A word from our sponsors
ADF personnel are developing winning formulas for their sport to thrive with sponsorship, as Andrew Stackpool found out when he spoke to teams and the companies backing them.

CPL James Hood, from the Raytheon-sponsored Air Force rugby union team, evades a tackle during the final game of the Australian tour against the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Air Force Aussie rules head coach CPL Paul James and managing director DynCorp Australia Jeff Wilkinson seal the team’s new sponsorship deal earlier this month.

IT’S a hard slog in sport – both on the field and off. For sport is no longer just about a physical contest, it’s the wheeling and dealing of sponsorship that’s just as vital.

Defence sports and individuals enjoy sponsorship from large corporations such as Carlton United Breweries and Saab Systems to Defence credit unions and Defence contractors to local franchisees of chains such as Bob Jane and local small one or two-man businesses.

Even RSLs and motels provide sponsorship-style assistance by offering discounts on meals and accommodation when teams play away from home. But getting businesses interested and on board has required ADF personnel to learn a bit about professional marketing, as Sue Izatt, from the Australian Defence Credit Union, explained.

The credit union sends an application form to the team, setting out what it expects.

It could appear fairly daunting,” Ms Izatt said, “but we believe that if they fill it in and return it, they are genuine in their request.”

Nevertheless, ADCU is committed to supporting Defence sports. “Our entire sponsorship budget is dedicated to Defence.”

Flying Officer Matthew Lee, the carnival coordinator for Air Force Australian rules, said his team developed a formal marketing proposal, which laid out what benefits there were to sponsors.

“We had to present a two-way win/win, for them and us. Even then, we’ve had refusals.”

But the team is now affiliated with the AFL team Hawthorn, which provides facilities, coaching and PR support among other things. FLGOFF Lee said it helped enormously.

“As importantly, we get to play opening games at the MCG, Gabba etcetera, and that provides good exposure for a potential sponsor, raising their interest in us.” DI (G) PERS 14-2 recognises approved sponsorship as one of the three approved sources of funding for sports in the ADF.

The other sources are membership fees and levies and funding of Defence monies through the Defence and Service sports councils to recognised associations. In the latter instance, the level of funding provided is dependent on that sport’s ability to met a range of criteria, which are aligned with the roles, aims and objectives of the ADF.

The DI (G) makes it clear that sponsorship is not a carte blanche invitation for any sportsman or woman to obtain unlimited funds, nor is it an invitation for potential sponsors to see Defence as an endorsing agency of their products and services, or a window of opportunity to use Defence as an expanded consumer base.

The policy is reflected by the Service newspapers, which do not usually mention sponsors in stories. Sponsorship can be sought from the Air Force Sports Council (AFSC), which has a grants budget – for 2004-05 it’s $50,000.

Council secretary Wing Commander Rowley Tompsett said ADF and Air Force sports could receive direct grants from the ADF Sports Council (ADFSC) and AFSC respectively, and also get help from CSIG for garrison support. “AFSC bids for its funds in the normal bidding process. Sports then bid for funds and the funds are disbursed,” WGCDR Tompsett said. “Generally, the AFSC funds uniforms, equipment, venue hire, referee fees and coaching fees.

Transport and accommodation costs are not normally funded as sports are encouraged to use Service facilities.

Also, there is provision to consider support of a limited nature to elite sportsmen and women. “From the Air Force perspective, the AFSC encourages sports to seek sponsorship.

It also strongly believes that participants in Air Force sport, especially at the representative level, should make some personal financial contribution to that participation.”

Sergeant Andrew Gray, from RAAF Base Wagga, rallies a V2 Series III Monaro and knows about the financial commitment needed to compete in sports – even if it’s an individual one that is not endorsed by Defence. “I have nine sponsors, mainly from Wagga but also from Mudgee,” he said.

“I got quite a few knockbacks, but as I began to understand what they wanted from the deal, it became much easier. This is an expensive sport and I couldn’t hope to compete without them.” One of his sponsors is the local Gloria Jeans franchisee Simone Beer.

“Business sponsorship is about exposure, networking and building a good relationship,” Ms Beer said.

“My advice [to a team seeking sponsorship] would be to work on the relationship side first. Rejection will generally come because the businessperson does not trust that you value their business and feels that they are not getting value for money. “I decided to sponsor SGT Gray’s racing team as he is a regular customer of mine.

When he approached me for sponsorship, I was impressed with what they had achieved and their marketing strategies. They gave me costings and explained what my sponsorship would entail.

Also, SGT Gray showed me all the publicity they have previously received and what I could look forward to. He also organised networking nights with the other sponsors, which enables me to get the word out even more about my business. Importantly, he did not pressure me into anything.”

Many team representatives told Air Force newspaper that the most common form of response to a request for sponsorship assistance was no reply at all. Lieutenant Stuart Cayzer, who plays hockey, said his association would post up to 30 letters.

“We stress they should not have expectations of an ADF market and often hear nothing. Of course, sponsors are looking at different markets for different reasons and these may not be compatible with ours,” he said.

“On the other hand, we do get small sponsors at local events and they are often just happy to put up a couple of banners at the local sportsground. It helps having Hockey Australia provide us a lot of discounted or free services.”

Saab Systems has been among ADF Hockey’s sponsors. Saab Systems marketing communications manager, Jim Parkes, said it was part of his company’s culture to support local people. “We are keen to give something back to Defence and be a good neighbour,” he said.

“We primarily provide financial support to let them buy uniforms, shirts, caps etcetera, as that is what we believe they really need.” Mr Parkes said it was important that teams approached the company with a proposal, even if it was just a sheet of paper.

“Have some criteria and don’t ask for large sums that may fall outside our budgetary constraints,” he said. “Tell us what you want, how you can involve us, the length of relationship. “Give us the proposal and we’ll assess it. Keep it open and prescriptive.

The main thing is that you show benefits for both the team and the company.” Mr Parkes said Saab Systems didn’t necessarily look for winners. “Putting teams on the field is not a trivial exercise and if we can help, we will,” he said.

“From a corporate perspective, we are happy to be involved. We have a strong team culture in the company and we like the team concept in the ADF.

This matches us culturally. On-field results are secondary to team participation.”

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