Brand and profile are critical elements for any sporting club in terms of attracting corporate sponsorship.
Brand and profile are critical elements for any sporting club in terms of attracting corporate sponsorship.
And while Western Australia’s national netball league team has never had a corporate sponsor, the club is hoping that a new image can turn this around.
West Coast Fever, formerly known as the Perth Orioles, is preparing for its first season under the new name.
The club began the ground work for a rebrand when a new trans-Tasman competition, the ANZ Championship, was announced in March last year, replacing the national competition.
According to Netball WA chief executive Lisa Bradock, the transition offered the club a chance to reposition itself, aided by a grant for market research from the Department of Sport and Recreation.
“That review allowed us to confirm what we thought – that the brand didn’t have the profile or reach we were looking for,” Ms Bradock said.
“The outcome was that the team name should be about Western Australia, not just Perth, and the brand should convey strength and intensity.”
Launched in November last year, the West Coast Fever brand was created partly to capitalise on sponsorship opportunities that resulted from Fox Sports’ acquisition of the broadcast rights to the competition.
“We wanted to launch a new product that was exciting for sponsors to be involved in,” Ms Bradock said.
“We wouldn’t have been able to rebrand in the old competition.”
While the process of courting sponsorship is new for the club – the Perth Orioles did not have any corporate sponsors – Ms Bradock said there was a strategic approach to attracting funding.
“We’re not looking for money at any cost; we’re looking for synergies with our sponsors, to create a long-term relationship,” she said.
However, Ms Bradock acknowledged that competition between codes for sponsorship was fierce.
“The market is definitely very, very tight and netball doesn’t have a huge profile,” she said.
“Also, there aren’t a lot of decision makers in WA that can make sponsorship allocations.”
On the issue of team performance, the club is hoping to keep its corporate funding independent of on-court results, although Ms Bradock said it would take some time to create that kind of financial security.
“Some of it depends on the success of the competition,” she said.
“Our expectations are that, irrespective of what happens on court, the club will have a new identity that Western Australians identify with and understand, both visually and with the name itself.”
The West Coast Fever is in the process of securing sponsors for the coming season, which runs from April to July, although it is yet to sign a contract.
The club is managed by Netball WA, which has about 35,000 members.
West Coast Fever is also continuing its relationship with the West Coast Eagles, which Ms Bradock said was in equal parts about assisting the players and the business of the club.
