Quote: Judder Man "The current clubs can only promote the game at local level the primary function is to promote the playing product, for me the RFL should be doing much more at national level with a much broader marketing strategy. If they can do that and clubs outside the heartlands develop quicker than the traditional clubs then these weaker clubs will go back to amateur status.'"
For me the criticism is not necessarily that clubs aren't promoting nationally, but that even at a local level, they are failing to deliver growth. There are huge untapped markets on our doorstep, and some affulent areas that we can tap into within the heartland region. But I simply don't see the clubs doing enough to make themselves relevant to new audiences, I don't see them developing the matchday experience and I don't see them growing. That, fundamentally, is a failure at club level.
Quote: Judder Man "As we have said many times before how can clubs promote the game at a higher level with big sponsors like Apple, O2, Guiness, Land Rover etc when the RFL governing body is profiling our sport to a Mushy Peas and Bet Fred standard, shouldn't that be the other way around. I should imagine when Superleague splits from the RFL this kind of situation would be the first corrective.'"
We attract the sponsors that we do because we attract the audiences that we do. The clubs are not going to attract the sort of brands that you talk about because those brands either aren't interested in the audience we offer, or because those brands can reach those audiences much more cheaply through other means.
If we want to insist that the 'future' of this sport is by 'strengthening' it in places where the High Streets are filled with bookies, fast food outlets and pawn brokers, we have no right to be surprised when the sponsors we attract at online bookmakers, tinned mushy peas and payday loans. Splitting the SL from the RFL doesn't change that and if you honestly want to believe that Ian Lenaghan is the man to bring in new sponsors, take a look at the Wigan RLFC accounts and look at the section where they attribute a £680k loss to the loss of a major sponsor.
And again, the clubs have to carry some of that can. They are the primary point of consumption, and if they are constantly talking to audiences that are only interested in a cheap ticket, then that's not going to interest the CMO of Jaguar Land Rover.