Your Local Club — You Can’t Miss It

You would have seen ClubsNSW — or more specifically Your local club — just about everywhere over the past few weeks.

As you would no doubt be aware, ClubsNSW launched the new Your local club advertising campaign on 22 January, starting with a 30-second ad on free-to-air TV channels across the state, as well as streaming services, online/digital and on social media. Soon, you will also start to see the ads on the sides of buses. I think it’s safe to say we will all be whistling Magic Moments for some time!

To support the new campaign, ClubsNSW has created advertising materials — including posters, digital screens and social media tiles — for clubs to utilise. You can download them here.

The last week of January also saw the start of the third phase of the Your local club ClubGRANTS advertising campaign, highlighting the financial support that 11 clubs on the Central Coast have provided local surf life saving clubs — particularly timely given NSW has already recorded the deadliest summer for drownings in the state’s history. The Central Coast campaign features three 15-second ads, one 30-second ad and one 60-second ad for digital and social media; a 30-second radio ad airing on STAR 104.5; and printed ads on local buses. 

The first iteration of the Your local club ClubGRANTS advertising campaign shone a spotlight on the $600,000 that Wests Group Macarthur, Campbelltown Catholic Club and Ingleburn RSL have committed over three years to fund the purchase and installation of Automated External Defibrillators in the local area. The second iteration highlighted the efforts of six clubs in the Illawarra and South Coast region that have committed a collective $80,000 to Lifeline South Coast through the ClubGRANTS scheme. Future iterations will continue to focus on how clubs, through the ClubGRANTS scheme, provide immeasurable support to numerous initiatives that improve the lives of those in their communities — stay tuned.

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On 31 January, our media team arranged for 9 News to cover Canterbury League Club’s commitment to subsidising registration fees for kids within the Canterbury-Bankstown Junior Rugby League district. The initiative aims to invigorate participation in the sport locally and make it more accessible to families, particularly in light of the cost-of-living crisis. If you missed it, you can watch the piece here. 

Barry Ward, the Bulldogs’ General Manager of Pathways and Junior League, was interviewed on 2GB Drive about the new initiative (listen here) and ClubsNSW Ambassador Nathan Hindmarsh spoke to SEN’s Breakfast Show about it, too (listen here). 

The club industry’s support of rugby league will be highlighted in one of the upcoming phases of the ClubGRANTS advertising campaign.

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Last Friday, Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris, ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant and AHA NSW CEO John Whelan announced the introduction of Responsible Gambling Officers (RGOs) for club and pubs with more than 20 gaming machines at a media event held at Central Coast Leagues Club.

As member clubs would know, ClubsNSW included RGOs in the suite of harm minimisation measures introduced in the Club Gaming Code of Practice, which came into effect on 1 July 2023. In fact, more than 340 clubs across NSW — including Central Coast leagues Club — already have an RGO on duty, which is a testament to how proactive the club industry is in the harm minimisation space. 

On the same day as the RGO announcement, ClubsNSW launched Self-Facilitated Multi-Venue Self-Exclusion. Both items were covered quite extensively in the media, including on 9 News (Rebecca Riant and Nathan Hindmarsh interviewed) and on 2GB Drive with Chris O’Keefe (Rebecca Riant interviewed).

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As always, if your club has a story or initiative that you would like some help promoting in the media, please send an email to [email protected].