The Springboks: Rugby’s hottest brand on and off the field

Break Point Column

With Lenny Kravitz playing a fictionalised version of himself, the rock star stands on stage announcing the Male Model of the Year Award.

First up is Hansel McDonald, played by Owen Wilson, with a ridiculous montage describing him as edgy, a rebel, a maverick of the business.

The villainous Mugatu, sitting and watching from the gathered movers and shakers in this world of Zoolander, leans towards his underling, the femme fatale Katinka, and whispers: “That Hansel is so hot right now.”

Most recently, I found myself doing something similar, nudging a colleague in the ribs and proclaiming: “Them Springboks are so hot right now.”

And I don’t mean that regarding their on-field prowess, which has undoubtedly been impressive since 2018, and especially in the last two years, but rather when looking at the brand itself. It has become a juggernaut, with other organisations and companies clamouring to partner with SA Rugby just to get a patch of green fabric on the Bok jersey.

This past week, FNB extended their sponsorship with the Boks, becoming their headline sponsor.

Pick n Pay followed suit a day later – their logo set to appear on the back of all national shirts, from the junior ranks to the Sevens, and onto the men’s and women’s senior national team kits.

Earlier this year, Coca-Cola also jumped on the Bok train, as did Monster Energy. And that is not forgetting the other major partners and sponsors like Toyota, Nike, OPPO, Castle Lager, Betway, Dell, FlySafair and others, who continue to link their marketing strategies to the Boks.

It’s become a pricey endeavour for these companies and a lucrative bit of business for SA Rugby.

If reports are to be believed, the SA Rugby sponsorship portfolio has almost doubled in a year from around R420 million to R800m.

FNB’s renewed interest in the organisation is understood to be worth R150m a year, a good baseline to judge all other sponsorships on.

Regardless, most of these companies will argue that their association with the Boks is based on national pride and nation-building, and that through their involvement with the world champions, they can contribute to that process.

It’s a perfectly respectable reason to want to be associated with such a powerful brand that continues to transform into a true reflection of the country.

The Boks are indeed enjoying unprecedented levels of popularity and support following two Rugby World Cup triumphs – and why wouldn’t anyone want to be linked to that success by association?

The case of Pick n Pay is perhaps the clearest indication of how the Bok brand is perceived.

Last year, reports indicated that the retail giant was in serious financial strife, with a R3.2 billion net loss. By recently listing their subsidiary, Boxer, the organisation managed to generate around R8bn in an effort to restructure and refinance its operation.

Many will argue that under such a cloud, investing millions of rands into a sports sponsorship would be folly, and that perhaps there are other avenues to explore regarding how such money should be used. 

I will admit that such considerations are beyond my understanding.

My corporate speak is in sporting terminology after all – goals, points, tries, offside rules, fouls, penalties, eligibility rules, and the like – and not in financial statements and corporate governance.

Nonetheless, every so often, you do hear the positives that such a relationship could bring to an organisation.

It’s not merely financial gain – although that no doubt plays a large role – but also a mutual benefit that the Springboks have managed to generate and attach to themselves in a very short period of time.

I recently had an insightful conversation with Freddie Hirsch’s group head of marketing, Clive Moore, on why brands would want to invest their money in such endeavours, and specifically, right now, the Springboks.

Freddie Hirsch is in the spice business, and, as such, is the official braai partner of the Boks. They market this partnership through their Oom Freddie Legacy Braai Sprinkle range and a handful of other products, in a relationship that started in 2023 with SA Rugby.

In the last year, their Bok-backed product has “grown exponentially” in sales – an easy metric to track – but also in positive affiliation, a tougher benchmark to pin down.

In 2016, very few companies wanted anything to do with the Springboks. Now, they are an invaluable asset everyone wants to be a part of, with the power to change consumer decisions, behaviour and brand loyalty. 

Everyone loves a winner. The sponsorship boom proves it – SA Rugby is thriving both on and off the field because of it.

Long may it continue.

* Morgan Bolton is the sports editor at Independent Media.