Australian National Rugby League champion South Sydney Rabbitohs has announced an expanded four-year renewal of its sponsorship agreement with air conditioning brand Fujitsu General.
Under the deal, Fujitsu General – a division of Japanese technology company Fujitsu – becomes the Rabbitohs co-major away corporate partner from the start of the 2015 NRL season.
Fujitsu General’s branding will appear on the front, lower back and sleeve of South Sydney’s away jersey and the upper back and centre chest of the home jersey.
Existing co-major home corporate partner Crown Resorts and shorts sponsor Alcatel OneTouch are the club’s other kit sponsors. The Crown Resorts logo will appear on the front, lower back and sleeve of the home jersey, as well as the upper back and centre chest of the away jersey.
The Rabbitohs said in a statement: “This is a major change to the way jersey sponsorships are presented in the NRL, with the Rabbitohs becoming the only club to feature only two brands in all property spaces on their playing jersey in multi-million dollar deals.”
Rabbitohs chief executive Shane Richardson added: “We have done a lot of research into the best practice around playing kit sponsorships around the world and this model is regarded as the best for the club and the corporate partners involved. It’s a much cleaner look to our jerseys and enables us to work even closer with our valued partners to service their needs within their sponsorships. This is a long term strategy for us and we’re delighted to present these two top-shelf organisations on our jerseys.”
Fujitsu initially partnered with South Sydney under a two-year agreement last November and it now replaces Italian small appliance manufacturer De’Longhi, which has served as the team’s major away sponsor since 2008.
Philip Perham, deputy managing director of Fujitsu General, said: “Whilst still only very new, the relationship that we have developed with South Sydney has proved extremely beneficial for our brand.
“Apart from the obvious media exposure we have gained through their on-field success in 2014, we have leveraged the clubs enormous consumer appeal and vast business contacts to enhance our own business performance and objectives. It’s all of these critical factors that ultimately led to our decision to elevate our sponsorship arrangements with the club and sign a long term partnership agreement.”