names including New York Post, Associated Press, Forbes, Fox News, Fox Sports, Washington Post, ESPN, ABC

The NRL CEO, Andrew Abdo has labelled the 1st year as “quite remarkable” and has committed to being “even bolder and bigger” in Las Vegas in 2025.

📽 Below: Faux outdoor post in the lead up to the NRL's historic season opener via NRL Instagram

Meanwhile, the AFL are investing heavily in NSW & QLD...

Whilst the NRL focused their efforts in Las Vegas, the AFL launched its opening round in the NRL's NSW and QLD heartland's, selling out all 4 of their matches.

Attendance:

Sydney Swans vs Melbourne - 40,0012
Brisbane Lions vs Carlton - 33,367
Gold Coast Suns vs Richmond - 22,086
GWS Giants vs Collingwood - 21,235

Jimmy Bartel joked about the scenario:

“While you go on holidays, we’ll rob your house.”

The AFL have also recently announced that they’re investing $1 billion in game development and community initiatives to reach 1 million registered participants by 2033 - A significant proportion of this funding will be focused on growing the game in NSW and QLD.

In addition, the AFL's broadcast partner, Seven Network will also be extending coverage further in NSW and QLD this year.

The competition to capture new fans is healthy, and so are the financials of each code.

There are major benefits often overlooked when measuring the ROI of government investment in major sports events...

Major sports events such as the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and Australian Open deliver brand value to its host.

These events have captive audiences across the globe - Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, Middle East etc, and their broadcast partners ensure that coverage is beamed into millions of living rooms within 100’s of countries around the world.

Whether it’s through an integration, or showing Melbourne's city skyline in the background, the broadcast acts in a similar way that a traditional advertisement would – it puts Melbourne in the spotlight and showcases everything it has to offer with relevance and high-reach & frequency. This keeps Melbourne top-of-mind and builds the city’s brand on a global scale.

Major sports events reinforce Melbourne's positioning as a world-class city...

Melbourne is only 1 of 4 major cities that has the privilege of hosting a tennis Grand Slam - the others are London, Paris and New York. By being part of this exclusive list of hosts, Melbourne positions itself as one of the best cities in the world.

The same scenario exists with the F1 Grand Prix circuit, where hosting rights are reserved for some of the world’s most premium destinations.

Major sports events create future demand for tourism...

Not everyone watching the broadcast will be ready and willing to visit Melbourne immediately, but as a result of the broadcast exposure the host city receives, and the associated positive perceptions it generates, many fans will feel much more inclined to visit down the track.

Every year there's public debate around whether government spending on the F1 Grand Prix and Australian Open are worth it

To justify investment, reports and debate are usually centered around:

The number of visitors it attracts domestically and internationally
The total amount visitors spend on the local economy via travel, accommodation, bars & restaurants etc.
The number of jobs created

A study by NAB reported that the 2024 Australian Open injected $482m into Melbourne’s accommodation, hospitality, and tourism sectors.

In this recent ABC article, it was reported that the economic impact of the 2023 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix has been calculated at an estimated $268m.

These numbers are highly important metrics, but they don't tell the whole story

As a country, Australia is privileged to host major sports events that far exceed our population and economic rank, and this delivers major reputational benefits that have positive flow-on effects that go far beyond pure-economic ones such as political power & diplomacy, trade & migration, community spirit etc.

In order to effectively measure the ROI of hosting major sports events, its important to look beyond the direct & short-term economic benefits, and consider the long-term bigger picture.

“Marketing genius from the team at PUMA”

- Saturday Scoop Channel 7

In the lead up to round 1, PUMA executed a highly successful PR-stunt via creative agency Bursty, that leveraged their new partnership with the West Coast Eagles’ number 1 draft pick, Harley Reid…

The mass-hype and media coverage around Harley Reid in Western Australia has been unprecedented – in the lead up to round 1, he’d been featured 30+ times on the back pages of Western Australian newspapers.

For a young and inexperienced player, this level of media exposure creates unnecessary pressure and high-expectations.

PUMA have recently entered into a new partnership with Harley Reid

They wanted to leverage this but didn’t want to add to the pressure, and needed to stay true to their brand’s mission of pushing sports and culture forward.

The execution

PUMA took out a full-page ad on the back of The Sunday Times, with the simple message “Good Luck Mate”.

Puma black out back page of The Sunday Times ahead of Harley Reid's West Coast Eagles debut | The West Australian — Image: The West Australian

The back-page buy was supported by this social media video clip (video below).

The result

PUMA’s simple message spread quickly, and landed them extensive coverage across social media and 100+ news articles including:

Fox Sports
News.com.au
Fox Footy
7 News
7 AFL’s Post Match Show
The Sunday Footy Show
Footy Classified
3AW
SEN
Perth Now
The West Australian

The ad was further amplified via football commentators such as Kane Cornes, Jason Dunstall, Tom Morris, Adrian Barich and Sam Edmund.

"A unique act of support" - Fox Footy

This message demonstrated PUMA's mission of "supporting the next generation" of athletes.

It's a great example of how a simple, creative and meaningful idea can generate earned and organic reach on a mass-scale, replacing the need for a large advertising budget.