Sydney FC's marketing masterstroke Alessandro Del Piero. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source:DailyTelegraph
IT'S the $1 million kit which proves once again the power of the Del Piero effect.
Sydney FC will today announce new sponsorship deals for their kit which, combined, bring in a seven-figure sum, a rise which the club puts at 25 per cent on last season and comes on the back of a season when Sydney failed even to make the finals.
But it was also the season when they signed Alessandro Del Piero and, by most significant off-field measurements, the effect has been dramatic.
Travel company Webjet has re-signed as major sponsor, having made the most fortunate corporate foray of last year by signing up for $400,000 barely a month before Del Piero joined.
Destination NSW and Caltex complete the trio of upgraded kit sponsorships, with Sydney FC CEO Tony Pignata pleased to have completed the deals before the club heads to Italy tomorrow for a three-week pre-season camp organised by Del Piero.Concluding the Webjet deal was Pignata's first act on becoming FC's CEO, after a season in which the club had played without a shirt sponsor.
"I was over the moon for them because they committed to us long before all this happened," Pignata said. "Last year turned into a fantastic opportunity for them and for us, but they came on board as an act of faith in the first place."
Though Pignata conceded that Sydney's priority was substantial improvement on the pitch, he said the new deals indicated a return to health in non-playing areas.
"A lot of it is to do with the exposure that the companies associated with us got last season, thanks to the huge interest generated by Alessandro," he said. "Even now, in the middle of our off-season, Destination NSW is getting the benefit of our trip to Japan and the three-week camp in Italy, not to mention the intense coverage we get during the season itself.
"The fact that we have games beamed live back into Italy is fantastic exposure."
Sydney accept they will never come close to a profit on Del Piero's time at the club, thanks to a gross salary of $3.4 million, but Pignata said the club was making steady progress towards agreed figures for commercial and supporter income.
"Sponsorship overall is at 80 per cent of our target already and memberships are at about 75 per cent of where we want to be," he said.
"The target there is 10,000, and so far we're at around 6200 as of today. But this time last year we were at less than 4500, so the increase is substantial and of course we expect to see a steeper increase as we get towards the season, and especially once Alessandro is back here."
Sydney took on Macarthur last night in their latest pre-season game, and Pignata said that also showed a difference from a year ago.
"This is our fourth game already, I think, and last year we ended up only playing five or six in total thanks to injuries and cancellations," he said.
"The trip to Italy gives us an opportunity for every player bar the two injured ones to get some game time under their belts. I don't think there's any doubt (coach) Frank (Farina) will have the team well prepared for the season."
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