THE NEW ZEALAND Rugby Union (NZRU) announced sponsorship extensions with five of its major marketing partners this week.
Global brands Coca-Cola and Unilever have renewed until 2016 and 2013 respectively while Sanitarium (2016), Barkers (2015) and Bvlgari (2014) – the only international deal of the renewals – have also extended their associations to the reigning rugby union world champions.
Coca-Cola New Zealand is the NZRU’s longest-standing partner with the relationship dating back 18 years to 1994. The company supplies Coke and Coke Zero as the official soft drinks of the All Blacks and Powerade as the official sports drink.
Similarly, Unilever provides Rexona as the official deodorant of the All Blacks and Persil as the official laundry detergent.
While the sponsorship renewals will continue to supply the New Zealand rugby team with a plethora of services, it is the cash element which is of vital importance to the NZRU.
Despite hosting and winning the Rugby World Cup in 2011, the NZRU is said to be struggling with the financial pressures of maintaining investment to the sport at current levels.
“The cold, hard reality is that our national game costs us NZ$100 million a year to run,” said NZRU chief executive Steve Tew. “That is why we are working hard to contain costs and why we are exploring fresh opportunities to grow revenue.”
According to its 2011 annual report, the NZRU received NZ$79.9 million from broadcasting rights, sponsorship and licensing fees, and has indicated a need to extract more value from the All Blacks' global brand.
By Luke Harman
Follow Luke on Twitter: @lukeharmanSBG