Canberra Raiders turn to Facebook and social media to sell $700,000 sleeve sponsorship

Social media is often a brutal place for athletes and sporting organisations, especially after the unexpected losses or threats to cut up membership cards when it all goes pear-shaped.

But the Green Machine, known for having one of the most passionate supporter bases in the NRL, is trying to tap into the good side of the online beast in a break from tradition.

The Raiders have moved out of the corporate boardrooms and into the palms of fans to advertise a new sleeve sponsorship as they chase a prospective partner for at least 2023 and 2024.

The initial post to their 210,000 followers on Facebook attracted hundreds of interactions for a potential deal the Raiders say is worth $15 million per year in exposure in the rugby league world.

So within minutes Raiders fans were already trying to lightheartedly raise the $350,000 required per season to snag the spot and general manager Jason Mathie said the club had its first serious offer within 90 minutes of going live.

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"We've had a lot of long-term major sponsors for a long time now," Mathie said.

"We always go through contacts and previous agencies we've worked with, and we've had unbelievable success selling the women's apparel. It's sold out.

"The last spot we've got left is on the men's sleeve. We're not going to give it away, but we just thought, 'why not try something different?'.

"Within the first hour-and-a-half we had someone touching base with our corporate team. If you always do the same thing, you get the same results. So why not go down a different path?"

Canberra Milk has moved from the sleeve to the front of the jersey, opening up the last remaining spot on the Raiders' men's and women's outfits.

The Raiders have already locked in a major sponsor for the club's inaugural women's team and sponsors raced to grab the remaining NRLW spots despite Canberra being yet to officially sign a player.

The NRL has not finalised the draw for the women's competition, but an expanded 10-team season is expected to start during the second half of the men's campaign.

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