Away Days

We had first refusal on being away kit sponsor for this Season at County.  However, hard I tried I couldn’t justify the investment.  Regretfully, I turned down the chance by communicating:

“To avoid any wasting of each other’s time, and rather than just attending a meeting, here is my cold, light of day reflection on the proposition.  Any decision for my company(ies) to invest would be based on ‘heart’ (out of County loyalty!) and not ‘head’ rationale.  If you already have an offer at £10K or £9K just take it!  Playing in the League County finds itself in, and with this offer an away shirt, I cannot justify the £10K price tag.  Media coverage and exposure to the football World is less than in higher leagues.  Given any return on investment from shirt sponsorship would be from the catchment of County, an away shirt is not viable or commercially sensible.  We would only ask to be considered as a ‘last option’ for the Club and if we were to offer anything would only consider (red = not needed; green = expectations; yellow = alternatives – from the list of features the proposed deal would offer).”  We then made an offer more commensurate with our expectations.

With a higher bid the Club reaffirmed to no surprise: “As you probably know, the shirt sponsorship is like the Crown Jewels to any football club, and as such the second shirt is a tiara.  It would be impossible for me to accept your offer, although appreciate that it is good to have a back up if needed.”