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"ffiffiffiffis$pffiffiqpffiHffi$ ffiffiM F re W MikeTindall,JoshLewseyand Tom Rees (l-r): promoting0, Articulateand Rugbyfans inWales are still celebrat- agencythat representsfootballers such ing their SixNations grand slam. and -.WffiswwffiwWffimmwwmffi wwwffias Jamie Redknapp and Graham Le approachablerugby evinthough World Cup runners-up WffiHffiffiffimffiWW--ffffim*ffiffiffi$m SauxandrugbypliyersincludingMatt playefSafe faSt beCOming Fnglandunder-performed,theannual Dawsonand Paul Sackey, believes rug- tournamentwas more;;il#il; popular than wffiffiMffiffitrffiffi ffiwwwmmmmM ffiffi,;;**Jrarbecauserheycan thesports stars of choice ;;il;il i;ffi:;*"il;.;; doso muchmore than justphoto shoots. ft^--'-^o r bra n dr rep,-^^,-^^^.^r^r:^.^rese ntati 0 n, on^rr,r,ahr ^-^r^"";^--r in looA^rr ffiWffiffitrffitrffiffiffiffiwmwm#mwffiWffi ffiffi$ffiffi He says:'Thereisno doubtthat dem- :!".1il-._"_l1Tj::::11.': rugbygrounds have1??9: stead- 1r. endancesat Wmmffiqffififfiffiffiffi ffi ffiff ffim mffi m- saysAlexBlyth ily grown, and corporate brands have . ffiffi ambassadorsi*:::"']:"bJ,l'?I:j:is increasing^,::,::111, exponen- RichardTho.mpson,chairman ofsports becomeever more keen to makeuse of tially. Crucially, they are getting inv- agencylvlerlin Elite rugbystars in their p.o.ori*ut to-- olved with below-the-line work, pre- palgns. sentingproductstothemedia,speaking The trend acceleratedafter Eng- 200T,86percentoftheagency'sturno-at events,and generallydoing much land'sWorld Cup win in 2003,and it vercamefromworkwithrugbyplayers.morethanjustlookinggoodinadverts.' showsno sign of abating.Rebecca A goodexample of thisis the work Hopkins,MD at sportsPR specialist Morethaniustgoodlooks that former Englandcaptain Martin ENS,reports that her agency'stalent Thereismoretothistrendthancompa-JohnsonhasdonewithBritishAirways managementdivision has seenrugby nies wanting to associatethemselves through Karen Earl Sponsorship.As playerappearances increase by over withWorldCupwinners.RichardTho-an ambassadorfor BA's association 200percentbetween2006and2001.By mpsonrchairman of Merlin Elite, an with the English Rugby Football 18 PRWeek21March2008 ruffireffiffiflffiffi$3$ffiffiff wffiffitr WorldCup winner, and first-time dad,Ben Cohen MBE has become involvedwith the Problem Shared campaign.The campaign is sponsoredbyColief lnfa nt Drops, a productthatprovides reliefto babiessufferingfrom colic, along withCry-sis, acharitythat providessupportto parents of babieswho cry excessively. Mostparenting campaigns focuson mothers, soA Problem Sharedaimsto rise awareness of theissues new dads face. Cohen isfatherto five-month-old twins, andhe very publicly pulled out of thelastWorld Cup to be with his wifeAbby, duringtheir birth. Furthermore,heactually used Coliefforthe twins' colic. SallyanneJones, account directoratPegasus PR, which is handlingthecampaign's PR, says:'Ben's rugby physique made hima perfectchoice forthe pictureledlaunchof the campaign,which mimicked the iconicIEnfant. However, hehas alsoprovided uswith information about his experiences ofcolic and presentedtothe media. He has provedvery popularwith journalists, andhas helped us achieve coverageinthe D aily Mail,Hetto, Revea/and The Sun online.' utterlydependent on teamwork,rath- ,T?li:::'jJj;;3?:,,"Til1T:#-ffimffiffiwffi wmwwmmmmffi w er than key individuals. This means endedhospitarity evenistl:T ffim'$ffiffiffiWWffiffiruffiffiffimMffim playersare well positionedto talk enhamWestCar Parkafter sames.T:-\and aboutmotivation and leadership skills, takenpartinBAcompetitioist'*ilh ffiffiffiW$ffi KffiWmWW andthis is a growing area for them.' fanscan win the chance to meethim. Morethan anything, however, PROs ffiwruffffimmffiffi-.