IMPORTANT MEDIA RELEASE / ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Motley Fool announced as new Gabba naming rights sponsor, and unveils new business venture
The Motley Fool has today been announced as the new naming rights sponsor for Queensland's premier sporting stadium, The Gabba, home to Queensland Cricket and the Brisbane Lions AFL team, among Queensland's other great sporting teams.
The new name is effective immediately, and the stadium will henceforth be known as The Motley Fool Gabba.
"The Queensland Government and The Motley Fool are pleased to announce this new 10 year deal. It will be a major boost for the teams playing at The Gabba and spectators at the ground" according to a joint statement released by the Premier's office and the company's spokesman Rolf Palio.
It's a major commitment for The Motley Fool, which will invest $1.4 million per year, over the term of the deal, representing the largest marketing commitment ever made by the financial services company,
"The Motley Fool wants to join the big league" said Palio. "Magellan sponsored The Ashes series in the past, and we want to go one better."
As part of a comprehensive and integrated marketing campaign, Cricket Queensland has agreed that the Queensland Bulls Sheffield Shield team will henceforth be known as the Queensland Fools, and will sport embroidered jester's caps on their cricket whites.
Additionally, the team will wear multi-coloured uniforms (predominantly blue, red and yellow) in the domestic one-day competition, along with stylised jester's caps. The parties have agreed that traditional helmets will still be worn by batsmen and close-in fielders, to ensure player safety is not compromised.
As part of the deal, while the Brisbane AFL team will continue to be known as the Lions, in a nod to its Fitzroy roots, and won't change team colours, to avoid a clash with the Adelaide Crows, the club has agreed to use a jester's cap logo in place of the lion on team guernseys for the life of the sponsorship. Additionally, the team captain will be referred to as the Head Fool.
While some supporters may initially be resistant to the change, the club is excited by the opportunity to sell additional merchandise, particularly replica team uniforms, flags and headgear; the latter featuring a jester's cap beanie with integrated lion's mane, symbolising the new partnership.
In a first for commercial-sports partnerships in Australia, the Queensland government, in concert with the Brisbane City Council, has announced that the Wollongabba, the suburb that has gave its name to the stadium and sports precinct, will also have a name change, to be known as Foolin'Gabba for the duration of the partnership.
Said Palio "Australia Post and Google have been consulted, and have guaranteed that neither mail nor map directions will be impacted by the change. Both parties have agreed to implement the changes today, April 1." In a nod to its heritage, certain important historical signage will remain unchanged,
The parties agreed on the name, The Motley Fool Gabba, after the company's preferred names — The Foolitorium, The FoolDome, The Fool Shed and JesterLand — were rejected by stadium management. However, the name will be revisited after an initial five-year period, once sports fans and locals have had a chance to get used to the change.
Lastly, in consultation with the QRL, Wally Lewis' nickname will be retrospectively changed from King Wally to "Fool Wally". The Motley Fool and the Queensland Government want to record their appreciation to Lewis for being amenable to the change.
The Queensland State of Origin team will also henceforth cease to be known as the Maroons. While negotiations are ongoing, the Queensland Jesters is the likely new name of the team. The colours will be red, blue and yellow, but the company has graciously allowed the Jesters to retain a maroon strip on the left hand side of the team's playing shorts.
New Integrated Sports Betting Company Launched
In a further integration, the company has announced that it is unveiling a new sports betting operation, to be known as FoolBet. The company's tagline "What do you have to lose?" will feature prominently on external signage at The Motley Fool Gabba / FoolDome and around the ground. A television ad is currently being produced.
"We remain indebted to our members for placing their trust in our ASX stock recommendations" said Palio, "But we know there are plenty of people who don't want to get rich, slowly, by investing in well-vetted stocks with what we think are good risk/reward characteristics."
"There are other people, frankly, who would rather just have a punt. And hey, if they want to throw their money away, they might as well throw it at us."
FoolBet will allow Australians to bet on anything that walks, runs or crawls up walls.
Or doesn't.
We don't really mind. As long as the odds are stacked in our favour, we'll take the money.
In the statement, Palio said "No, people won't get rich using FoolBet. But they won't get rich punting on penny stocks or CFDs either. That doesn't stop them, though.
"We tried. We really did. But if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
"Providing good quality investment advice is important, but we can do both. There's a bigger market out there to be tapped.
"Frankly there's much more money to be made in empty promises and slick television advertising".
"That said, we won't be shuttering our investment advice business. Our members are smart people who know the value of quality advice. If we keep serving them well, we expect they'll be happy to stay with us.
"But world domination awaits, so we're adding more strings to our bow."
In an effort to maximise profit, FoolBet will offer relatively poor odds, in line with industry best practice. "We will suck in — sorry, entice — new customers with betting gimmicks that infer that they odds are in their favour. That's standard practice — once they're hooked, we'll fleece them." said Palio.
Customers wanting to receive FoolBet's introductory offers can click here to receive our special launch offer odds, guaranteed to make gambling seem both easy and profitable. The offers will be structured to ensure the introductory odds favour those who deposit more money.
"This is a monumental day for The Motley Fool. The announcement of The Motley Fool Gabba, the renaming of Foolin'Gabba and the integrated team sponsorships are evidence that we've joined the big boys. We've really arrived."
"And FoolBet, a natural extension, will be a wonderful addition to the sports betting landscape in Australia, meaning no potential punter need miss out on 'enjoying' the roller-coaster ride of gambling, even if we know where that particular ride ends."
Media contact:
Rolf Palio
[email protected]
(Editors please note: This release is embargoed until 12.01am, April 1, 2019)
