THE MELBOURNE Football Club is pleased to announce that Australia’s Number 1 energy broker, ‘EnergyWatch’ will become the Club’s new joint major sponsor, signing a collective deal worth $6 million over the next three years.

The EnergyWatch deal becomes the single biggest sponsorship in the Melbourne Football Club’s history and one of the biggest in the AFL.

EnergyWatch will appear on the back of the Club guernsey, on all Club apparel and will have significant signage presence at the MCG. EnergyWatch will also incorporate a creative advertising campaign around Number One Draft pick Jack Watts.

The man behind the biggest sponsorship deal in Melbourne Football Club’s history, is 30 year-old Ben Polis, founder of EnergyWatch.

Starting out in 2007 with a $400 website and a simple idea, Ben has carved his way through the energy industry to become head of the most successful energy broker businesses in Australia. 

EnergyWatch has experienced 1200% growth in the past 12 months, turning over $14 million in the last financial year and is on track to hit over $30 million this financial year.

The incredible growth of EnergyWatch has been a result of consumers being fed up with rising energy bills. EnergyWatch employees 200 staff and is currently expanding internationally.

EnergyWatch is a free service which has helped over 150,000 people save more than $50 million on their home and business energy accounts by sourcing a better deal on their electricity and gas.

Ben Polis said “For EnergyWatch, becoming a joint major sponsor at the Melbourne Football Club is such an enormous milestone in the company’s short three-year history. As a young, and relatively new company, to be partnering with the oldest football club in the world is quite amazing.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the Melbourne Football Club is on the verge of sustained on field success and EnergyWatch will benefit from that association. I am also hopeful that this investment will ensure that this young team of players stays together for the long term.

“EnergyWatch had plans to sponsor an AFL Club to help establish our brand as a house hold name in 2010. I had been assessing the performances on and off the field of potential clubs.  I believed the Melbourne Football Club presented the best opportunity for success in both areas. I was very impressed with the management and growth potential that the club offered.

“EnergyWatch approached the Melbourne Football Club many months ago and kept the announcement under wraps so we could execute our marketing campaign around free footballs. I see EnergyWatch as a long term partner of the Melbourne Football Club, that’s why I committed to 3 years and I have plans to stay with the Dees for the long term.

“In addition, EnergyWatch has been expanding to focus on commercial opportunities and the Dees had such a great business network, it was another reason they were the best fit.”

“The key to EnergyWatch’s success has been the ability to reach a large audience through our marketing activities. The Melbourne Football Club and the broader AFL community offered the greatest return on investment for our marketing spend and reach.

“Although this is purely a business decision, a relative of mine Geoff Collins, captained the club and was a premiership player.  Many of my family are Dees supporters and even though I consider myself a Bulldogs supporter I guess I also had red and blue running through my veins.”

Melbourne Football Club CEO Cameron Schwab said “ We are of course delighted that EnergyWatch have come on board at this time when we are taking the next step in our own development as a club. This partnership further consolidates our financial position and provides us with renewed momentum to be successful on the field.

"The partnership with EnergyWatch is the biggest in our club’s history and one of the biggest in the AFL. This Club has a proven track record with new, emerging brands like LG Electronics and more recently Kaspersky, and I’m sure EnergyWatch will be no different. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Kaspersky for their support over the last 3 years.”

Ben Polis has previously committed to the Melbourne Football Club back in June as Founder of ‘Freedom SEO’ who signed on as the Club’s first ‘Official Media Partner’. ‘Freedom SEO’ are pioneer’s in search engine optimization.

Ben said, “Search engine optimisation is the basis on which I built EnergyWatch. That’s why I created Freedom SEO, so other businesses could benefit from what I did with EnergyWatch through search engine optimisation.”

“All footy supporters understand and appreciate that this sort of investment is a vote of confidence not only in the Club but also good for the game that we have all grown up with and love. EnergyWatch can save all AFL supporters the cost of their family membership on their power bills and are giving away 10,000 FREE FOOTIES to celebrate the announcement of this partnership.”

EnergyWatch is a free service so you have nothing to lose except those expensive power bills.

To get your footy call EnergyWatch on 1300 923 050 and say  “I want cheaper power and my free footy”