The Rugby Football League (RFL) is delighted to appoint Essentially Group, part of CSM Sport & Entertainment (CSM), as its exclusive global commercial agency tasked with sourcing and negotiating a new Principal Partner for the England National Team for next season.
England defeated the World’s number 1 ranked nation, New Zealand, on Saturday in the deciding Test to secure a 2-1 series victory. The three matches were attended by over 90,000 fans with over five million viewers on the BBC and took place in Hull, London (Olympic Park) and Wigan. The series also represented the last time that the Gillette logo will feature on the England team kit after 12 consecutive seasons as the Principal Partner of England. The 2016 Rugby League year culminates in the Four Nations competition whereby England will play home games against Australia, New Zealand and Scotland next autumn. All games will be shown live on the BBC, who will be covering England matches until 2020.
This appointment comes at an exciting time for English Rugby League who have a clear target to win the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, which will be hosted in Australia, New Zealand and Papa New Guinea. The RFL believes that with the talent at its disposal, which now includes Sam Burgess, England has the squad to become the number 1 international team in the world.
Chris Rawlings, Commercial Director at the RFL, sees the opportunity to appoint another long term Principal Partner for the senior national team as a great opportunity for the right partner. He said: “The England Team thanks Gillette for 12 great years of continued support. Our TV audiences in the International Series were extremely positive with the three matches achieving a cumulative audience of five million viewers on the BBC. The matches were also shown live on Fox Sports in Australia and SKY New Zealand.”
Mike Vandrau, Sales Director of Essentially, commented “England Rugby League is in a really exciting place at the moment and has a real chance of taking the World Cup crown in 2017. This is a great opportunity for brands to come on board, with a team that is fully focused on achieving its goals. In doing so partners will access major broadcast and press coverage in both the UK and international marketplace in the build-up to the 2017 World Cup, inclusive of branding rights at the World Cup itself.”
“We are delighted to be appointed as the exclusive sales agency to acquire a new Principal Partner for the England Rugby League and look forward to working with them to deliver this fantastic opportunity.”
–ENDS–
Notes to Editor
About CSM
CSM is a global leader in the business of sport and entertainment and is part of Chime Communications Limited.
CSM is made up of 14 specialist agencies and operates on every continent with over 800 people across 24 offices in 19 countries.
CSM is active in every major sport through world-class services from strategy to execution. These include activation, athlete management, branding, broadcast, consultancy, content and digital, planning, PR, hospitality, rights sales, social media, strategy and management of live events.
CSM serves the biggest brands and rights holders in the world, including Unilever, HSBC, Diageo, Verizon, UBS, Samsung, Subway, Dow, IOC, UEFA, Formula One Management, the Premier League and the PGA.
FACTS at a GLANCE
- Employees: 800+
- Office locations (24): Abu Dhabi, Adelaide, Auckland, Berlin, Cape Town, Connecticut, Doha, Dubai, Dunedin, Hong Kong, Indianapolis, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Melbourne, Moscow, Muscat, New York, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo
- Countries (19): Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA
- Agencies (14): CSM Soccer, CSM Strategic, Essentially, Fast Track, Full Access Hospitality, Golden Goal/CSM Brasil, Good Relations, ICON, iLUKA, JMI, People Marketing, SJX Partners, Sportseen, The Blaze Agency
- Key clients: Companies – DIAGEO, HSBC, Jaguar Land Rover, L’Oréal, UBS, Unilever, UPS Rights Holders – UEFA, FIFA, Spanish Football Association, Williams F1, World Rugby, English & Wales Cricket Board
A little more about CSM’s world leading agencies:
Essentially: Offering a forward-thinking approach to sport and entertainment marketing; Essentially specialise in athlete management, brand consulting, commercial rights sales & delivery and hospitality & events with a particular strength in rugby, cricket and music. Clients include Chris Robshaw, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Victor Matfield, World Rugby, England & Wales Cricket Board, Lawn Tennis Association, Rugby Football League, British Phonographic Industry, Vitality, Unilever, SABMiller, Waitrose and Accolade Wines. For more information visit: www.essentiallygroup.com
Fast Track: Putting brands at the heart of the most compelling sports stories, to achieve measurable business goals, offering services in consulting, content and live events. Clients include HSBC, GSK, Land Rover, Longines, AIA, Manchester City, MetLife, McLaren, Mubadala, and Jacksonville Jaguars. For more information visit: www.fasttrackagency.com
ICON: Bringing brands to life by creating and delivering brand and live experiences around the world for clients in sport, retail, corporate and public sectors. ICON’s clients include: Rio 2016 Olympic Games, FIFA, UEFA, Formula E, L”Oreal, Thomas Pink, GE, Barclays and the London Legacy Development Corporation. For more information visit: www.icon-world.com
iLUKA: A specialised event agency that creates and delivers immersive brand experiences and operational delivery for sponsors and stakeholders at global sporting events. Clients include adidas, Dow, Visa, Bradesco, The Coca-Cola Company, McDonald’s, International Olympic Committee, Samsung, Hyundai and Yokahama. For more information visit: www.iluka.co.uk
JMI: Exclusively in motorsports representing brands and corporations in all forms of premier motorsports worldwide – Clients include Bose, Castrol, DIAGEO (Crown Royal & Johnnie Walker) GSK, Mazda, UPS, Unilever, UBS and Verizon. For more information visit www.justmarketing.com
CSM also comprises additional specialist companies and local market specialists in Asia, North and South America, Middle East and Europe.
About Chime
Chime is a sport, entertainment and communications group present in six continents, 20 countries and 32 cities. The group comprises CSM in sport and entertainment; the VCCP Partnership in marketing communications; OPEN Health in healthcare communications, public relations and market access; CIE in market research; Good Relations, Teamspirit and Harvard in PR; and the Chime Specialist Group for communications in specialist market places. For more information, please go to www.chimegroup.com
