Kia's Sponsporship Agreement with the Essendon Bombers Presents - The New Optima

There has never been a better time to fly the flag of the Essendon Bombers than this season. With the guys on the pitch showing the rest of the league their speed and finesse, the fans have played their role in getting behind the team as the 19th man in the stands. Why not show your support in style for the Bombers with a replica Guernsey, novelty Essendon merchandise, and for those who really wish to show their support, possibly a new car.

Essendon Bombers recently signed a lucrative sponsorship deal with car manufacturer Kia to sponsor the team for the next 5 years. This major sponsorship deal has reflected both the recent success of the Essendon Bombers as well as the league on a whole. With big money now coming into the sport on an international level, both Essendon and the AFL have a bright future ahead of them.

Merchandising Skyrockets for Essendon

Merchandise sales have skyrocketed over recent seasons to make Essendon one of the most popular franchises in not only the AFL league, but in Australian sport as a whole. Like any other sport, merchandising and branding of a team to its fans is often paramount in securing a regular income for the team. Not only do television rights play a huge part in ensuring this regular income, but merchandising plays a vital role in garnering bigger revenues, as well as revenue.

The new Kia sponsorship deal not only will help the branding image of Kia to its Australian market, but will also help the Essendon Bombers to reach an audience further afield. Kia is a proud sponsor that will include the new deal in many of its advertisements on television, radio, the internet and in the press. This level of advertising will help Essendon Merchandise sales and attendance figures tremendously by partnering up with a large international brand such as Kia.

So What Does This Mean For The Average Fan?

Previously, the scope of merchandise for AFL teams had mainly relied on Guernsey and replica kit sales to offer a revenue stream for the team, and a way for the fans to support their team whilst watching the games. Recently however, teams in the AFL have realised that merchandising can play this huge role as a revenue stream for the teams, as well as for the enjoyment and continuation of support seen by the fans. 

The Essendon merchandise available now comes in many forms, for every type of fan from young to old. You can find Bombers baby grows, replica kits, mugs, t-shirts, hats and flags as well as a number of novelty items that are sure to bring a smile to any Essendon fans’ faces. Along with the new range of merchandise for the dedicated fans, you will find a number of items that will help secure an international audience to spread the electricity of AFL to the wider public.

Essendon continues to be one of the most supported teams in the AFL, with a rich history in the league you can understand why. With regular matches being sold out game after game, and the viewing figures for each game rising season after season, there has never been a better time to get behind the Bombers and show how much of a dedicated fan you are.

Image Source: spectatorsportsonline, essendonfc, carshowroom, krockfootball

The Highs and Lows of the Essendon Bombers

The Essendon Bombers have been a major force in the AFL over the years, but what has made them the success we see today? With Essendon merchandise sales and spectator numbers ever rising,  the Dons are a club with a rich history and have had their share of successes and dark times too. Let us look at some of the highs and the lows of how one of the oldest AFL clubs made its mark as a force to be reckoned with.

Essendon was one of the founding clubs of then VFL and made its mark right away by winning the inaugural VFL season in 1897 in the VFL finals series. With several more premierships under its belt in 1901by defeating Collingwood in the Grand Final the Bombers took success later on in 1911 by winning another premiership title with defeat over Collingwood and again in 1912 with defeat over South Melbourne.

An historic period of success

Essendon played a large part in many firsts for the sport during the early years, such as competing in the very first night match against Melbourne in which the ball was painted white for better visibility. Their first title in any competitions was back in 1891 when they won the VFA premiership title. They continued this dominant display of success with premiership wins in 1892, 1983 and 1984 making an historic period of success, many say thanks to the legendary centre-half forward Albert Thurgood.

Essendon was the only club to ever win a premiership without a grand final. In the 1924 season, no Challenge Final or Grand Final was staged and in place was a round-robin to determine the premiership. The top four clubs were pitted against each other to find the premiership winner. Essendon had already beaten their rivals Fitzroy and South Melbourne which meant that their 20-point loss to Richmond was all that was needed to clinch victory thanks to a higher point percentage over the Tigers.

In the modern era of 2000 onward, Essendon started the new millennium with a 20-match unbeaten run before losing out to the Bulldogs. The Bombers finished the seasons as premiership winners for the 16th time with a defeat over Melbourne. This concluded the most dominant season of AFL by a single club in the history of the sport.

The financial factor

Essendon saw a decline in success after the spectacular season of 2000 and with the players salary cap coming into force, Essendon had to part ways with many key players in their squad. Some of the more popular players such as Chris Heffernan, Gary Moorcroft and Damien Hardwick left the club with terminated contracts whilst retirees Mark Mercuri, Joe Misti and Sean Wellman also left the club.

The club continued its downward spiral with unsuccessful attempts at the premiership and saw its worse season in 70 years in 2006. The club had finished second from bottom in the league with just three wins and a single draw from 22 games in the season.

The slow road to recovery started in 2011 with James Hird who took over as team coach. Essendon managed to finish 7th in the league thanks to Hird with the assistance of Mark Thompson. The club was in the process of recovery until the 2013 season when the AFL and the Australian sports anti-doping authority started an investigation as to the use of illegal substances.

Multiple resignations followed

These investigations hurt Essendon merchandise sales and the public image of the club, and when the club was found to be guilty of bringing the game into disrepute, Essendon was fined $2m and stripped from early draft picks. James Hird was suspended for a period of 12 months and the chairman and CEO of the club resigned their posts due to the controversy.

The club continues its goal of recovery in these troubled times. And being one of the oldest clubs with a remarkable history of success and firsts in the sport, the club has plenty of fans to continue to show their support and get behind the Dons. It’s really quite remarkable how quickly the club has bounced back with a fine start to the 2014 AFL season.

Image Source: firstcovers, photobucket, krockfootball, performgroup, theage, news