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Albion unveil new sponsor
9:00am Monday 30th June 2008
Albion will be sponsored by a Sussex-based company and their Seagulls fanatic top man next season.
IT First, based in Burgess Hill, will be the name on the front of the club's new-look kit.
The company were previously known as Technical Response and have backed the club's community learning programmes and the Seagulls Club for the past five years.
Seagulls supporters will get a first look at their team's new home shirt at the the Gary Hart Testimonial next month.
Micky Adams' side take on Charlton Athletic at Withdean on Saturday, July 26.
The sponsorship deal, for an undisclosed sum, was agreed between chairman Dick Knight and IT First boss Paul Goldsmith.
Knight described IT First as worthy successors to long-standing sponsors Skint and said: "In their previous guise as Technical Response, they were already a very valued supporter on the commercial side, as well as being personal fans."
Goldsmith added: "As an Albion fan, I am fulfilling a dream. It has been one of my biggest ambitions to one day have the company on the shirt of the club I have supported all my life."
Your Say YourArgus
mark, brighton says...
9:27am Mon 30 Jun 08
Bossman, Centre Court says...
9:33am Mon 30 Jun 08
harpo, says...
9:50am Mon 30 Jun 08
Gaz, hove says...
9:57am Mon 30 Jun 08
Scarfer1, One thing I don't know why says...
10:03am Mon 30 Jun 08
I hope this is short term and that we can expect our chairman to secure some REAL funding in the near future.
JB, London says...
10:35am Mon 30 Jun 08
Bossman wrote:Bossman, why exactly would Brighton have people queuing up to sponsor us? We have 6,000 fans inside an athletics stadium. We're hardly the marketing opportunity of the new millenium.
Yeh, far more appropiate then the lucrative money that comes with a 'large company'. What planet are you on Colza???? Next your be asking why Man Utd. aren't sponsored by the Manchester Evening News !!! This is yet another clear case of lack of business sense/contacts again from the Board. The current football climate has a strong business ethic, which is clearly something BHA does not have!!!
Ian, Brighton says...
11:11am Mon 30 Jun 08
Scarfer1, Montenova la la la la says...
11:15am Mon 30 Jun 08
JB wrote:Surely there are some potential sponsorship opportunities involving our new stadium!?
Bossman wrote:Bossman, why exactly would Brighton have people queuing up to sponsor us? We have 6,000 fans inside an athletics stadium. We're hardly the marketing opportunity of the new millenium.
Yeh, far more appropiate then the lucrative money that comes with a 'large company'. What planet are you on Colza???? Next your be asking why Man Utd. aren't sponsored by the Manchester Evening News !!! This is yet another clear case of lack of business sense/contacts again from the Board. The current football climate has a strong business ethic, which is clearly something BHA does not have!!!
This move just shows a lack of ambition and a poor job of marketing the club to prospective sponsors.
me, brighton says...
11:40am Mon 30 Jun 08
Gaz wrote:i had the same result, but then tried again using the old company name.....
Let's hope it's lucrative ! can't find them on a google search though so doubt it is worth as much to us as a big company would pay
Sancho, Brighton says...
11:46am Mon 30 Jun 08
JB, London says...
11:52am Mon 30 Jun 08
Scarfer1 wrote:Why would an as yet unbuilt stadium attract a sponsor. When we are in the stadium playing in front of 15,000 hopefully in the Championship, we'd have a chance of attracting a decent sponsor.
JB wrote:Surely there are some potential sponsorship opportunities involving our new stadium!? This move just shows a lack of ambition and a poor job of marketing the club to prospective sponsors.Bossman wrote: Yeh, far more appropiate then the lucrative money that comes with a 'large company'. What planet are you on Colza???? Next your be asking why Man Utd. aren't sponsored by the Manchester Evening News !!! This is yet another clear case of lack of business sense/contacts again from the Board. The current football climate has a strong business ethic, which is clearly something BHA does not have!!!Bossman, why exactly would Brighton have people queuing up to sponsor us? We have 6,000 fans inside an athletics stadium. We're hardly the marketing opportunity of the new millenium.
The fact we have a rubbish sponsor reflects where the club is at the moment (third division, small crowds), and has nothing to do with the ambition or marketing of the club.
rich, hove says...
12:39pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Jay, Shoreham says...
12:41pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Adam, Hove says...
12:55pm Mon 30 Jun 08
JB wrote:Because it would be cheaper to sponsor brighton now, before the stadium is built, tie them into a 4 year deal, so when the stadium is built and the media covers Brighton's new game in the stadium, your company's name is on the shirts.
Scarfer1 wrote:Why would an as yet unbuilt stadium attract a sponsor. When we are in the stadium playing in front of 15,000 hopefully in the Championship, we'd have a chance of attracting a decent sponsor. The fact we have a rubbish sponsor reflects where the club is at the moment (third division, small crowds), and has nothing to do with the ambition or marketing of the club.JB wrote:Surely there are some potential sponsorship opportunities involving our new stadium!? This move just shows a lack of ambition and a poor job of marketing the club to prospective sponsors.Bossman wrote: Yeh, far more appropiate then the lucrative money that comes with a 'large company'. What planet are you on Colza???? Next your be asking why Man Utd. aren't sponsored by the Manchester Evening News !!! This is yet another clear case of lack of business sense/contacts again from the Board. The current football climate has a strong business ethic, which is clearly something BHA does not have!!!Bossman, why exactly would Brighton have people queuing up to sponsor us? We have 6,000 fans inside an athletics stadium. We're hardly the marketing opportunity of the new millenium.
If you wait for the new stadium, there's more competition to get your name on the shirt (and you may miss out).
You can also add in something like a first refusal/discount on sponsorship/ advertising boards/ stadium naming.
