Premiership Rugby Annouce Aviva As New Sponsor
On July 7, insurance giant Aviva announced that it would replace Guinness as the main sponsor for England's Premiership Rugby. The four year deal put together by Hill and Knowlton Sports Marketing is worth 20 million pounds, in addition Aviva will provide funding for grassroots rugby programs across the U.K. The program will mix players and money in a way in which each team will commit an allotted amount of volunteer hours to be completed at schools in their communities.
The Premiership Rugby is the world’s largest domestic league and has been a staple in England since the formation of the league in 1987. The competition currently has 12 teams scattered throughout England. The English Rugby league, which begins in September and runs through the end of May, works similarly to that of Premiership football. The last place team at the end of the 22 game season is relegated to the National Division One League in exchange for the first place team, which is promoted.
A recent study counted Rugby as the fastest growing participation sport in England with 150,000 active adult players and 100,000 active youth players under 19.
Benefits for English Premiership
For the English Premiership this contract sparks a new era and a new name. Known now as the Aviva Premiership, the insurance giant takes over for Guinness who was the league’s former sponsor since 2005.
“A title sponsorship deal with Aviva, which is such a strong international consumer brand, is another significant milestone in the growth of premiership rugby and provides us with a long term partnership commitment to our sport and to work in our community,” said Chief Executive of Premiership Rugby Mark McCafferty of the league’s new relationship.
The partnership with Aviva is coupled with new television contracts the league has signed centered on an exclusive 43 game contract with ESPN, and smaller agreements with both Sky Sports and ITV. The formation of these contracts sends the Premiership into a new era of development and growth, not seen with former sponsor Guinness.
Benefits for Aviva
For Aviva the benefits are obvious. Like any sponsorship deal this gives them the opportunity to get their product out to the public on a daily basis. Coupled with their sponsorship deal linking them to UK Athletics, the Aviva name is beginning to become synonymous with British sport. Similar to Barclays Premiership Football, owning the sole sponsorship rights to a major English league has its obvious advantages.
When compared to the deal signed by Barclays, which was worth a reported 65.5 million pounds for the same four year term, it seems as though Aviva made a good decision, especially when one notes the growing popularity of rugby.
“We’ve invested a lot of time and effort looking for and researching the right sponsorship opportunity and we know that rugby, the fastest growing participation sport in England, fits absolutely with Aviva. It appeals to many of our customers, intermediary partners, and to the other business we work with in the UK, so this sponsorship will give us exciting opportunities to connect with them and deliver significant business benefits,” echoed Aviva’s chief executive in the U.K. Mark Hodge.
The deal between Aviva and English Premiership Rugby should help to grow the game even more within England. For Aviva this provides them an opportunity to get in on the ground level with an increasingly popular sport in England. When compared to the Barclay’s sponsorship of the Football premiership Aviva looks to have made a smart decision that could payoff even more as rugby grows domestically and internationally.
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