Sponsors - ruffled feathers

[Matabele]

I heard it from a fairly authoritative source that there is at least one major sponsor, possibly more, that have their feathers ruffled by the instigation of the Sea Eagles Home Loans service. So much so that they won't be back on board next year.

There again, I wonder how many sponsors commit 15% of proceeds to the Sea Eagles as Sea Eagles Home Loans are saying they will.

 

[Guest]

Yes Auspak Financial Services and Mortgage Choice will probably pull their sponsorships.

Sea Eagles home loans will have a very limited market appeal though. I am sure that clients form other clubs won't be rushing to take a home loan from them.

 

[clontaago]

Depends on how much exactly the others contribute.

 

[Ryan]

How pathetic and narrow minded. After a Grand Final win, sponsors will be falling over themselves to sign up anyway.

 

[Matabele]

How pathetic and narrow minded. After a Grand Final win, sponsors will be falling over themselves to sign up anyway.

I think it has more to do with personal prestige than altruistic motivations Ryan!

 

[clontaago]

Ah well. Im sure the club can survive without these smaller, less significant sponsors.

 

[Corso_Pete]

Ah well. Im sure the club can survive without these smaller, less significant sponsors.

meow

 

[mellonhead]

Hi Guys, Tookey & Clon & Ryan, appreciate your view points, as a sponsor, and as one of the sponsors directly affected, this is my take...

The sponsors who are in the financial services have effectively been screwed by the football club. The club had been approached by a number of existing sponsors at the beginning of the season and before, by requests to start "Sea Eagles Home Loans" or similar. The club said if the money (upfront) was right, or the club wished to persue the idea further, would at the end of the season put "feelers" out to 2 - 3 existing sponsors to start Sea Eagles Home Loans. The club persued the matter with Steve Menzies without consultation with existing sponsors contary to their word.

I agree with you Mata that the 15% payment is VERY SIMILAR to another sponsor who offered $500 back to the club and a family season pass for next year (that worked out at 15% of the commission). for every loan. The new offering offers nothing "special" for the supporter..... The other interesting fact was that the new "Sea Eagles Home Loans" do not offer discounted interest rates for the supporters and is offering standard bank products that even Ryan could beat!

I can understand Austpac, Creative Lending Solutions etc & etc being upset. I know I am pissed off, as I was under the impression that all of us had the opportunity to negotiate a deal. It wasn't a fair playing field, and they took our money under false pretences.

 

[ManlyBacker]

I can understand Austpac, Creative Lending Solutions etc & etc being upset. I know I am pissed off, as I was under the impression that all of us had the opportunity to negotiate a deal. It wasn't a fair playing field, and they took our money under false pretences.

So are you saying that sponsorship this year was contingent on a deal being brokered at the end of the season for a 'Sea Eagle Loan'? I find it hard to believe that was the only reason that sponsorship was given. I can still understand the disappointment of discovering that discussions had been done without your knowledge and finalised, but I would imagine there must be other benefits of continuing the sponsorship.

 

[mellonhead]

Contingent on being offered the opportunity to negotiate the deal....Yes ---, that did not mean we would have got the gig...not saying that. I'm saying we put a substantial amount (in our view point) into a sponsorship arrangement to get in the door and be offered the opportunity of negotiating / taking up a business plan presented to the club at the beginning of the year for next season. We were told that the club supports its existing sponsors and only existing sponsors would be given the opportunity of opening Sea Eagles Home Loans. This was the context of our sponsorship.

Businesses pay sponsorships not as a donation to the club but to attract future business, and to get predetermined benefits in the mid term. Sure you get to go to the games, meet the players etc etc, but you can just buy a season pass and do that. I can assure you that we have not had any other benefits other than sponsoring a player for the season and having our logo appear on the screen 3 times a match day which no one reads.

I can also say that Austpac have been a sponsor a hell of a lot longer, and put more into the club financially than we have. I would have been fine if they got the gig, but all of us where kept out of the loop.

I think that Ryan and Clontaago got it right. The club would acknowledge that it would loose a number of sponsors as a result, but is banking on that because the club is doing so well, it will pick up different based businesses to replace the ones it looses as sponsors.

