The UK Championship, one of snooker's oldest and most prestigious tournaments, will be sponsored by Pukka Pies following a new deal announced today.
The news follows the appointment of the Essentially Group to sell sponsorship for WPBSA events.
The UK Championship has been sponsored by Maplin Electronics for the last three years but they decided not to renew following last season's tournament.
34 comments:
I think Hendry summed it up best when he said snooker has plenty to offer sponsors. It begs the question why they find it so difficult to get them, perhaps World Snooker by getting this Essentially Group on board have done something positive for once.
Another real world class sponsor! I've nothing against Pukka Pies but they are hardly a major multi-national - still beggars can't be chosers and any sponsor is better than none I suppose.
Keep those pies away from Stephen Lee!
i thought world snooker used IMG before this arnt they supposed to be the best ?
It doesn't beg the question. To beg the question does not mean to raise or prompt the question. It means to assume in your premises the truth of your conclusion eg the WPBSA is doing a great job and therefore people should support them.
Shaun Murphy will really want to defend his crown now
to insult 2 players personally is not on come on dave do something about it !!! they cant defend themselves !!!
i thought you were better than to let idiots post comments about folks size on here dave.
The Pukka Pies UK Championship - sounds more like an eating competition than a snooker event.
Hi Dave,
The promo pic didn't do it justice either with Mr Selby!
I also notice, that it is only for 1 year. So nothing set in stone to gurantee the tournament's future.
We must coming up to soon, re-negotiating the TV contract for BBC tournaments. I think there is 2 years to go.
Come on Essentially Group. The onus is on you to find the sponsor. Do you know how much WS are paying this company to find sponsors whilst, in the short term, they lay staff off?
Thanks, Joe
Congratulations to World Snooker on finally securing a sponsor for the 2nd biggest event on the calendar.
I don't know why people are complaining - if you watch any Moto GP you'll see Pukka Pies logo all over the place, and many other sports besides. I don't remember any outcry when 888.com sponsored the Worlds and my experience of that particular brand was a computer virus I couldn't shake off, and then decorating the holy grail with horrible ribbons!
I won't be eating any Pukka Pies, but I couldn't care less about snooker being associated with them. I'm just happy we have a sponsor.
I'm happy there's a sponsor too but just to clarify that 888 are a much bigger company than Pukka so to associate the two is ridiculous.
Hmmm... Pukka Pies. I can already hear the commentators on tv say: "Welcome to the Pukka Pies UK Championship." Has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say?...
Something tells me that this tournament is going to be fun to watch... and listen...
"to insult 2 players personally is not on come on dave do something about it !!! they cant defend themselves !!!"
Yes they can. They can write to this blog if they want to, but they won't cause i'm sure they have a sense of humor, contrary to some poeple who comment on this blog... Just relax and have a beer folks... ;-)
Hah... I'm not sure if this is the "X-Factor" style makeover O'Sullivan was looking for...! Oh well, it's definitely better than nothing. Will the baize be orange?
@ 858
i can joke with the best of them
joking about someones weight on someones blog is IMHO schoolboy humour that should be kepy to snooker forums and not daves blog.
my point was there was a place for that kind of stuff and i dont reckon its daves style to have that kind of thing on here.
I agree I probably shouldn't have let it through
Will the winner get a golden pie as trophy?
In the politically correct world that we're living in, your reaction doesn't surprise me... A pity you think so guys, but i've got to respect that...
Cheers everyone!
it certainly wasnt a dig at you dave
ive had comments not posted from you on here which i realised would have been better placed on a snooker forum rather than a blog, or left unsaid.
anyway, good that theres a sponsor.
to me, i dont understand why major label drinks companies dont get involved (and give away promos at the venue)....
Another long one but it normally is when I have something to say...
Well to be fair I think the comments are aimed at the sponsors more than the players. But Dave, I think you definitely should have let the comments through. It's really quite important because it shows immediate image the public are getting from the association of sponsor vs sport through this deal.
In the 80s and 90s we had Embassy, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges. OK, a drug that kills, but as a sponsor they come across as stylish, elegant, classy and they made the tournament and players look stylish, elegant and classy. Casino sponsors like 888.com can offer a similar style, elegance and class to the sport we love.
I can't help but think how casinos could create a real James Bond image using the players and their product to promote themselves. Cigarettes and snooker and Casinos and snooker are a match made in heaven. Even watch sponsors like Royal London (sic) who used to sponsor the UK (is that correct?). The cigarette sponsors were marketed very well with snooker, it was all very slick. I think the casino's and watch companies' marketing people need a good talking to though. I think they have a fantastic opportunity to further their brand with snooker.
