Rowing boasts a unique sponsorship in the South African sports landscape, enjoying the backing of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) despite having no TV airtime.
Broadcasting has traditionally been the hook to lure sponsors, attracting an audience to justify their spend.
But not when it comes to rowing.
Even during the Olympics, the one occasion when TV coverage is guaranteed, the RMB logos have to come off the kit, blades and boats because of the International Olympic Committee’s hefty rules against ambush marketing.
And yet the company is finding value in one of the smallest Cinderella sports that punches way above its weight. Rowing, with three Olympic medals from 2004, 2012 and 2016, is the only code outside swimming and athletics to have won more than a single gong since South Africa's readmission in 1992.
RMB landed the deal shortly before the Rio Games in 2016, at a time that both athletics and swimming were also without sponsors, as were most Olympic codes.
“Rowing wasn’t a random choice,” said RMB sponsorship marketing lead Michael Edwards. “It was a natural organic fit. It started off as just a metaphor really about pulling in the boat and pulling in the business.”
Early on they flighted an advert in which they recreated the golden lightweight four victory from 2012, but they have since moved on to creating their own content and stories about the rowers, releasing them on digital and social media.
It started off as just a metaphor really about pulling in the boat and pulling in the business
— RMB sponsorship marketing lead Michael Edwards
The lightweight four — Sizwe Ndlovu, John Smith, Matthew Brittain and James Thompson — won gold at the London 2012 Olympics.
“For us it’s much more important to get a credible story, to have client touch-points,” said Edwards.
Lucy Lightfoot, head of brand, said mainstream TV rights had not been an issue for a sponsorship that is reviewed on an annual basis, although they are looking at creating livestream possibilities from local regattas.
The sponsorship covers the naming rights for the national squad down to regattas and even schools.
RMB’s content on the South African team’s build-up to Tokyo 2020 transformed into a documentary on Showmax.
The crews were filming the rowers when they were informed that the Games had been delayed because of the pandemic.
RMB, which is putting together a piece about women in rowing, uses a similar approach to other sponsorships, which stretch into arts and culture.
The model seems as though it should be a blueprint for other struggling sport codes, but it cannot be easily replicated, said Nielsen Sports SA head Kelvin Watt.
Both athletics and swimming staged their national championships earlier this year without title sponsors, with athletics enjoying a deal with SuperSport, and swimming, despite boasting talents such as Tatjana Schoenmaker, Lara van Niekerk and Chad le Clos, live-streaming its showpiece.
“The problem is that rowing hasn’t actually done it,” said Watt. “It’s RMB. The reality is if RMB walk away after this Olympic cycle I don't know where rowing goes with what's there because they haven't created [the campaigns]. They themselves haven't created any equity; it's all been created by RMB.
“It's an RMB creation more than it's a rowing creation and I'm not sure how easy it would be for another federation to replicate that.”
Watt said RMB had done the same elsewhere, such as the Starlight Classics concerts.
“RMB have always been bloody good at the stuff they do. They very much put their stamp on the event ... That’s how they do sponsorship; they get properly involved in the stuff they do.”
National coach Tiago Loureiro, who believes that RMB has become synonymous with the South African team, which is branded as the RMB national squad, is preparing rowers for the world championships in Belgrade in September.
Unlike the swimmers, who have their world championships in Japan next month, the rowers won’t have to contribute to their trip.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.