Canterbury warned over future of major sponsorship deal with Kia
WITH two sponsors having already deserted the club in the wake of the Mad Monday scandal, the last thing Canterbury needs now is another hit to the pocket. But there is a warning.
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CANTERBURY could be fighting to save their major sponsor beyond 2019 after car giant Kia confirmed it would be monitoring the embattled club in the final year of its multimillion-dollar deal.
In wake of the Mad Monday scandal that has already cost the club close to $1 million, Kia delivered some welcome news yesterday when it declared it would stand by the Bulldogs _ for now.
Kia’s chief operating officer Damien Meredith said the brand was committed to see out the remainder of its contract, which expires at the end of next year.
He said that while the company was disappointed by the Mad Monday behaviour, it would not be following other sponsors out the door.
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“We have spoken to them about it,” Meredith said.
“We are always concerned when a team we’re involved with has that type of outcome.
“It was disappointing.
“We will stick with them. We’ll wait and see how they go this year.”
The last thing the Bulldogs can afford is to lose another sponsor after Jaycar ended its 10-year association with the club, worth a reported $500,000.
Shorts sponsor Wicked Sister Desserts also terminated its agreement, reportedly worth $350,000.
That ended up being a near $1 million party penalty after the NRL slapped the club with a $250,000 fine, although that was later halved.
On top of that, four players copped individual fines from the club, although all officials present at the function surprisingly escaped penalties.
While the heavy-handed reaction from the NRL divided many within the rugby league community, the fact sponsors were so disappointed just further highlights the growing accountability that comes with big business and sport.
And it is a message all players need to keep in mind, especially those Bulldogs still seething and threatening to carry on their displeasure at the reporting of the incident into next year.
The last thing the club needs is more bad blood in respect to its public image.
Kia is known as a family brand and that is why the company initially went into partnership with the Bulldogs.
Kia also stuck by AFL club Essendon throughout its drug supplements scandal, although that eight-year sponsorship agreement reportedly ended in recent months.
When announcing the major sponsorship deal with the Bulldogs back in October 2016, Meredith said: “They pride themselves on being a family-friendly club and that is a perfect fit for Kia, where family is an integral part of our corporate DNA.”
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