Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

Specialist business insurer QBE is putting its support behind the President’s XV Awards - an RFU initiative which seeks to identify and reward initiatives that promote the development of rugby at grassroots level. The four-year deal complements QBE’s status as Official Insurance Partner of the Guinness Premiership and England Rugby.

Now in its fourth year, the President’s XV Awards, supported by QBE, celebrate projects that have been run in a voluntary capacity at rugby organisations within the last 12 months. The winning project in each of the 15 award categories receives £500, with two highly commended projects in each category receiving £100 for their club.

QBE will be involved in the announcement of the winning schemes and having already been involved in judging the winners, QBE will also receive branding rights and presence at each presentation.

Supporting the awards also forms part of QBE’s Developing Talent programme, which will see the insurer encourage development of the game at a grassroots level, and engage QBE employees in activity that contributes towards this goal.

The activity will be supported by an internal communications campaign within QBE, which will encourage employees to get involved in the winning schemes. In the next year, QBE will escalate its involvement to further integrate the awards into the business, starting with the 2010/11 nominations in November.

Helena Christopher, Head of Corporate Communications at QBE European Operations, said: “Having launched our partnership with the RFU last month, we are delighted to be supporting the President’s XV Awards. QBE strongly believes in rewarding entrepreneurialism and strategic thinking, and the President’s XV Awards embody these values. In addition, the scheme enables us to engage QBE employees in our sponsorship of rugby; something that is incredibly important to us.”

Steven Burns, CEO of QBE European Operations, commented: “QBE has made a commitment to the sport of rugby at all levels, from the RFU itself to the grassroots volunteers. This partnership is another step towards expanding our business across the UK, through aligning ourselves with elite properties that represent our brand values as a leading specialist business insurer.” More information on the President’s XV Awards can be found at www.qbeeurope.com/rugby

Insurance and investments group LV = has been unveiled as the new title sponsor of rugby union’s Anglo-Welsh Cup, the joint competition managed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).

 LV=, which has 3.6m customers, has signed an initial two-year deal, with an option for a further two. The deal builds on LV =’s existing investments in Rugby Union and complements the LV = County Championship in cricket.

 The newly-named LV = Cup, is a 16-team competition involving the 12 English Guinness Premiership clubs and four top Welsh clubs. Broadcast live on Sky Sports, this season’s edition commences on November 5 and the final will be played in March 2010. The winner, if an English club, will gain a place in next season’s Heineken Cup.

David Radford, group marketing director of LV =, commented: “As an expanding business, we see The LV= Cup providing a good fit with our target audience and we’re pleased to put our support behind this popular competition.”

Roger Lewis, Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) chief executive added: “Anglo-Welsh rivalries are amongst the oldest in world rugby and this competition will again stir a huge amount of excitement from players, coaches and fans.”

Havas Sports and Entertainment has been appointed by airline bmi to activate its sponsorship of England Rugby through a partnership with the Rugby Football Union. Commenting on the agency’s appointment, Charlie Wylie, account director at HS&E UK, said: “This partnership is very exciting for us. It’s great for us to be working at the top level with the England management and team.” 

HS&E also negotiated the sponsorship with the RFU - making bmi the preferred carrier of England. Wylie consulted to bmi on all levels from grassroots CSR to professional player appearances - also securing exclusive naming rights of Twickenham Stadium’s business debenture lounge which will be renamed the bmi Diamond Club. 

Commenting on its sponsorship deal itself, bmi sales and marketing director Katherine Gershon added: “We are very excited to be the official airline of the England rugby team and feel they are a great brand fit for bmi, a predominantly business class carrier. HS&E used their extensive knowledge and contacts within rugby to enable the deal to be completed in time for this year’s major games.”

In a development which could cause some concern among London 2012 sponsors, the Advertising Standards Authority has rejected a claim by the Rugby Football Union that an ad campaign for London Pride bitter was ambush marketing.

Fuller’s Brewery ran the London Pride campaign during this year’s Six Nations Championships. It used rugby imagery and carried the strapline Support English Rugby.
The RFU complained that the ad implied that London Pride was an official sponsor of the England team. However this title actually belongs to Greene King’s IPA - which in the midst of a multi-million pound, four-year deal.

The ASA found for Fuller’s, however, - and made the following statement: “We considered that readers (of the ad) were unlikely to be misled into thinking Fullers was an official sponsor or partner of the England rugby team. They would expect an advertiser to state if they were an official sponsor and the ad did not claim that Fullers were. We also considered that the text Support English Rugby was not misleading, because Fullers did support English rugby as a sport and had done for several years. We concluded that the ad was not misleading and did not take unfair advantage of the reputation of the England rugby team.”

Comment: The ASA’s legalistic view of the matter will undoubtedly please Fuller’s. However it could prove problematic for sports sponsors - particularly those which have invested heavily in London 2012. With many companies looking to jump on the Olympic bandwagon, the ASA could have just given them the precedent they require. Stand by for a run of ad campaigns which seek to circumvent the spirit of sponsorship through semantics.