Stars like (from left) Irene van Dyk, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Sophie Devine, Michael Jordan, and Christian Cullen draw the fans. Photos / NZME; Getty Images; Photosport
Stars like (from left) Irene van Dyk, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Sophie Devine, Michael Jordan, and Christian Cullen draw the fans. Photos / NZME; Getty Images; Photosport
THREE KEY FACTS:
Players like Jonah Lomu and Michael Jordan became icons, boosting visibility and revenue for their sports.
New Zealand Rugby’s three-player promotion rule limits individual star power, but personal promotions offer growth opportunities.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe’s return highlights the potential of leveraging individual brands to enhance women’s rugby.
Think about the sport you love – now tell me the player who helped you fall for it? For me, with rugby, it was Christian Cullen. For cricket, it was Sophie Devine, and for the netball I watched alongside my Mum, it was Irene van Dyk.I came for the star and then stayed for the team. And in the case of rugby, I ultimately became obsessed with the sport itself.
Players were my gateway into sports, but for others, their loyalty is assigned at birth. This is particularly the case for men’s sport, where visibility has long been assured and thus teams become tribal. For those codes and teams newer to our imagination, though, we need to find our way in. And more often than not, it’s a player who will open the door.
We’ve seen this in men’s sports, with athletes like Jonah Lomu and Michael Jordan becoming bigger than the teams they represented, breaking into our collective consciousness before their sports may have broken into our market. These types of players are a lightning rod. They generate unprecedented coverage, fan engagement and therefore all-important revenue streams for themselves and their sport.
Michael Jordan's star power made him a huge drawcard with the Chicago Bulls. Photo / Getty Images
Whereas American sport embraces this momentum, codes in this part of the world are less enthused. Commercial sensitivities have long seen New Zealand Rugby (NZR) deploy a three-player rule in promotions, ensuring no individual star shines too brightly. Outside of team commitments, though, players are freer to supplement their income with personal promotions. It’s the latter part of that equation that New Zealand Rugby need to lean into if the women’s game is to really take flight.
The biggest news in women’s rugby of late was the announcement of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe coming out of retirement. Woodman-Wickliffe is a heck of an athlete, but she’s also a businesswoman. Her re-signing with New Zealand Rugby was as much about chasing another World Cup title as it was honouring her sponsorship commitments. Where the NRLW stood in the way of her long-standing partnership with Mastercard, the union said play on.
NZR needs to keep that energy as it grows the value of its women’s assets. An idle scroll on social media will show you the breadth of current players’ appeal. Endorsements range from hunting gear to oranges to cars. These businesses are following the research that has shown the substantial return on investment that women’s sport and its athletes can offer. Sponsoring a player offers a chance to try before making a bigger commitment to one of our top teams. Just like the fans discovering the sport, these players also offer sponsors a way in.
The growth in resources offered to women has been relatively meagre when compared with the growth in individual sponsorship opportunities. The brightest star in the women’s game right now, Ilona Maher, freely admits her own virality was driven by financial necessity. She knew playing at the top of the game wasn’t enough to ensure her success. It was by developing her individual brand that she created the career her sport couldn’t afford her. Her individual success is now shared by her teams. Maher’s appeal helped to set attendance records for her English Premiership Club and, more recently, the USA 15s side.
We could have our own Ilona Maher moment with one of our stars, but we need to make sure rugby’s traditional sensitivities don’t stand in their way. Let these players fully realise their personal promotional appeal and they will in turn increase the value of the teams they play for. Let them help fans and sponsors alike find value in our sport.
