Official Club Stuff It's Official - New Joint Major Sponsor MG

[Lockhart Road]

Can you div ulge numbers RussellEbertHandball? What is the sponsorship worth in $?

Depends entirely on how many MG cars we sell.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Can you div ulge numbers RussellEbertHandball? What is the sponsorship worth in $?

I haven't been told the numbers by any Port official but I have heard from someone who has a deep throat at the club, that it averages at about $1.3m/year, but that includes the commissions like we got with Renault, ie cars sold to members, and a commission paid is part of the deal

I didn't ask Andrew because he told me he wants to come on bigfooty and mention that I helped, so I figured if I didn't ask, I wouldn't be breaching any confidence.

 

[OneGreatClub]

Hopefully more to come

Yes please!!!

 

[Boxx]

Has anyone approached the Holden dealership in Port Adelaide about becoming a MG dealer?

 

[Lockhart Road]

Has anyone approached the Holden dealership in Port Adelaide about becoming a MG dealer?

LIKE!

You mean dealerships plural.

 

[Zakk Wylde]

RussellEbertHandball Lockhart Road

 

[GremioPower]

GOOD MORNING!

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Can you div ulge numbers RussellEbertHandball? What is the sponsorship worth in $?

I haven't been told the numbers by any Port official but I have heard from someone who has a deep throat at the club, that it averages at about $1.3m/year, but that includes the commissions like we got with Renault, ie cars sold to members, and a commission paid is part of the deal and that calculation is for the numbers we were selling of Renaults.

I didn't ask Andrew because he told me he wants to come on Bigfooty and mention that I helped, so I figured if I didn't ask, I wouldn't be breaching any confidence.

 

[PowerBaz]

It was part of the idea. The idea I pitched at Andrew, after LR made a suggestion about Darren being Port's MG Ambassador for the MG car clubs around Oz, but it sent my mind racing off in a different direction, was that we use everyone in the Port Adelaide Network to win this deal.

Before Christmas the corporate team had done a great job and over time had knocked out Collingwood and Richmond, but we were still up against the South Sydney Rabbitohs going into Christmas.

The Oz HQ of MG Motor Australia is in O'Riordan St Alexandria about 3 km from South Sydney's training base at Redfern Oval, the Sydney 2IC driving the sponsorship deal, is a Sydney guy and was looking for a big AFL club or an NRL club to sign up with.

In late November, the 2nd meeting with Andrew Hunter, I said we need to get a car sponsor back on board and I had been looking at the SAIC Maxus and the T60 Dual Cab Ute- which in Oz and NZ is marketed as LDV T60 Dual Cab Ute and on advice from a mate who got one a couple of months earlier, and is a car guy, did own 15 cars at one time, said they are great $$$ value, their 7 year warranty was outstanding and as SAIC have done JV's with VW and GM, so they have a VW chassis base and use their technology.

After raising them with Andrew, he said we were talking to a car company in the SAIC group so I stopped my pitch and he said but its tough as we are up against Collingwood and Richmond. Later in the meeting he said we were also against another club from another football code.

It was when we met at a cafe in the Port just before Christmas, that he said we had knocked out the AFL clubs and revealed the Rabbitohs were the other football code club and that MG was the SAIC division we were pitching to.

So from Christmas to early January I did some homework on MG, and more on parent company SAIC.

On the 6th Jan LR sent me an article about MG from news.com.au that was someone asking for advice about buying a MG, the car guy praised MG, LR said send it to Andrew. I did, he forwarded it to the corporate team. Later that day the annual car sales VFacts figures came out for 2019 confirming MG's boom year as well as LDV T60 and other Chinese brands had big years and sent that to Andrew. Then LR mentioned Darren and MG to me.

I then drafted up an email saying January in Oz is tennis and cycling months and said lets get all our tennis and cycling ambassadors into MG gear, get them onto social media, be it wearing a hat or t-shirt or even some vision of them driving an MG car, and say to MG, look we are keen see what we can do and we aren't even signed yet.

Said get Darren Cahill about wearing an MG T-shirt and/or hat whilst he is at the Adelaide International Tennis event and at The Australian Open, said see if he would ask Simona Halep if she would wear a T-shirt and/or a hat a couple of times whilst she is having a hit up with Darren at each event. This is more sensitive, but Darren would be able to coordinate this. Simona has 350k twitter followers and 1.4 million Instagram followers. Talk to Roger Rasheed, Thanasi Kokkinakis and any other Port person involved with Tennis to wear a T-shirt and/or a hat a few times over January when tennis coverage is on.

I had seen a story on 9's Sunday Tennis show about the Kia car drivers at Australian Open, they interviewed the guy who drive Nadal around, the first year, then Nadal said you have to be my driver every year, and has been for another 14 years. So looked up and saw there were no official car supplier for the Adelaide International event. Said when the Adelaide event is on, we add to the pitch that the club hires an MG and either gives it to Darren to drive around, with Simona to the tennis and around town, or Roger Rasheed does the driving or hire a driver for them both. They drive to, and get pictures of the spot and MG car in the background, or them standing by the car with the tourism object in the background eg The Cube restaurant at Mclaren Vale run by d'Arenberg, and do a crossover promo for the state and MG. Reciprocal Externalities as the economists call it.

And do something similar in Melbourne for the Oz open.

TDU race organiser is Mike Turtur. 2020 is his final year. Stuart O'Grady will take over after this years event is over. Both are big Port supporters. Get them to do something different as well as wearing MG merchandise.

In January there is the national road race championship in Victoria, then the TDU in Adelaide and then the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. if Stuie is there to do some work on TV and or observations outside the TDU, ask him if he will help with some MG branding image at those other cycling events as well. Same if we have other ambassador types who are involved with cycling - eg Anna Meares. from my email;

The basic pitch our corporate guys should be saying to MG is -
1) We haven't won your sponsorship yet, but we want to show you how keen we are, and what we can do for you.
2) We will use the Port Adelaide Network to show you the possibility in January.
3) If you like this idea, imagine how good it will be if we work with you 12 months a year, during footy season and even when there is no footy on.
4) Can the Rabbitohs do this for you? Are they smart enough to think outside the box to do this for you?

20 minutes later AH sent me a reply said he loved it, but didn't know if it was possible but would put it to the corporate team to discuss with MG. I followed up with a couple of emails of other things to do, maybe Darren doing interviews James Corden carpool karaoke style at the Aus Open and even get it shown on his ESPN tennis segments.

Thursday 9th, I get a call from AH saying Darren has agreed to it, Simona will get involved but it has to be subtle not to infringe on her Mercedes sponsorship and he was going into a meeting to set it all up. Following Tuesday is the video with Darren and Simona visiting Alberton. Thursday morning (16th) I get a text saying MG have agreed to sign up a JMS.

I was stunned as I thought this would take another couple of months to conclude. The corporate team had done a shitload of work, but showing what Port can do on an international level, meant MG stopped looking for reasons why not to sign with us.

If LR hadn't made that midnight phone call to me from the Pro Drinkers Corner in Happy Valley Hong Kong in early November, I would never have met Andrew, who wanted to find out what Bigfooty Port board members were thinking about the China strategy. LR said you have to talk to REH. And if Andrew didn't agree to meet and listen to many ideas I pitched at him, those who have read the China Part I thread know I have plenty of them, and now some of them are making traction, then I wouldn't have communicated any ideas to him and I doubt anyone would have been smart enough to say lets get Darren Cahill involved in the pitch.

We still could have won MG's signature as the corporate team had done a magnificent job to knock out Collingwood and Richmond, but the Rabbitohs had a big home ground advantage.

Make no mistake, the international aspect of Darren Cahill and his connections to the world tennis scene was critical to getting over the line when MG Sydney were looking for reasons not to sign up. Darren Cahill can make as a significant contribution to the PAFC over the next decade or longer as what old man Jack did over 4 decades.

Golf and Tennis are the sports of corporates. Tennis is massive in China, Tennis Australia has an office with 7 people in it in Shanghai another one with 3 people in Hong Kong and opening an office in Chengdu. Darren Cahill along with others, fit in very nicely to this network. The China and international links is what made us irresistible to MG and their parent company SAIC Motor.

This was a team effort.

Epic!

 

[Port85]

Amazing RussellEbertHandball and Lockhart Road !! You've made a significant contribution to the club (with this and many other things).

Thank you!

 

[DazalenkoUBewty]

Welcome aboard, MG.

 

[Marsh1870]

Used car salesman practicing his old skills.

View attachment tumblr_mebnsgWCZV1qh59n0o2_250.webp

 

[Janus]

Marginal Gains

 

[HighBudget]

What a remarkably dumb thing to say

Or it’s just the truth? Some people don’t like to lie

 

[Forzaport]

MG is GM backwards. Spooky.

 

[G3TWOTYAD3S3RV]

MG to replace Holdens at the Adelaide 500 yeah boiiii


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[bacharach]

Great sponsorship with one hell of a good looking logo, but the story behind it makes it 10x better. Great news and thanks for sharing REH

 

[GremioPower]

Or it’s just the truth? Some people don’t like to lie

Can you imagine the reason why we got over Collingwood and Richmond?

 

[Jonts]

Bit disappointed in the car range, currently 2 cars with a electric SUV, if they had something similar to the LDV I'd be all over it

 

[dirty2]

Some great news... just need them to bring out a 4x4 ute..

 

[EternalOptimist]

Bit disappointed in the car range, currently 2 cars with a electric SUV, if they had something similar to the LDV I'd be all over it

Big brother SUV was shown at Beijing Motor Show, should be here later in the year.

 

[GremioPower]

 

[Vagabond0]

Had a look just to get the online hit count up https://mgmotor.com.au/

Just put the Mrs in a Mazda3 last year without even considering a MG, looking at the specs would have been a no brainer to test drive and on the back of the sponsorship probably would have got over the line.

5 year deal so between the kids coming through and a swap over for the Mrs could be on the cards.

 

[Pappagallo]

Bit disappointed in the car range, currently 2 cars with a electric SUV, if they had something similar to the LDV I'd be all over it

There’s an MG version of the LDV T60. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it here at some point considering the insane popularity of dual cab utes.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Bit disappointed in the car range, currently 2 cars with a electric SUV, if they had something similar to the LDV I'd be all over it

Don't be surprised if Port members and fans asking for sedans and alternatives drives an increase in MG models offered in Oz and then links up with SAIC other brands like the LDV