Interview with ASB's Shane Evans: The man who gave away the All Blacks and Eden Park

Shane Evans is the marketing mind behind the bold move to give away the All Blacks. Photo / Supplied

This weekend the name of a small Kaikōura fish and chips store will take centre stage as Australia and New Zealand clash in the Bledisloe Cup match at Coopers Catch Park.

You could be forgiven for not realising that little-known stadium is actually a reference to Eden Park, which has been renamed specifically for this event.

The bold decision to give the naming rights to a relatively unknown business – in Auckland, at least – came from the marketing team at ASB Bank, led by Shane Evans.

The naming rights gift may expire after this weekend, but it runs against the grain of the usual trend of major sponsors that do everything they can to selfishly defend the territories they pay handsomely to occupy.

Any ambush marketer will tell you that the quickest way to a cease and desist letter is to step on the turf a major brand has paid handsomely to occupy.

This only seems more pertinent in a year when the entire sporting calendar has been utterly decimated by the impact of Covid-19. Good sporting moments have become as rare as left-footed English footballers these days.

It seems counter-intuitive, then, to hear Evans say these decisions were made as direct response to Covid-19.

The naming rights move comes as part of a broader campaign that has seen ASB also "give away" its All Blacks sponsorship to 100 of the bank's small to medium-sized business customers.

Coopers Catch owners Natasha and Jason Hill. Photo / Supplied

"Back in March when we went into the first lockdown, we realised pretty quickly that businesses were going to be under a lot of pressure," recalls Evans.

"So we took a challenge from our executive team, which asked us: 'How are you going to help jumpstart the economy?'

"We went away and looked at all the assets we had available to us, including our All Blacks partnership, and we wondered whether there was a way we activate differently to support businesses."

New Zealand Rugby (NZR), which was confronting the reality of the bare calendar, jumped aboard the idea to make 100 unique All Blacks ads for 100 smaller New Zealand businesses.

But that's easier said than done. Evans admits there have been quite a few logistical challenges in bringing the idea to life.

"I don't think I've made this amount of videos in my whole career, let alone this year," he laughs.

"Logistically, it is a big job, but everyone has really bought into the idea. A big part of anything like this is galvanising the whole organisation behind a single idea. People have really leaned into it and given extra effort to organise it."

ASB has mitigated the risk of diluting its association with the All Blacks by ensuring that the story behind the campaign is linked back to the bank. ASB sits quite comfortably in the background as the enabler of the initiative.

The cynic might, however, ask why the bank is spending all this money on marketing and whether it wouldn't be better to put the money into a charity or some other cause.

"It's a good question," admits Evans.

"I guess we're always trying to balance our support for customers and support for our brand. But, I think what people want to see is for banks to be successful, because the more successful we are, the more we can support our customers through difficult times.

"And while people often see the outward-facing stuff, which is about driving better brand position, what you don't see is that we've got 4000 people behind the scenes working every day to ensure our customers are in the right position and supported financially."

Evans adds that a little positivity can also be infectious and that this is important when the world is being weighed down by the stark reality of the moment.

While many businesses have been more reluctant to advertise over the past few months, broad swathes of academic research shows that organisations that maintain or increase advertising spend during an economic downturn end coming out of recession with a stronger market share.

Whether this campaign does the trick for ASB is yet to be seen, but the team will again have to get the creative sparks flying in the coming year.

The impact of Covid-19 is far from over, and ASB's other major sporting asset has already fallen as a 2021 casualty with the announcement this month that the ASB Classic tennis event would be cancelled.

ASB also has a history of doing interesting work with the ASB Classic. Photo / Supplied

Evans is taking the loss of the event on the chin, saying that it's been a tough period for all organisations involved in the events business.

"Unfortunately, they came to the right decision that it just wasn't going to work this summer," admits Evans.

"We've been working quite closely with the team and we're still committed to the ASB Classic for the long-term. For us, that's just a long-term investment that we'll continue to focus on. At least we now have some certainty around the calendar."

Even without the promise of set fixtures in the calendar, Evans has shown an adaptability and risk appetite that's increasingly rare in a marketing industry that often to plays it safe for fear of ruffling feathers.

"Change creates opportunity," says Evans.

"In times of crisis, particularly in New Zealand, you have to lean in as a brand. I think you need to take a few risks if you want to maintain your brand position … And while Covid-19 has been difficult, if you can catch those opportunities, and be clear on what you stand for, I think people will see you a little bit differently."