DHL delivers longest standing partnership with Western Province Rugby in history
DHL has renewed its multi million rand contract as title sponsor of Western Province Rugby for a further four year period commencing 2017, making it the longest standing title sponsorship in Western Province Rugby’s history.
The terms of the sponsorship continue to include naming rights to the home stadium of Western Province Rugby, DHL Newlands.
Commenting on the renewed, award-winning sponsorship, Western Province Rugby Group CEO Paul Zacks said, “Having the support of a major brand such as DHL makes a huge difference to the team and management and enables us to work in a high performance environment.”
DHL, which also partners with World Rugby Sevens Series, Manchester United and Formula One? to name a few, signed its initial three year agreement with Western Province Rugby and the DHL Stormers in 2011. Fast forward six years, and they could not be more thrilled with the success, return on investment and development of the partnership.
Hennie Heymans, CEO for DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa commented, “Having been a partner to Western Province Rugby for the past 6 years, we consider ourselves an extension of the team. The partnership has been instrumental in making DHL a household name in Cape Town, and South Africa. The DHL Stormers and DHL Western Province brand is much loved not only across South Africa but across the globe. DHL is the most international company in the world and partnering with like-minded brands with the same shared values of teamwork, excellence, passion and speed are key to our success. We are committed to remaining hands-on, responsible partners to Western Province Rugby. The years ahead will be the best ones yet.”
Megan Roper, Head of Marketing for DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa added, “Sponsorships have evolved from merely showcasing one’s logo. We view this sponsorship as a partnership – an opportunity for us to add value, emotionalize our brand and demonstrate our logistics capabilities. We too have evolved from being just a B2B company to being even more consumer facing and in touch with our customers across more touchpoints than ever before, driven mostly by the rise of e-commerce.”
Going forward, DHL will continue to leverage the partnership through traditional and online media channels to drive brand engagement, with an additional focus of expanding the partnership across borders.
Recently, DHL took two DHL Stormers players, Siya Kolisi (new DHL Stormers captain for 2017) and Scarra Ntubeni, to visit the company’s operations in Lagos, Nigeria to give them a feel for what the business looks like in West Africa and to experience the Nigerian culture. This not only exposed Siya and Scarra to a new country, but was a great exercise to further pique the interest in rugby in Nigeria.
“DHL is a leading international brand and our association with them lends us prestige. We are proud to have a title sponsor like DHL and look forward to standing together with them as one,” commented Thelo Wakefield, President of Western Province Rugby Football Union.
