KEY POINTS:
With the popularity of Super 14 and provincial rugby in decline, the New Zealand Rugby Union hopes a slicker marketing effort will stop the rot.
Promoting the big match of the weekend and luring fans from the Auckland region spearhead the NZRU's new promotional drive.
Aware that attendances
for Super 14 and provincial games have slipped in the past 12 months and TV viewing figures are in decline, the NZRU is trying to be smarter in how it sells the game.
For years, administrators had the attitude rugby did not need any promotion, as fans would turn up regardless. Taking that loyalty for granted has proven to be dangerous as, in an age of multiple entertainment options, many fans have become less certain about spending their discretionary dollars on products that have lost some of their appeal.
NZRU commercial manager Paul Dalton said: "We are trying to be a bit more clever in the way we approach things. We did a lot of research last year and got a clear message of what the fans expect.
"There is a lot of stuff Sky has done to refresh the viewing experience and there is also a greater focus now on the big match-ups. The feature matches on Friday and Saturday nights are being pushed, whereas in the past, we tended to try and promote all seven games across the weekend.
"We are probably spending about the same as we have in previous years but are trying to be a bit more co-ordinated. In the past, we would have an ad[vertisement] in the newspaper promoting a game and then on the next page the franchise or province would have their own ad."
Dalton accepts the battle this year will be harder than usual because of the deteriorating economic climate.
Families are under pressure and not many budgets stretch to a day at the rugby.
The sport last year put itself under pressure by reducing the impact of the Super 14 when it withdrew 22 All Blacks.
The Air New Zealand Cup also failed to spark the imagination.
The problems are most acute in Auckland, as the city has plenty of alternative entertainment options.
"Auckland is the market that has the most choice. The Vector Arena has lined up a high quality list of acts. You tend to find with Auckland and the Blues that when they are hot, they are the hottest ticket in town but if they are not going so well, fans drift away.
"I think last year has proven more than ever that rugby can't take its social currency for granted.
"A core of diehard rugby fans continue to support the game. We have started to attract a whole new fan - a more socially-orientated, peripheral supporter who come out in their droves when their team is winning.
"If teams start to lose, though, those peripheral fans drop off and we need more than just the diehards to survive. We saw that with the rebuilding going on in Christchurch, the whole fan experience changed as a consequence and that is going to be the case at Eden Park after the Bledisloe test.
"The capacity is going to come down to 29,000 and a lot of quality seats are going to be lost."
Dalton says the overall rugby entertainment experience still needs improvement. The quality and choice of food and drinks on offer also needed attention.
American sports have been identified as the benchmark in that regard, with fans treated to a more memorable and comfortable experience.