3. And when luck comes your way, grab it!
Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge requested a rugby moment on their recent Royal Tour. We saw this as an incredible opportunity to project our brand to the world in the most positive way. The resulting community rugby event we created with “little rippers” as the Prince called the young players provided many wonderful moments all captured by the international media.
4. Ultimately it all comes down to the people
There’s a Maori saying in New Zealand that we in New Zealand Rugby firmly believe in. He Tangata! He Tangata! He Tangata! It is people! It is people! It is people!
And yes that means our players on one level. There is no doubt the special lure of the black jersey keeps many young men and women here, hoping for the chance to pull it on. But beyond that, for all our teams it comes down to hard work,
smart thinking and deep passion by many others right throughout the game. Our success owes much to our high performance team behind the teams, our commitment to excellence at every level, to those in our member unions who work enormously hard to keep the game strong at the community level without which the game can’t flourish at the top levels. Volunteers, coaches, players and of course the fans.
In other words, a powerful community with a common bond. Rugby.
The All Blacks are the tip of an iceberg of an extraordinary rugby community, a community that lives and breathes the game the length and breadth of the country. It’s in our DNA we like to say.
Conclusion:
So that’s what one of the most powerful men in New Zealand rugby has to say about the All Blacks brand. He’s right, it’s an iconic logo and one that when mentioned immediately stirs thoughts of global rugby dominance. And what he’s saying can easily be bought back to our level – community rugby has the same market place, just smaller. Within yours, is your team recognisable and employ great people to drive your club into the future?
2. Sometimes you need a bit of luck
Remember that extraordinary image of the All Blacks Sevens (featuered) performing the Haka in the rain after winning the recent Hong Kong Sevens tournament? These great bare chested rugby warriors created an image that went viral. Buzzfeed, Mashable, Reddit, E! Online, Deadspin you name it, all carried it. Places we normally don’t see our brand. I was fortunate enough to witness this great spectacle. The funny thing is, whenever they win a tournament, the All Blacks Sevens do strip off. But somehow, that night we had great luck; a torrential rain storm in Hong Kong helped put more eyeballs on our brand than
most advertising campaigns ever could!