The Sharks Brand
After being informally called the Banana Boys (or af: Piesangboere) for a substantial length of time it was decided in 1995 that the whole offering would go ahead with new branding - The Sharks. The Sharks mascot was launched in 1995. To achieve this a substantial budget was allocated to refine this vision that would include the match facilities, the pre and post match activities and the team.
The local press at first were very hesitant to accept the new name and branding and fans were polarised by the radical proposed change that flew in the face of rugby tradition and convention. After much controversy in the media (which very rapidly brought the proposed brand to everyone's attention) and a very successful season supported by great products and promotions the Sharks were embraced by all. The Sharks' marketing has been widely acknowledged in marketing and rugby circles as best practice and included as a successful case study in many marketing text books.
There was initially significant resistance from many quarters. This resistance was ascribed to the traditional attitudes of the rugby loving stake holders. However the strategy was successful and the success of the marketing has been widely acknowledged. Crowd attendances, merchandising, suite holder and season ticket sales have all been very successful. The brand is now internationally recognised and the branding strategy is reaping dividends for all its stakeholders. Since 2001, the Sharks have averaged attendances above 30,000 in each Super Rugby game. The Sharks are well supported across South Africa, with sizeable fan bases in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Most of their supporters however live in the KwaZulu-Natal province, particularly in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Sharks supporters are some of the most loyal rugby fans in the world and often travel with their team on mass to games away from Durban. This ensures that the Sharks always have a portion of crowd support at away games.
Read more about this topic: Sharks (rugby Union)
Famous quotes containing the words sharks and/or brand:
“They will tell you tough stories of sharks all over the Cape, which I do not presume to doubt utterly,—how they will sometimes upset a boat, or tear it in pieces, to get at the man in it. I can easily believe in the undertow, but I have no doubt that one shark in a dozen years is enough to keep up the reputation of a beach a hundred miles long.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“This brand of soap has the same smell as once in the big
House he visited when he was eight:”
—Louis MacNeice (1907–1963)