-ffwffiffiffffiffiffi talkabout how articulate rugbypiayers Wholesomeandadiculateu* ****mwffimffmmmff- arecompared with other professionals. ln everysport you .un ilno young. wffiF&w&trffiffi' Matt Jones,personality manager at sood-iookinswinners to fit moJt RuthShearn, managingdirectorof RMSPR BenchmarkSport, which manages Will lanRobertson and Jason Leonard (above), brands.However, rugby playersare Greenwoodand Kyran Bracken, says: MartinBayfield (below) ata charityevent uniquelysuited to thistype o{PRwork 'Rugbyplayersare intelligent,commu- {or severalreasons. Firstly, Danny Cip- and therefore are able to maintain nicatewell,and appeal to awidevariety riani'srecent late-night trip to a night- moreofafamilyimage.' ofmedia.When you have someone pre- ciubnotwithstanding, they stay out of RuthShearn, MD at RMSPR, adds: sentingyour brandto journalists,you trouble.Stephen Bradley, board direc- 'Rugby is a much more respectableneedthem to understandand deliver tor for SportsMarketing & Sponsor- gamethan football. Fans from oppos- keymessages. By andlarge rugby play- shipat Hill & Knowlton,says:'Rugby ingteams sit together and crowd trou- erscandothis verywell.' playersare generallyless likely to be bie is non-existent.Brand managers Andrew Ager, creativedirector of foundon the frontpages of newspapers like thesemessages. Also, the gameis PitchPR, agrees: A rugbyplayer will 21March2008PRWeek 19 ffinnlshy ptmyer ilsswiltmhed mn iil":1,'::l,Tl,tT::il:11?1g::i:: gmmUg|htm mmdef*tnmd WhAt heardorrorplayerstohaveapintinthe hmffiilffi &rnsWfr rngtma*hilmve""#'*lffi :-TTiSiiil0"",0",.. AndrewAger, creative director ofpitch PR tohire a rugby starwillneed to research the sport and the players carefully. Rugbyplayers are more prone to inju- ry,asJonnyWilkinsonhasvividlydem- be switchedon enoughto understand onstratedinthepastfiveyears.Itwould what his sponsoris trying to achieve alsobewisetothinkaboutwhetherthe andwill recognisethe opportunitiesin rugbyplayers of thefuture will remain interviewsto communicatekey mes- sowellsuitedtoPRwork. sages.The knowledgeof the products Afterthe2003WorldCup,MattDaw-MarkGuetopromotingand Jason Robinson (below) playing theyendorsefarexceedsthatwhichanson, Jason Robinson and Ben Cohen averagefootballer will show,and the became householdnames alongside For now,though, rugby playersare respectfor a contract to promote a establishedstars such as Martih John- hot property.AsHopkins at ENS con- brandwillusuallybehonouredfully.' son, Lawrence Dallaglio and Jonny cludes:'Thefirsttime someone books a Wilkinson,but there are not so many sportsstar from usthey usuallywant a Befter accessibility wellknownfiguresinthecurrentsquad.footballeror an Olympian.They tend He alsopoints out that rugby players Neil Hopkins, associateat Four to beshocked by thecost, and on seve- tend to be more accessiblethan other Communications,points out a poten- ral occasionsthey have been disap- .j , r sportspeople. For one thing they are tially more profound long-term con- t paidmuchlessthanfootballers,andsocern:'Rugby players are articulate :il:f:. :J :'Jff *"';4r are more willing to take on PR work. becausetraditionally they havebeen that rugbyplayers -:ii'#:::ilperlorm effec- - a Furthermore,Ager adds:Access to professionalswhocouldmaketimetotively.For example,at arecent char- playersviaagentsisalso aloteasierand play the game.As the gamebecomes ity dinnerin Manchester,all the rugby thereisarealwillingness to assistspon- moreprofessional,we might see better sors.Traditionallyplayershavealwaysplayers, but fewer articulate brand ',}jtJ',''*"J':;:*'JJli honouredsponsor commitments at the ambassadors.' ""-t Adidasworkswith Jonny theunderwear brand globally. RoyalBankofScotland i Wilkinson,DannyCipriani and Assoonsors ofthe Six ! Brian0'Driscoll. LexusRichard Hill works with Nations,the financial thiscar manufacturer. servrcesc0mpany uses dozensof rugby players. MossBros worked with the Welshrugbyteam on the launch Sl BerwinKyran Bracken ofaflagship store in Cardiff. workswith this firm of solicitors. Guinnesshas worked with ;tr' GanterburyBryan Habana and severalplayers including Mike s, AndrewSheridan are among Tindalland Austin Healey. manyrugby playerswho promotethis sports brand. O2fans had the chance to stare outTindall,Josh Lewsey and DisneyThomasCastai gndde TomRees on a webcam. andWill Greenwood promoted 184,985fans visited the site. theDVD of movie Ratatouille. EASportsThegames developerhas used David Strettle,Mark Cueto, Tom Rees andGavin Henson to promoteits rugby games. DavidStrettle (far Heinekenuses Michael left),AustinHealey Lynaghand Will (left),Mikelindall Greenwood. (aboveleft), and Jonny Wilkinson(dght) lockeyDan Carter promotes 21March2008PRWoek 21 .