In September, with the catalyst of Coca-Cola purchasing the naming rights to the London Eye, we posted a discussion about sponsorship and its position in the marketing mix.

Whilst neither party would give financial details of the deal, it’s a fair bet that the sum would be a tad more than our own more modest sponsorship of one of the region’s best known RUGBY clubs, Novos RFC. Whilst we may not give the Benton-based club much financially, although we have been known to spend a reasonable sum over the bar, we’ve been doing our bit for them for many years, so it was a wonderful gesture of the club to display our logo on their shirts for this season and to present us with a framed shirt on Saturday.

I’ve been involved with Novos since the 1970’s and have probably had moinvestement, Coca-Colare fun at Sutherland Park than any other single location. The club is a fantastic mix of people from all backgrounds, united by a love of rugby and whilst they may not be as successful as some of the region’s bigger clubs, they are growing and prospering with every season, running five senior men’s sides, two female sides and junior sides at every level from the wee warriors at U6 to the future first team at Colts level.

Their ground is currently being transformed by the largest development programme they’ve ever undertaken – a £250,000 investment which they’ve raised to regrade and drain the pitches, form a new junior pitch and floodlight them – whilst the newly-refurbished lounge is full every Saturday. They’re a growing club but as they push ever higher, they’ve never forgotten the values of amateur sport and inclusiveness that makes them such a great club.

So, here’s another aspect of sponsorship that maybe isn’t in the marketing theory books but is just as valid a reason as Coca-Cola’s London Eye deal. To sponsor a great cause in the knowledge that you can make a difference is worth doing, so thank you Novos, not only for the framed shirt (pride of place in the Silver Bullet trophy cabinet), but also for the opportunity to let us help and give our skills and time freely to a great bunch.

(Also, thank you for such a fantastic game on Saturday – a 70 point thriller which saw the gallant men in red, black and white defeat local rivals Gosforth 36-34!)