Mastercard to sponsor RWC 2011

[sheepshagger]

Mastercard agreed a major new deal to sponsor the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, becoming the Official Worldwide Partner and official payment system of Rugby World Cup 2011.

As part of the agreement, MasterCard secures a comprehensive rights and benefits package that allows the company to deliver value to customer financial institutions, merchants and cardholders, including the ability to access “Priceless” experiences linked to Rugby World Cup 2011.

The other current worldwide sponsor is Emirates Airline. The Rugby World Cup is aiming to sign four more worldwide sponsors, and says that a third will be announced "in the near future".

Andre Sekulic, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide said, “We will leverage this unique platform to further deliver shareholder value by creating exclusive business-building opportunities for our customer financial institutions, while building MasterCard brand affinity by offering priceless experiences to MasterCard cardholders.”

“Sponsorships represent a critical component of MasterCard’s global marketing approach, and we are proud to add Rugby World Cup 2011 to our roster of world-class alliances,” said Paul Meulendijk, Head of Sponsorships MasterCard Europe. “Needless to say, with its very origins in Europe, Rugby is an extremely popular sport for the region, with a dedicated and loyal fan following. We look forward to working with our customer financial institutions across the region to deliver compelling cardholder programs that capture the passion, energy and excitement of the sport."

RWCL Chairman Bernard Lapasset said, “MasterCard is an iconic brand with global appeal and recognition and we are delighted to be working with them. In addition to demonstrating a commitment to helping grow the sport of Rugby through its grassroots campaign in New Zealand, MasterCard also delivers a proven track record of global sponsorship activation which combines strategy and creativity to drive business results.”

The relationship with Rugby World Cup 2011 also provides Mastercard with opportunities to support a number of the company’s strategic priorities, including:

• Reaching Affluent Cardholders: Rugby scores well against an affluent audience, for example, in markets such as the UK, 65 per cent of rugby fans are in the ABC1 demographic and in Australia the figure is 79 per cent for fans with medium to high income levels. (Sources: UK Statistic: UK GB TGI 2007 Australia Statistic: Sweeney Sports 2006-2007)

• A Platform to Capitalize on Cross-Border Travel: Based on Australia’s experience of hosting Rugby World Cup 2003, New Zealand can expect to attract as many as 66,000 international supporters, 2,500 international media representatives, and up to 2,500 corporate and VIP guests. Additionally, Rugby Travel and Hospitality Ltd has projected it will sell 120,000 official travel packages to Rugby World Cup 2011 with MasterCard being featured as the preferred card.

• Driving Brand Affinity as the Exclusive Payment Provider: As Worldwide Partner and official payment system of Rugby World Cup 2011, MasterCard will be the preferred payment brand accepted on-site at host venues.

• Global Presence: With teams from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania, Rugby World Cup is truly a global property, one which is well-aligned with MasterCard’s global footprint. In 2007, Rugby World Cup was broadcast in 202 territories with a cumulative viewing audience of 4.27 billion. Importantly, the Tournament has seen broadcast coverage increase exponentially every quadrennial, providing MasterCard with increased opportunity for brand visibility. For example, the most recent Rugby World Cup witnessed a 57% increase in broadcast coverage from 5,414 hours in 2003 to 8,499 in 2007.

http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/16878 ... r-rwc-2011