Health insurance company Nib has extended its partnership with New Zealand Super Rugby franchise the Blues.
The new three-year deal will see Nib retain its status as the Blues’ principal sponsor. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed but the New Zealand Herald newspaper said it represents the Blues’ “biggest ever” sponsorship deal.
The company’s logo will continue to feature on the front of the Auckland-based team’s shirts until at least the end of the 2021 season. Nib first partnered with the Blues in 2014.
Nib chief executive Rob Hennin said: “We’ve been able to build great brand awareness and affinity with Blues and Super Rugby fans alike thanks to our sponsorship of the club which has been a contributor to our ongoing growth in the local private health insurance market.
“The Blues partnership is a key component of our overall marketing strategy that helps us to engage with Blues supporters, Kiwis across the country as well as our own customers and employees.”
Hennin added, according to the Herald: “I can’t give you a ballpark figure but we get many, many millions of dollars’ worth of media value from the Blues.
“We’re coming up to a five-year association with the Blues and over that time our business has grown enormously from a brand point of view and a business point of view and there’s no doubt in our minds that our association with the Blues has been a significant factor in our ongoing growth.”