New Sponsors are entering the world of Rugby!

Are we seeing more and more brands becoming interested in rugby? The list is ever growing and brands are aligning themselves with the rugby demographic and market.

Virgin Active, the world’s leading lifestyle and fitness brand, has recently become the RFU’s Fitness Partner in a new long-term partnership.

‘The three year agreement will see Virgin Active and the RFU collaborate to bring a digital fitness programme and new gym fitness classes inspired by rugby to the public. These will be launched in the new year. Virgin Active will also create discounted membership offers exclusive to all RFU affiliated clubs and registered players.’

The new deal sees Virgin Active benefiting from a range of partnership rights including the ability to utilise men’s and women’s players in activating the partnership, advertising, CRM, and digital rights.

You can see this working for both – creating new programmes and new classes for virgin, whilst getting more of the general public interested in rugby!

Virgin Active MD Robert Cook said, “Working with the RFU is a fantastic development for the UK business, it’s an institution close to my heart and we’re delighted to bring the game even closer to our members.

Wasps and Ricoh Arena have recently secured npower as an Official Energy Partner. The partnership is to enhance the Ricoh Arena’s sustainable approach to energy, helping power sport, business and entertainment at the Arena.

npower will be installing a Combined Heat and Power plant at the Ricoh Arena, which will mean that Wasps will be generating their own electricity on site, as well as creating heat for the stadium and under pitch heating system.

npower will launch an exclusive tariff for Wasps rugby and netball fans, as well as visitors to the Ricoh Arena in 2018. Fans will also benefit from a series of customer offers, competitions and energy saving tips for their home and family.

The success of the last World Cup and Tours by the British & Irish Lions has add to rugby’s appeal and have attracted further sponsors.

Sponsorship has played a pivotal role in rugby union’s swift transformation from an amateur sport in 1995 to a multimillion-pound one today. The 2015 Rugby World Cup was backed by 10 worldwide partners and official sponsors including Coca-Cola, Heineken, Land Rover and Toshiba.

MasterCard, a worldwide partner of the 2015 Rugby World Cup, calls the sport’s “incredible ability to engage and connect with fans across the globe”.

Between the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa and the 2011 event in New Zealand, sponsorship rose from £8m to £29m, broadcasting revenue from £19m to £93m and gate receipts from £15m to £131m.

But how does this work for grass roots clubs moving forward and can these companies actually invest in the grassroots game and engage with end users directly (their target market)?

That is what SNAP wants to achieve – sponsors can use SNAP to engage with all grassroots clubs and engage with end users directly.

SNAP clubs can secure sponsorship revenue using our system and manage their sponsorship, ensuring success for the long term.