NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business

Rugby: Brand's grand plan

Gregor Paul
By Gregor Paul
Reporter·
31 Mar, 2007 05:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

KEY POINTS:

Winning the World Cup will have another, lucrative benefit - pushing the All Blacks up the premier league of global sports brands.

Research by the New Zealand Rugby Union shows the All Blacks are easily the world's most recognised rugby team and that awareness is climbing in the
UK and other fringe rugby markets and going off the scale in France.

With the French hosting this year's World Cup, the NZRU is aware it has a massive opportunity to grow brand awareness and convert that into revenue.

While New Zealanders continue to invest thousands of dollars supporting the All Blacks, off-shore markets are key to the growth of the brand.

The NZRU wants to create one of the world's leading sports brands and to do that, it needs to exploit commercial opportunities in Europe, China, Japan and the US.

Sales of the famous black jersey are already at unprecedented levels in 2007. European sales of replica jerseys and other official All Black merchandise are booming five months out from the World Cup and some headway is being made in non-traditional rugby countries.

To fully exploit those relatively untapped markets, the NZRU needs the All Blacks to be successful in France and win the World Cup for the first time since 1987.

"We take the view there are three pillars the All Black brand is marketed on," says NZRU commercial manager Fraser Holland. "Team performance, history and heritage, and New Zealand and its culture. There is no doubt that performance is the most important pillar.

"We are aware the World Cup is a massive opportunity and we've been working hard on the back of the end of season tour last year where we did a number of small but significant things.

"Outside of the core markets, in places like Portugal, Spain and Italy, it is realistic to believe we can make large steps after the World Cup. These countries have access to rugby and are close to the main rugby regions and, while it might not be the main sport, you only need a small percentage in a country like Italy to add real value."

The small but significant things to which Holland is referring are the adidas-arranged appearance of the All Blacks at the Parc de Princes in Paris last year to cheer on the French football team. The All Blacks were there en masse, all clad in French jerseys, having had lunch with the football boys the previous day.

An estimated French audience of 10 million saw the All Blacks in Paris, which is partly why France, by some way, is the key European market for the NZRU to exploit.

"Prior to the 2003 World Cup, we did some research," said Holland. "We benchmarked the All Blacks against the other two [big] Southern Hemisphere teams, South Africa and the Wallabies, as well as a number of other sporting teams across the spectrum. That included Manchester United, some of the American teams, Formula One and other major European football teams.

"What we found was that in the UK, Ireland and France, we had at least three times the awareness of the Wallabies and Springboks.

"When we extended the measure to determine how much support the All Blacks had, we held up well in Ireland and Wales and had really strong support in France.

"Our most recent research benchmarked us against other adidas-supported teams in a number of different markets such as Spain, China, Japan and the US. That included teams such as Chelsea, Liverpool and the British Lions. What the research showed is that awareness varied depending on territory. For us, the awareness was lowest in places such as Germany, China and the US and highest in European markets. The movement we have seen in the French market has been tremendous.

"Rugby has grown as a sport over the last decade but the All Blacks have grown faster. It is not a brand that is limited to rugby fans and we want to be a world leading rugby brand and also a world leading sports brand."

To achieve that aim, the NZRU has to first convert the awareness into affinity where people don't just recognise the All Black brand and its values, they support it and invest in it.

They are also trying to build a portfolio of global sponsors separate to those corporations who back the team in New Zealand.

Italian firm Ivesco, which makes commercial vehicles, believes the All Blacks are such a potent brand in Europe, it has recently signed a major sponsorship deal, even though the company is not interested in building a profile or sales in New Zealand.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Business

Business|economy

Thinking of retiring? Nearly one in two Kiwis still working when they turn 65

10 Jun 07:00 AM
Premium
Shares

Market close: SkyCity loses spot on the 20

10 Jun 05:56 AM
Business

Why Genesis is simplifying its brand under one unified name

10 Jun 05:14 AM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Business

Thinking of retiring? Nearly one in two Kiwis still working when they turn 65

Thinking of retiring? Nearly one in two Kiwis still working when they turn 65

10 Jun 07:00 AM

Data shows we're joining the workforce earlier and continuing to work later in life.

Premium
Market close: SkyCity loses spot on the 20

Market close: SkyCity loses spot on the 20

10 Jun 05:56 AM
Why Genesis is simplifying its brand under one unified name

Why Genesis is simplifying its brand under one unified name

10 Jun 05:14 AM
Premium
Tech Insider: $529 phone, bought in March, can only make 3G calls; IRD's AI warning; $16K Google Cloud refund

Tech Insider: $529 phone, bought in March, can only make 3G calls; IRD's AI warning; $16K Google Cloud refund

10 Jun 03:14 AM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP