Toyota, Jeep face big footy final bonus payouts

TOYOTA and Jeep could be facing six-figure bills as the AFL teams they sponsor vie for the sport’s premiership title on Saturday.

The Japanese car maker, the biggest automotive brand in Australia, backs the Adelaide Crows in one of the longest-running sponsorship deals in the sport. The Crows will square up against the Richmond Tigers, a club sponsored for roughly the last decade by US adventure brand Jeep, which bounces around at the bottom of the list of top 20 automotive brands on sale here.

At more than 145,000 sales to the end of August, Toyota sells almost 26 of its cars for every single Jeep vehicle rolling out of showrooms.

The sponsorship deals are believed to be bound by confidentiality agreements, so finding out the exact details is a little tricky. However, industry sources have hinted to Wheels that the multi-year contracts the car makers sign with AFL teams can include bonuses for teams that reach the finals round, as well as extra payments if they hoist the premiership cup at the end of the season. The price? Believed to be anywhere between $200,000 to $300,000.

Richmond’s sponsorship deal gives Jeep access to one of the largest footy fan bases in the AFL; membership at the club is believed to rank third only to fellow Melbourne-based clubs, Hawthorn and Collingwood. And for Toyota, the Crows sponsorship is backed by sponsorship of the main event, the grand final. Look around the ground on grand final day and the car maker’s brand features prominently in on-ground parades and signage.

So what is in it for the car makers? First of all, they can usually market directly to the club’s membership, offering exclusive discounts to the rusted-on faithful backing the club financially. Then there’s the not-so-obvious exposure; the branding on the footy jerseys that slips into TV coverage in the month-long build-up to the big day, and on the back pages of the newspapers adding to the hype.

Jeep is facing an unexpected situation with its sponsorship of the Tigers. The club finished third on the ladder after this season, up against the minor premiers the Crows. The last time the Tigers squared up in a grand final was in 1982, which they lost. The last time they have won a grand final was 1980.

In contrast, the Adelaide Crows last won a grand final in 1998.