Stormy weather ahead for the club?

[Dry Rot]

The club lost their major sponsor, they haven't found a replacement and IMO could be in deep financial poo in 2009.

And IMO if we have hard financial/economic conditions here in 2009, membership will take a bad hit. Our debts will be much harder to rollover/refinance.

IIRC North just signed up a good new deal with Mazda. We are now looking the worst or second worst club off-field ATM.

Thoughts?

[Desipura]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

I think the sun did not come up for you this morning. Its only October, its not the end of the world. The financial crisis makes it difficult, things are not gloomy for ever.

[Dry Rot]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

I think the sun did not come up for you this morning. Its only November, its not the end of the world. The financial crisis makes it difficult, things are not gloomy for ever.

Very sunny up here today, thank you.

Will be gloomy for at least next year, or very bleak. Been reading about cut backs in advertising? Lot of multinationals out here will be making lots of cuts in various areas.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

More worried about the on-field stocks -- if the team is playing/going well on the park, a lot of the doom and gloom gets papered over and other teams come in to help and the AFL's hands are forced in terms of keeping the club afloat.

If we were broke AND sitting near or at the bottom, then it's bad times -- watch the knives come out as the journos gleefully report on our impending demise.

Where is the improvement going to come from? If the young'us stay fit -- Higgo, Tommygun; some of the second year guys come on -- Ward, Grant, Boumann; Welsh has a bumper second year (as recruits so often do), Willy gets better at his spot (which he should anyway), and everyone stays at the same level as this year, we'll be there or thereabouts again (THIS YEAR was a great chance still -- Tommygun was the one structural piece of the jigsaw we were missing in the finals).

But if people start getting injured, the rookies don't quite make it, the older guys start falling off -- it could be really tough.. we don't really have the kind of match-winners that can just drag a club along even if the list is struggling.

I'm worried we'll come back to the field abit next year.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

But on the thread -- DR, that's why I've always maintained that the Dogs need local-type sponsors associated with the west rather than a huge multi-national. What's a big ol' western suburbs type corporate?

Maybe someone like Delfin -- God knows they're going great guns out west.

Now that we have a real-estate type thing, how about a bank that does home loans? NAB and ANZ both have community/grass-roots type initiatives. But maybe Westpac or Citibank, being far more innovative...

and finally, throw in a few shopping centres in the area -- Centro etc.

And because they're not going to pack the same financial muscle as some MNC get them all together and sit down and work out some sort of feel-good story to join them all together..

we get some money, the big boys get a grassroots, social responsibility type story that adds to their brand equity and a big, honking presence at the Whitten Oval overlooking the highway. We need to rethink this 'major sponsor' model, if it's not working for us -- any money is better than no money.

[Dry Rot]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

or Citibank,

and finally, throw in a few shopping centres in the area -- Centro etc.

You haven't seen financial news for 6 months?

Citibank isn't well, Centro is stuffed and listed property companies in trouble...the list goes on.

In any event, marketing budgets are being slashed here now - there will be bugger all sponsorship dollars going around.

[bulldogtragic]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

You haven't seen financial news for 6 months?

Citibank isn't well, Centro is stuffed and listed property companies in trouble...the list goes on.

In any event, marketing budgets are being slashed here now - there will be bugger all sponsorship dollars going around.

Maybe we can pass the that around, and take turns of becoming president.

The Woof Western Bulldogs

[Sedat]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

DR makes a good point about the current economic climate. We are sheltered a little from just what is happening in the northern hemisphere at the moment. I just got back from the UK this week, and the talk is all doom and gloom in Europe, and catastrophic in the USA - consumer spending has ground to a halt in these markets. If the sponsor of the world's wealthiest football club, Man Utd, can so rapidly fall to the brink of financial ruin, it makes life tough for sporting organisations to generate increases in sporting revenue.

