With all the cynicism in the media about corporate greed and ‘the big end of town’, it’s easy to forget that some companies are actually extraordinarily generous. For one example of a company thinking beyond its bottom line, look no further than Toyota’s latest initiative: for every goal kicked on the AFL field, the global car manufacturer has pledged to boost its CEO’s salary by a thousand bucks!
If this doesn’t restore your faith in humanity, we’re not sure what will. Rain, hail or shine, Toyota is committed to pulling the four-figure trigger every time an AFL player slots a major. And just when you thought Toyota couldn’t get any more generous, get this — the CEO receives this money on top of his base salary, which is already well over a million dollars!
Whenever someone boots a goal in the AFL, two things happen: the goal umpires wave their flags, and Toyota immediately transfers one thousand dollars to its CEO’s bank account. In the time it takes Channel 7 to broadcast a Carlton Draught commercial, a Toyota finance officer assembles the fat stack and wires it directly to his boss.
This isn’t about maximising profits, it’s about giving back to the high-powered individual who oversees the company’s international operation.
After each game, the leading goal kickers must be pretty chuffed to know that not only have they added points to their team’s score, they’ve also added thousands of dollars to the pay packet of Toyota’s most senior employee. North Melbourne’s Ben Brown is currently leading the Coleman Medal count with 46 goals this season. This equates to an injection of $46,000 into the CEO’s gargantuan bonus, which will likely be streamlined into a trust fund that will guarantee his children a luxurious lifestyle for the rest of their lives — and that’s from just one player!
Corporate sponsorship is about more than giant companies just slapping their name on a sporting competition — it’s about enabling companies to remunerate their leaders in fun and creative ways. Toyota have taken this philosophy to the next level. Let’s hope that other multinational corporations are taking note.