The newest name on the roster of brands looking to activate sponsorship around this year’s RBS Six Nations Championship is Lucozade Sport.
The brand, owned by multinational Glaxo Smithkline Beecham has previously had a deeper relationship with soccer and gaelic games through association with stars like Shane Long and Colm Cooper.
“At one stage we were across so many sports at a time when the market was rising rapidly,” said Jim Geraghty, Lucozade Sport marketing Manager, speaking to Sport for Business at a recent Rugby Business network gathering.
“In 2008 though the sector was hit harder than most by a decline in consumer spending and we have had to become more focused in driving a real market share return from our sponsorships.”
“We looked at a number of areas and rugby came out very strongly with 2.4 million Irish people professing to be fans of the sport and 900,000 of those saying they were passionate about it.”
“Those numbers speak volumes when you are looking at building a relationship with fans as well as players and we were keen to get involved.”
Powerade hade previously been long term partners of the IRFU and maintain their relationship with the game through investment in Colleges rugby but when water bottles were carried onto the pitch during the games at the Millennium Stadium and the Aviva Stadium they sported a new black livery and the Lucozade Sport brand.
“Building awareness is important in the early stages and we have to ensure that when bottles get onto the pitch that they are seen by the watching TV audience.”
“We are rolling out a new ‘Elite‘ brand, with a new formula, for this year’s Championships and that will extend to the stores and club game during the course of this year.”
“We have put a big emphasis on point of sale and point of purchase areas in retail stores as a way of launching the association with rugby and we have exciting plans for how we will use the lessons learned through club activation across other sports in the rugby world.”
The deal with Irish Rugby completes a triple crown quartet with the same campaign theme of Lucozade Sport hydrates you faster than water being rolled out in a €1.5 million campaign across Britain and Ireland.
The sports and energy category within the soft drinks sector has begun to grow again after the leaner years of recent times and is now believed to be worth well over €1 billion across Europe.

Read more of the latest news from the commercial world of Irish Rugby including how other major brands are activating their involvement.
[stextbox id=”info”]This article is free to view for a limited period.  Sign up today for a full or trial membership of Sport for Business and join Ireland’s sporting, business and government leaders in a community that delivers.[/stextbox]
[stextbox id=”black”]Sign up for a free daily news digest and stay ahead with everything that is happening in the commercial world of Irish sport, delivered to your mail box before 8am Monday to Friday[/stextbox]