I don't want to create an impretion that I'm bitter about the club, I'm not. I'll be a Manly supporter for the rest of my life. I'm just pissed off that the sponsorship team and management didn't care to advise the businesses affected and been upfront about it. It's just not professional and honest.

 

[ManlyBacker]

I hear you mellonhead. I am regularly disappointed by so many aspects, it just doesn't seem to be run at a level that warrants confidence. A point being the help provided (documented in another thread) to the woman who had a dislocated knee near us on the hill. It obviously doesn't mean that we would ever change club loyalties - we just have to cop a lot of negatives by forming an attachment to Manly.

 

[Matabele]

I guess my question to mellonhead is - have you taken up your dissapointment with club management and received an answer before you put it out here in public?

 

[Guest]

We were told that the club supports its existing sponsors and only existing sponsors would be given the opportunity of opening Sea Eagles Home Loans. This was the context of our sponsorship.

Is the group that was given the go ahead for Sea eagle home loans an existing sponsor of Manly?

 

[mellonhead]

Not to my knowledge, there very may well be influential backers of the club assisting Beaver in this business endeavour..

After all is said and done I wish Beaver all the best. He's a legend and deserves it. There is no thoughts that he would have known about (or cared) about any undertakings given by representatives of the club. He's got in there and asked the club, they have said yes, the business has been set up and being marketed by the club and Beaver. End of the matter.

 

[Guest]

I met someone tonight who applied for a job with sea eagles home loans a couple of weeks ago.

She told me they were paying brokers a set upfront payment regardless of the loan size and 50% trail. There is no way they will atract quality brokers to sell their loans.

All the best sea eagle home loans but it sounds like another impotent effort by the club. Another in a long line of poor decisions over the years.

 

[Matabele]

She told me they were paying brokers a set upfront payment regardless of the loan size and 50% trail.

Can you cut out the jargon and give further explanation in terms a layman will understand?

 

[mellonhead]

In simple terms funders pay brokers a fee at the initial settlement of a loan. This depends on the greed of the broker and how much interest they charge the client. The usual range is 0.70% of the loan ammount, some get as much as 1.3%. The trail income is a monthly payment received by the broker for the life of the loan based on the loan balance. This is usually 0.2 to 0.3% pa of the loan balance.

I can understand the payment structure as a new venture requires capital to continue sponsorships and advertising and paying wages of processing staff. It's a fine line to being profitable and remaining competitive.

Some institutions offer employment to brokers by paying a percentage of the commissions or an initial upfront payment.

Please be aware that the club's management has today contacted me and clarified issues surrounding this circumstance. It would appear they have read this thread.

 

[Matabele]

So is Tookey suggesting they are paying a trail payment of 50% per month or is that their share of interest over the life of the loan? Or is the trail payment shared between broker and financier?

What Tookey seems to forget is that this could well appeal to a niche market and it is quite likely a venture that has a strong demographic locally. I can't imagine the Northern Beaches mortgage belt wouldn't have strong credentials for such a venture.

Is he jealous he didn't think of it himself?

 

[mellonhead]

They would be sharing given the info provided by Tookey.

 

[Ryan]

mellonhead - I think it's a little unfair that your using your sponsorship with the club as a gun to the heads that make business decisions. Like it or not, financially the club has absolutely turned around under Grant Mayer, so the right decisions (regardless of the means sorry Corso Pete) are being implimented.

In 2004, I had it organised that Nab become a Silver Sponsor of The Sea Eagles (Chuckwood would remember those days). Guess what, we didn't want any financial benefit out of the situation. We just wanted a venue to take our clients to build business relationships up).

Your just asking way too much. Almost demanding if you will.

Remember - it's a footy team.

I'd also have to say, brokers are a very different breed of human. Why anyone would go to one is beyond me. Brokers only refer business to those that pay the highest commission + trail. It's not about what's best for the client.

Seriously though...Byso told me you were talking about a Credit Card product, not a Home Loan anyway. Surely the risk outways your institions capital requirements and minimum ongoing costs would show it just wouldn't be worth it? I'm assuming your not listed at AAA Rating when raising equity? That's just a guess though.