COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

The Club
Maidenhead RUFC is the senior rugby club in the Royal Borough. Our 1st XV plays in the fiercely competitive National 3 South West League.

In addition to the 1st XV we have five further senior teams and a thriving Youth section developing players from the age of 5 onwards. Our junior teams have a tremendous record and a number of our under 16s have made the England squad, while others have gone on to join clubs such as Wasps, Harlequins and London Irish and gain full International honours (James Haskell, Tom Guest and Thom Evans are three recent examples).

Join the Club
There is much more to Maidenhead Rugby Club than 80 minutes of blood and thunder on a Saturday afternoon. The success of the 1st XV is the centrepiece of our activities and the winning of trophies and titles are important, but the pleasures of Membership extend far beyond that. The Club provides a wide range of social events, a big screen presentation of major matches and the chance to meet friends, old and new, in a convivial atmosphere. So whether you are a potential player, the parent of a potential player or a spectator who would like to become more involved, you will be very welcome. See Membership section for details.

Sponsorship Opportunities
A message from our Chairman:
Maidenhead Rugby Club is moving into a new era both on and off the pitch. Over the next three years the Club has aspirations to move up to National league 3, and the appointment of a new Head Coach, Ricky Khan, has certainly provided the structure, energy and drive to achieve this goal. Ricky is also involved with the London Wasps Academy.

We also want to build on the huge success of our thriving Youth section and ensure that Maidenhead is seen as one of the very best Clubs for developing Youth talent in the Country. Maidenhead runs a full complement of Youth teams from u7 to u17 with over 400 playing members. We have a remarkable record of developing top flight players, not least of which being Tom Guest and James Haskell. Tom now plays for Premiership side Harlequins and enjoyed a successful tour with the England Saxons squad earlier this year. James plays for London Wasps and is now a firm fixture in the full England National team. Both players came through the Maidenhead Mini and Junior systems and were part of our hugely successful COLTS team before going on to higher honours.

As the new Chairman, I am very keen to see both the Senior sides and Youth section develop to their full potential. I firmly believe that Maidenhead Rugby Club has the playing talent, coaching structure and desire to reach the National Leagues and am sure that our Youth section will continue to produce players who will not only play for our own Elite squad, but go on to play first class Rugby and attain National honours like Tom and James.

Maidenhead is an amateur, community Rugby Club, which to me means that our whole club ethos is built on the very best sporting qualities of teamwork, respect, honesty, commitment and passion. I believe these are excellent life qualities to coach into our youth players and this is why Maidenhead Rugby Club is such an important part of our local community.

Being amateur does however mean that we rely heavily on sponsors to help fund the core activities of the Club and why we are seeking support from a broader range of businesses within the local community. As you will see, there are a full range of sponsorship options, starting from reasonably modest involvement by sponsoring a match ball, through to our Gold sponsor package. I am delighted to say that John Guest continues to support the Club as our main sponsor.

Please have a look at the packages within this document and hopefully you will feel that helping us achieve our goals will also be of value to you and your business.

Yours sincerely
John Wanklyn - Chairman & Chief Executive

Specific Sponsorship opportunities
All sponsors receive: advertising space in the Club handbook / fixture list and programme, public thanks in a Club advertisement in the Maidenhead Advertiser twice a year, exposure in the Clubhouse and on the Club website, promotion in Club newsletters, discounted rates on Club function room hire…and a warm welcome in the Club bar!

In addition and subject to sponsor’s requirements and negotiation, Silver Tier sponsors receive match-day hospitality options, free perimeter advertising space and options on International match tickets.
Gold Tier sponsors over and above this receive multiple perimeter advertising sites and additional specific rights subject to availability.

Match-day VIP Lunch Sponsorship
This offers you a low cost style of corporate entertaining with a difference. For all major home games, you could become a Match-day Sponsor. This entitles you to entertain up to 30 guests in a private room with your own bar and a choice of sit down or buffet lunch before the match. You also get reserved car parking and reserved stand seats. Your sponsorship is announced in the Programme and over the PA and the room is available for half-time and after match drinks. (Option also exists to include match-day mascot in this package)
Price: £1000 (excluding drinks)

Matchball sponsorship
Price: £250 per game

Player Sponsorship
The Player sponsorship is designed for individuals or businesses who wish to support a particular player. The website and program player profiles will include details of individual sponsors, and each sponsor will be presented with a signed playing shirt from their sponsored player.Price: £500 per season

The Sportsman’s Lunches and Dinner
The Club organises 3 lunches and one Dinner on a Friday through the year, each of which combines good food and drink with at least one really entertaining top class speaker from the sporting world, together, usually, with a comedian. These have proved very popular with local businessmen and the average attendance is around 85, with the pre-Christmas lunch a sell out at 120. The annual dinner attracts 300.

Companies can sponsor these events by paying the speaker's fee, and reach a large number of influential prospective customers, or use the opportunity to give existing contacts some hospitality.

Price: lunch - £2,000 each; Dinner - £4,000

Advertising Opportunities

Perimeter / Club house Exterior Boards
These are 8 ft x 3 ft boards, weather proof and permanently fixed in position on the spectator rails, across the pitch, facing the Grandstand. They are designed to your specification and can be seen all year by visitors to Braywick in the close season.
Simple and effective, these colourful and eye-catching boards represent excellent value and can be displayed for as little as £500 for a full 12 months. We recommend agreeing a term of at least 3 years to maximise return.

Programme & Fixture Card Advertising
Admission to all major games is 'By Programme', so every spectator has to have a copy and is therefore exposed to the advertising it contains. The format is a standard A5 so you would have no trouble fitting in an existing piece of artwork. We print 5,000 copies of the main body of the programme at the beginning of the season and add a weekly insert relating to the match taking place. Spectators have plenty of time to study the programme and they almost always take them home with them so they have a long shelf life and a wide readership.

The Club Handbook doubles as a fixture list, is a convenient A6 format and goes to all members, which gives it a circulation of 500. For a very low cost, your advertisement will be seen all season as the book is in regular use.

Advertiser packages

Club Directory communicated/distributed to circa 1,200 members

Weekly newsletter sent to 700 club members every week.

Additional Sponsorship Opportunities

Youth section sponsorship
A host of opportunities exist. If the Youth section is of interest please contact Gareth Andrews-Jones on 0794 1076917 to discuss.

Sponsorship in kind
e.g. provision of training equipment / trophy cabinet; business services or Clubhouse building / maintenance / decoration work

Ground naming rights – price subject to negotiation

Spectators’ stand naming rights - £5,000 p.a.

Function room naming rights
The Braywick Suite (as it is currently known) is used for pre- and post-match hospitality on a Saturday, hundreds of mini-Rugby players and their parents on a Sunday, and function hire. Price to be discussed depending on your plans for the Suite.

NOTE: ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT, WHICH WILL BE CHARGED WHEN APPLICABLE. These are the sponsorship opportunities we have identified. There are a number of other possibilities, linked to junior teams or special events. If you are interested in helping the Club and your company, we will work with you to provide a tailor-made solution that fits your requirements – please call to discuss what can be done.

For information or to arrange sponsorship or book advertising please contact: Jean Kingsley, Commercial Manager, on 07966 490374