For the sponsoring company this is small third division club playing in the third division in front of a "small" (not that small considering the division average(which was skewed by Leeds and Forrest), but people ignore that)crowd is an ideal opportunity for small investment for what you could get in the end.
Dick Knight is an advertising guy, he should know how to sell the club on that basis.
And let's face it, even if the investment didn't work out for that company, they can easily lose more than this IT First can spare to invest.
Ian, Brighton says...
1:44pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Um Rich, I never said I wasn't attractive so I would appreciate it if you didn't spread such lies about me please
JB, London says...
1:58pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Sponsors want exposure. Beyond the 6,000 people in the stadium Brighton get very little. We get a bit of coverage on the local tv, but that's behind, Portsmouth and Southampton.
We only get newspaper coverage in the Argus, which compared to some of the big regionals has a small circulation of just 32,000.
Nationally, Brighton get little exposure. Match reports are a couple of paragraphs in the tabloids. No coverage in the broadsheets because they barely cover anything in league one or two unless it involves Leeds.
So please tell me what is so exciting about the exposure we are supposed to offer a potential sponsor.
This is not exactly a new thing for Albion, when did we last have a household name on our shirts, or get a load of cash off a sponsor?
Andy, Brighton says...
2:24pm Mon 30 Jun 08
John, Woodhall Spa says...
2:32pm Mon 30 Jun 08
!!It would be nice to hear the Albion congratulated for something for once. So you've never heard of them before, well you have now so get of there backs and see what happens in the future, give them a chance. Do any of you know the deal agreed, guess not, but it doesn't stop you moaning anyway!!!
Craig, says...
2:39pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Gaz wrote:try searching the old company name, if you read the article properly you would relaise they have only just rebranded this morning and therefore prob have not updated on google yet.
Let's hope it's lucrative ! can't find them on a google search though so doubt it is worth as much to us as a big company would pay
John, Woodhall Spa says...
3:23pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Lets hope it will help to secure some more decent signings.
Paul, Peacehaven says...
4:27pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Steve, Hove says...
4:32pm Mon 30 Jun 08
It's not surprising people are negative when according to the latest accounts available on the parent company our new sponsors have a net worth of just under £19k, fantastic!!
George, says...
6:25pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Dennis, Brighton says...
6:32pm Mon 30 Jun 08
Additional Services > Disaster Recovery.
We're in safe hands!
Angela, Hove Actually says...
9:18pm Mon 30 Jun 08
TIC BOAT.. VILA IN SOUTH OF FRANCE.WELL DONE GEORGE OBVIOUSLY A BUISNESS MAN WHO KNOWS HIS STUFF. DO YOU THIN K DICK KNIGHT AND THE BOARD WOULD GET INOLVED WITH A TIN POT COMPANY WHOS ACTUALLY GIVEN SOMETHING TO THE CLUB.
ASK YOUR SELF THIS QUESTION WHO WOULD WANT TO SPONSER THE ALBION WITH ALL THIS NEGATIVITY.
andy, portslade says...
9:34pm Mon 30 Jun 08
AT LEAST WE HAVE A SPONSER THIS SEASON LETS BEHIND MICKEY AND THE LADS AND UP THE ALBION..
P.S LOVING THE SHIRT DESIGNS
harpo, says...
11:00pm Mon 30 Jun 08
never wrong dave, Brighton says...
12:29am Tue 1 Jul 08
Bossman wrote:This is the best post on here.I think with this news its safe to say work will not start on Falmer in December.
Yeh, far more appropiate then the lucrative money that comes with a 'large company'. What planet are you on Colza???? Next your be asking why Man Utd. aren't sponsored by the Manchester Evening News !!! This is yet another clear case of lack of business sense/contacts again from the Board. The current football climate has a strong business ethic, which is clearly something BHA does not have!!!
Carlos, Manchester says...
1:27am Tue 1 Jul 08
Seagull John, Hove says...
7:19am Tue 1 Jul 08
martin, london says...
7:56am Tue 1 Jul 08
Seagull John wrote:good post makes alot of sense.come on seagulls!
The sponsors have to be able to see where their return on their investment will come from. Big sponsors won't be interested in a 3rd Division club with no ground which is what we are today. So the club has to look to local sponsors looking to raise profile in Sussex. And like Skint, a fan has put his hand in his pocket & the moaners on this site should be grateful to him. Well done IT First, clearly another Friend of The Albion. Fans should stick together, not be criticised by their own. And well done Dick for getting in the new sponsors in time for the new season & kit launch. Looks like a good marketing move all round to me. After all, before yesterday, it would have been IT First-who?
royston, brighton says...
9:34am Tue 1 Jul 08
Tokyo Pete, Japan says...
3:07pm Tue 1 Jul 08
darren, lewes says...
4:04pm Tue 1 Jul 08
James, Brighton says...
11:51pm Wed 2 Jul 08
Francis, hangleton says...
8:57am Thu 3 Jul 08
LIAM, Eastbourne says...
4:09pm Mon 7 Jul 08
kevin, london says...
12:09pm Tue 8 Jul 08
LIAM wrote:couldnt agree more. up the seagulls.
Half the problem is, that people are reluctant to accept change.I\'d never heard of IT FIRST until now, but im sure Dick Knight is not a stupid man. Look at some of the Premiership sponsers, and some of those were often un heard of. (e.g AIG) The sponsership deal will in some way no doubt be of great benefit to the club. The way you have to look at it is, we have a superb manager, a multi million pound stadium in the making and a club that in a few years time could well be going places. Getting worked up about a two year sponsership deal should really be the last of our worries. Well done IT FIRST.
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colza, once hove says...
9:19am Mon 30 Jun 08