Sewell on the go is again partnering with local rugby league team Hull Kingston Rovers to introduce a collectible players’ sticker book in a bid to deepen ties with the community and encourage customers to try out a range of its forecourts around Hull.
The Top 50 Indie, which operates 13 sites, gives away the packs of four photos of the Super League club’s first team players, coaches, and former stars in a series of five releases which it has been making available at different sites.
This summer’s launch of the initiative, now in its second year, took place at the club’s Craven Park stadium which has been named after the retailer’s parent business, Sewell Group, a business with interests in construction, healthcare and estates management.
Some 900-plus sticker books were given out to fans of The Robins on match day from a stall that Sewell on the go had at the stadium. “It was mayhem,” recalls finance director Alex Mortimer. “As soon as one child found out about what we were doing there was a big rush.
“It has been a great commmunity thing for us to do, with the added benefit of bringing people to our sites who might not necessarily have been our customers before,” Alex added.
The last release of the 25 stickers is planned for August 1 at its Southcoates, Maybury and Sutton sites, where collectors will have the chance to meet the players and get their 12-page sticker booked signed. The players have also taken part in a YouTube video so that the petrol retailer can promote it on social media.
The two organisations have described themselves as “kindred spirits”: both were formed over 140 years ago, have grown rapidly in the past two years, and have strong East Hull roots. Also Sewell Group chair Paul Sewell, a former professional footballer and awarded with an OBE, was a mentor at Hull KR before becoming its chairman in November 2022.
Patrick Sewell, Paul’s son, admits sometimes the business needs to tread carefully with some staff and customers being fans of the opposing Super League rugby club Hull FC, but he says that the sticker book has proved a huge success.
“With 13 convenience and fuel stores across Hull and East Yorkshire, including five in East Hull, we’re used to seeing Hull KR supporters pop in on their way to and from matches, so it’s a natural step for us to support the club. This began several years ago with us sponsoring community sections in the ground, then the North Stand, and now the entire stadium,” he said.
The two year naming rights partnership, which sees the stadium referred to as Sewell Group Craven Park, runs until the end of the 2025 season.