[Dogs 24/7]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

We would have known for 4 or 5 months beforehand that Leaseplan were unlikely to commit again so a lot of time has passed and I don't think we are close to replacing them as the major sponsor and as Sedat said, it's a very tough economic climate as sponsorship is something a lot of companies are likely to cut.
After our better than expected season it's a shame that things just haven't fell into place for us but life is not meant to be easy

[Topdog]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

Yeah I'm really worried about the state of our club with the current way the World is going. For some reason Australia seems to think it won't be hit hard by this economic crisis but I really can't see that happening. It is imperitive that we have a good season on the field next year.

[BulldogBelle]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

The club lost their major sponsor, they haven't found a replacement and IMO could be in deep financial poo in 2009.

Yes, they are still searching for a sponsor...I have placed up an article by Caroline Wilson on the Dogs Day board that talks about sponsorships.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

Interesting article on the dergulation of Betting Agencies advertising. I would imagine that we would be the front runners for an prospective betting agency for sponsorship. Only problem is the stigma of being associated with gambling, especially a western suburbs based club.

[MrMahatma]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

We may have to alter our major sponsorship structure for game by game, or month by month type deal. Rather than 2 years, get 4 matches for x amount... and try and sell a few of them.

It'd be more work, and less security, but potentially more lucrative too. Crisis breeds opportunity.

I'm sure all avenues are being considered.

The facts are: We're a top 4 side, we've played through to a pre-lim this year, play in every state of the nation, and have the reigning brownlow medalist in our side, are one of the highest score/best to watch teams going around, have new facilities, a media-savvy coach. We're a good bet for sponsors.

What we need is to get across the line for a flag.

If we were to win the flag in the next year or two, I honestly think we'll go well ahead financially. I know it seems obvious, but at the moment we're synonymous with 'near enough is good enough'... not a sponsor's dream.

Here's hoping there's something in the pipeline.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

We may have to alter our major sponsorship structure for game by game, or month by month type deal. Rather than 2 years, get 4 matches for x amount... and try and sell a few of them.

It'd be more work, and less security, but potentially more lucrative too. Crisis breeds opportunity.

I'm sure all avenues are being considered.

The facts are: We're a top 4 side, we've played through to a pre-lim this year, play in every state of the nation, and have the reigning brownlow medalist in our side, are one of the highest score/best to watch teams going around, have new facilities, a media-savvy coach. We're a good bet for sponsors.

What we need is to get across the line for a flag.

If we were to win the flag in the next year or two, I honestly think we'll go well ahead financially. I know it seems obvious, but at the moment we're synonymous with 'near enough is good enough'... not a sponsor's dream.

Here's hoping there's something in the pipeline.

We also are club that is more family friendly than Hawthorn and is not tainted by the whiff of scandal, drink driving, drugs, being rude to sponsors on golf days, getting into fights representing Australia overseas and so on. The dream club really - if we win a flag the sponsors would be fighting to get us.

[Missing-Dog]

Re: Stormy weather ahead for the club?

More worried about the on-field stocks -- if the team is playing/going well on the park, a lot of the doom and gloom gets papered over and other teams come in to help and the AFL's hands are forced in terms of keeping the club afloat.

If we were broke AND sitting near or at the bottom, then it's bad times -- watch the knives come out as the journos gleefully report on our impending demise.

Where is the improvement going to come from? If the young'us stay fit -- Higgo, Tommygun; some of the second year guys come on -- Ward, Grant, Boumann; Welsh has a bumper second year (as recruits so often do), Willy gets better at his spot (which he should anyway), and everyone stays at the same level as this year, we'll be there or thereabouts again (THIS YEAR was a great chance still -- Tommygun was the one structural piece of the jigsaw we were missing in the finals).

But if people start getting injured, the rookies don't quite make it, the older guys start falling off -- it could be really tough.. we don't really have the kind of match-winners that can just drag a club along even if the list is struggling.

I'm worried we'll come back to the field abit next year.

I'm not too concerned if we come back to the field a bit next year, and I actually expect us too. We have to look at the development of our tall guys in Williams, Grant, Boumann etc over the next 3 - 4 years. If we can get them up and firing while Cooney, Griff and Cross are in the 26 - 28 age bracket we will be ok