A change of title sponsor can present some challenges for a rights holder.
The rebranding at the beginning of the sponsorship is critical to the new relationship starting well. For the new Gallagher Premiership Rugby season, this starts with the Season Launch.
A new title sponsor means a brand refresh at least, to reflect the corporate colours of your new main partner. For Premiership Rugby, they also took the opportunity of a change in sponsor to undergo their own corporate rebrand. So this Season Launch event showcases an entirely new image for the competition.
Previous Title Sponsors of Premiership Rugby have come from just two industry categories: ‘beer’ and ‘insurance’. Starting with Courage Brewery (1987), Allied Dunbar (1997) and Zurich (2000). Guinness took over in 2005 with its monochrome style and so the bright Aviva yellow from 2010-2017 was a bold injection of colour that brought a fresher, more dynamic and appealing look to the competition and all its touchpoints.
Gallagher brings a subtle hue of light blue that is familiar with more traditional financial services brands, depicting trust and stability. Increasing brand recognition amongst their target audience is a key objective of the sponsorship.
Although you might not have heard of Gallagher before, they have quite a presence in the UK with 4,000 staff across 50 branches. They are also not new to rugby having supported club rugby at the community, Championship and Premiership levels over the last decade.
Pat Gallagher, CEO, has acknowledged that awareness is low “Meetings and calls still start with a lengthy ‘Who the heck is Gallagher?’” and sees this sponsorship as a way of overcoming that challenge “This is a great opportunity for brand recognition in the UK.” *
Other objectives are staff engagement and community involvement; the CSR element is a particular strength of Premiership Rugby.
Gallagher made it clear in their sponsorship announcement that they are keen to make their mark, “Coming off of our recent brand refresh, now is the time to amplify our brand, showcase our client solutions and differentiate Gallagher in the global marketplace through partnerships like Premiership Rugby that have broad appeal and deep community connections.” Christopher E. Mead, Chief Marketing Officer, Gallagher.
* “Insurance broker Arthur J Gallagher to sponsor rugby in UK. FT.com, April 12 2018.”
Amayse are well positioned to help Premiership Rugby meet their new sponsor’s needs. As branding and signage suppliers to Premiership Rugby for many years, we have an in depth knowledge of the property and all the branding touchpoints. We also have hands on knowledge of the branding carried out by previous sponsors.
Our advice and consultancy services helped Premiership Rugby to deliver this impactful Season Launch event branding for Gallagher, as well as producing perimeter boards and interview backdrops for each of the 12 Gallagher Premiership Rugby clubs.
“When it comes to rebranding, we want the best for our partners and to make sure they are represented at their best. This is why we continue to work with Amayse as they guarantee quality, service and professionalism. As we start a new era for Premiership Rugby with a new partner in Gallagher we are delighted to have Amayse alongside us to bring the best out of our new relationship.”
Paul Sherrell, Head of Partnerships
Greg Craigen, MD of Amayse, added “We are thrilled to play our part in such a prestigious sponsorship of the world’s best professional rugby competition. The new look Gallagher Premiership Rugby season gets underway on the 31st August and we are excited at the prospect of helping Premiership Rugby and Gallagher maximise their brand awareness during the competition. And as a big fan of Rugby, I am looking forward to the action too”.
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