- Flashback: Gulf Air Unveiled as QPR Sponsor-
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QPR & GULF AIR
GUlf Weekly - MA JALI'S CONUNDRUM
Gulf Air boss Samer Majali faces one of the most crucial commercial decisions to date as he attempts to glide the national carrier towards profitability ... to back a renewal of a mega-bucks shirt sponsorship deal with Queens Park Rangers or walk away just as the football club looks set to step into the global spotlight of the English Premiership.
The London football club, backed by some of the wealthiest businessmen in the world, sits proudly on top of the second-tier of English football by a clear six points margin after an unbeaten 10-match start to the season.
Gulf Air's name is currently emblazoned across the front of the players' football strip and on hoardings around the Loftus Road ground in Shepherds Bush.
"Since joining Gulf Air I have been following QPR and am delighted that they are doing so well," said Mr Majali, although fully appreciative of the conundrum he now faces.
The relationship between the national carrier and Rangers was spawned after a brief encounter at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix between the airline's chief executive officer at the time, Bjorn Naf, and Flavio Briatore, then managing director of the Renault Formula One team and joint owner of QPR.
One London newspaper headline screamed: Rangers in £7 million sponsorship deal.
It reported that the contract was believed to be worth £1 million a season (BD748,000) and the overall value could rise to £7 million (BD5,231,671) depending on the club gaining promotion and staying in the Premier League.
But instead of challenging for promotion the club languished near the bottom and went through more managers than Gulf Air did CEOs.
Briatore stepped down as chairman - although the Italian businessman and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone remain shareholders of the club - and Mr Naf was axed and now plies his trade at Hong Kong-based business jet operator, Metrojet.
GulfWeekly predicted after the signing ceremony to expect some turbulence in parliament from the same quarters as those who raised concerns over Mr Naf splashing out on a concert featuring British band Simply Red for F1 customers.
Almost on cue, parliament's financial and economic affairs committee head Abdulhaleem Murad was featured in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News, criticising Gulf Air's sponsorship, which he described as pointless. "If it was a well-known and high-profile team we would have welcomed it but nobody knows them," he said.
So has the QPR sponsorship deal, in the opinion of the new Gulf Air regime, been a waste of money up to now?
"No, not at all," CEO Majali said. "Like any sponsorship deal, there are several returns to our investment; the pure cash versus exposure equation, the significant goodwill created through corporate hospitality activities; the media exposure to Gulf Air brand every time QPR plays a match and the additional daily exposure we get through access to the club's fan base.
"Then there are the specific marketing activities of the club which we are, by default, always part of.
"Don't forget as well that it's not just about the QPR exposure; there are over 45 fixtures in the season; that's over 45 occasions where we present the Gulf Air brand to a different audience of usually 20,000-plus fans; not accounting of course for the selected Sky TV games.
"Then there is the simple but effective opportunities that cannot be measured; a nice example is the fact that the QPR strip is on sale in the Westfield Shopping Centre - one of London's and Europe's largest malls, with a footfall of 500,000-plus visitors a week, that's good exposure for us. I can keep going!"
But does Gulf Air want to extend its sponsorship of QPR when the current deal concludes, especially as riveting fixtures against the mighty Emirates-sponsored Arsenal and Etihad Airways-sponsored Manchester City potentially beckon next season?
Gulf Weekly
Gulf Weekly - MA JALI'S CONUNDRUM
Gulf Air boss Samer Majali faces one of the most crucial commercial decisions to date as he attempts to glide the national carrier towards profitability ... to back a renewal of a mega-bucks shirt sponsorship deal with Queens Park Rangers or walk away just as the football club looks set to step into the global spotlight of the English Premiership.
The London football club, backed by some of the wealthiest businessmen in the world, sits proudly on top of the second-tier of English football by a clear six points margin after an unbeaten 10-match start to the season.
Gulf Air's name is currently emblazoned across the front of the players' football strip and on hoardings around the Loftus Road ground in Shepherds Bush.
"Since joining Gulf Air I have been following QPR and am delighted that they are doing so well," said Mr Majali, although fully appreciative of the conundrum he now faces.
The relationship between the national carrier and Rangers was spawned after a brief encounter at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix between the airline's chief executive officer at the time, Bjorn Naf, and Flavio Briatore, then managing director of the Renault Formula One team and joint owner of QPR.
One London newspaper headline screamed: Rangers in £7 million sponsorship deal.
It reported that the contract was believed to be worth £1 million a season (BD748,000) and the overall value could rise to £7 million (BD5,231,671) depending on the club gaining promotion and staying in the Premier League.
But instead of challenging for promotion the club languished near the bottom and went through more managers than Gulf Air did CEOs.
Briatore stepped down as chairman - although the Italian businessman and F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone remain shareholders of the club - and Mr Naf was axed and now plies his trade at Hong Kong-based business jet operator, Metrojet.
GulfWeekly predicted after the signing ceremony to expect some turbulence in parliament from the same quarters as those who raised concerns over Mr Naf splashing out on a concert featuring British band Simply Red for F1 customers.
Almost on cue, parliament's financial and economic affairs committee head Abdulhaleem Murad was featured in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News, criticising Gulf Air's sponsorship, which he described as pointless. "If it was a well-known and high-profile team we would have welcomed it but nobody knows them," he said.
So has the QPR sponsorship deal, in the opinion of the new Gulf Air regime, been a waste of money up to now?
"No, not at all," CEO Majali said. "Like any sponsorship deal, there are several returns to our investment; the pure cash versus exposure equation, the significant goodwill created through corporate hospitality activities; the media exposure to Gulf Air brand every time QPR plays a match and the additional daily exposure we get through access to the club's fan base.
"Then there are the specific marketing activities of the club which we are, by default, always part of.
"Don't forget as well that it's not just about the QPR exposure; there are over 45 fixtures in the season; that's over 45 occasions where we present the Gulf Air brand to a different audience of usually 20,000-plus fans; not accounting of course for the selected Sky TV games.
"Then there is the simple but effective opportunities that cannot be measured; a nice example is the fact that the QPR strip is on sale in the Westfield Shopping Centre - one of London's and Europe's largest malls, with a footfall of 500,000-plus visitors a week, that's good exposure for us. I can keep going!"
But does Gulf Air want to extend its sponsorship of QPR when the current deal concludes, especially as riveting fixtures against the mighty Emirates-sponsored Arsenal and Etihad Airways-sponsored Manchester City potentially beckon next season?
http://www.gulfweeklyworldwide.com/article.asp?Sn=7814&Article=25764
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