Now, ...Pukka Pies, what would Simon Cowell say? "Taking all the positives from the performance..." the UK Championships now has a sponsor. :o) Now to the negatives. Sponsorship is all about how a company can promote its brand so more people buy their product and the company earns more money. One of the best ways to promote snooker is through style, class and elegance as all the players are dressed in suits and with a little care and attention, ....can really look good on TV. I can't really see what Pukka Pies is going to bring to snooker, ...except money. I think it's a great deal for Pukka Pies and no doubt a deal for a bargain basement price (although I haven't seen any numbers). Pukka Pies have traded up here, I think snooker has traded down. I don't think snooker wants a darts image, it just wants to be run as well as darts.
Snooker sponsors need to be chosen wisely, and not be taken at any cost. In the short term this might be good for snooker (more money to the players), over the long term, maybe not (detracts more prestigious sponsors). Elegant and classy companies might not want to be associated with a sport that associates themselves with companies like Pukka Pies. I think snooker lends itself well to style elegance and class and that's the image snooker should be aiming for. I would say there's more money in those sectors too.
The comments in this post are maybe a little cruel to some of the players, but if you think about it's really quite important. Comments here are a representation of how the public will associate this deal to snooker. Be careful what you censor!
Andy
i totally disagree andy
thanks for the million word sermon though
I must say that I am very sorry to be one of those whose comment seems to have caused so much offence. It was only meant as a little joke and I am sure Stephen would have treated it as such. When I last heard he was trying desperately to lose weight and it occured to me that having loads of the sponsors products would not be helpful to him and others.
It was just a throw away line and many seem to have picked on this rather than the main point of the article, so ably dealt with by Andy.
Although any sponsor is welcome we do not wish to be seen to be scraping the barrel.
WSA proudly announce that Pukka has 270 employees! Wow!
Anyway let us hope that this is just the beginnming and we can look forward to sponsors for the Masters, Welsh Open and the rest in the future.
Very sorry to have been partly to blame for all the aggro, Dave.
Hehe, no problem Anon @10.09
My fingers just kept tapping... :o)
Andy,
I see where you come from but allow me to take the opposite stance... for the pleasure of discussion.
Snooker was a pub game and a working class diversion before it tried to work itself as "classy". I'm not sure it did it any good. It's only to read the nostalgic comments about Big Bill W and others and to look at club closing where workmen used to play...
So maybe coming back to its more down-to-earth, ordinary people origins/image isn't a bad move.
And it's unlikely anyone will ruin his/her family over pies... contrary to betting and casinos. Yes I can be "moral" like that ;)
Oh dear if this is the best Snooker can do in attracting serious sponsors it just shows the state the game is in.
Also Dave please don't give in to those that want you to censor 'edgy' comments. It all part of legitimate free speech which some foolish people don't seem to appreciate!
I should point out that I don't believe in 'free speech' without responsibility.
If anyone feels they have been libelled or defamed on here it'll be me they sue, not anonymous commenters, ergo I can't let every comment through (although 95% are published).
@ Dave 11:00 AM
You have a point there Dave... We blog or forum posters tend to forget that sometimes...
This is not a dig at you Dave as I understand you dont want to get sued, but to me free speech doesnt exist as there is often consequences of our speech. If fee speech was to exist truly then anything could be said without consequence. I hope you were joking about that Masters sponsor on Twitter!
Monique et al,
Looking from the outside, I think our sport was delivered to the public very well in the 80s and 90s, and I'd like to see this kind of delivery and popularity again (obviously without the internal problems and infighting).
I don't think keeping the sport classy and elegant means only specific class levels of society will take an interest in the sport, and I think this was proven in the 80s and 90s when all of society watched the sport on TV. So why move to an eat pies image from a James Bond image? For me, there's no logical reason for it apart from short term (monetary) gain.
I think snooker has a responsibility not to accept money from any Tom, Dick or Harry that throw money at them (as do all sports).
I'm still not saying Pukka Pies is the wrong choice/sponsor, I'm just generating discussion points. :o)
Andy
Pukka should provide pastry to the players too -a doughnot with mineral water would be handy in case of prolonged matches:)
I feel sorry for Pukka Pies in all of this! No wonder snooker doesn't get sponsors. Hopefully either Martini or Beluga Caviar will step in next year.
Betty - don't feel sorry for an inanimate object! The pies don't actually realise they are being slagged off!
well said about the comments dave
that stuart is a right fanning
I think it is great that top quality pies are now being associated with a top quality product.
It reminds me of the sketch on that Mitchell and Webb look, with the two old geezers drinking whisky. Not sure if they eat pies but they look like they should be.
Does anyone know the prizefund/money for this tournament? I won't make any pie jokes! I presume it will be heavily less than in previous years with a non multi-national British only sponser.
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