With Hawthorn’s million-dollar-a-year deal with Audi inked, only five AFL teams now don’t have a car sponsor—including the two that topped the ladder and another whose supporters are among the most likely to intend to buy a new car, Roy Morgan Research shows.
Whether the deal includes signage at matches, logos on jerseys and shorts, or cashbacks, extended warranties and bonus accessories on new cars for club members, auto brands have long seen the value in sponsoring an AFL club—and for good reason. Almost 7.7 million Australians 14+ support an AFL team, and supporters are around 10% more likely than the average to intend to buy a new car in the next four years, consumer research conducted by Roy Morgan in the year to June 2015 shows. Around 1 in 8 of all AFL team supporters (12.6%) intend to buy a new car some time before 2019, compared with 11.5% of all Australians 14+.
This year, Mazda has cause to be doubly pleased: after a hard fought win over the Tigers, the North Melbourne Kangaroos are in the semi-finals this weekend, and their fans are the most likely to be in the market for a new car. Almost 1 in 6 Kangaroos supporters (16.1%) intend to buy a new car in the next four years, a rate 40% above the norm.
Proportion of each AFL team supporters who intend to buy a new car in next 4 years