Well it’s a big day for the Queensland Reds, I mean the St.George Queensland Reds, in particular their fans. Today is the day, or tonight is the night, that the squad for season 2015 will be announced and we can expect to see one K. Hunt and one J. O’Connor finally confirmed as signees. It won’t be a full squad, with a few spots to be kept open to be either filled with players from the NRC, or by some bigger name players with whom negotiations continue.
However in preparation for what will hopefully be some encouraging news later tonight, the day kicked off with an announcement that St.George bank have signed on for another three years. Whilst for the casual fan it may not be as significant as the announcement that we have signed someone like a Victor Vito, it is an important indicator nonetheless.
When you delve a little deeper, the St.George and QRU partnership has been one of the more successful sponsorships in sport, despite its relative infancy. The bank, having previously been a sleeve sponsor in 2010, took the plunge to principal sponsorship the following year. And what a year! The Reds won the premiership, as the St.George Reds, and the St.George logo gained tremendous reach as the Reds were one of the most heavily supported, and watched, teams in the country.
Changing the reference to the St.George Queensland Reds the next year helped keep the traditionalists happy, somewhat, but it was the way the two organisations immersed themselves in each other’s strategic objectives that was the real strength.
St.George have strived to become the fastest growing bank in Queensland, whilst the QRU had the intention of becoming the biggest rugby state in the country, and the most supported in the state. The QRU have accomplished their target, whilst St.George are close to achieving theirs.
There’s been some conjecture recently about the Membership numbers the Reds are proclaiming, close to 60,000 now (up from approximately 5,000 when St.George first came on as a sponsor in 2010). The fact is these 60,000 are financial contributors to rugby in Queensland and each are important ‘touch points’ for the game. They are 55,000 individuals whom had no direct and tangible affiliation with the Reds or rugby back six or so years ago.
And it’s these types of numbers that is the reason Happy Dragon and his cohorts in financial services are so happy. The structure of Queensland Rugby is a rare one, and one that makes them a unique model in modern day sport. They have a strong brand at the top in the Reds which, despite a less than satisfactory on field display this year, is still an attractive one in the marketplace. But they also have a massive support structure underneath their umbrella in participants, volunteers and clubs etc.
Despite their win this year, the Waratahs can’t offer that with Waratah Inc quite distinct from the NSWRU (and Sydney Rugby Union, NSW Country Rugby and many other rugby bodies in their state). It is also distinct from the likes of the Roar, the Broncos and the Lions here in Queensland. All of which have a strong ‘brand’ at the top, but none have the volume underneath, as the grassroots clubs affiliate with Football Queensland, Queensland Rugby League and AFL Queensland respectively.
It means St.George gets to align itself to the Reds, and then the likes of Quade, Kevie, the Faingaas et al, but also gets to access the grassroots through the Rookies2Reds program, or through contacts with the clubs. Obviously not every club will engage in the partnership, for whatever reasons, but for a bank that positions itself as a service oriented financial institution, the chance to get out there and cook BBQs or bring Happy the Dragon to junior club days, is invaluable.
So congrats to both bodies on the new partnership. It’s a credit to the QRU, in particular CEO Jim Carmichael, who was adamant in the glory days post-2011 that the organisation could not afford to solely rely on on-field performance to guarantee off-field growth. There could be no better example of this than the extension of their partnership with St.George when one considers the year the Reds have had.
So we can now sit back and look forward the squad announcement tonight and all hope for a return to that on-field success we all loved back in 2011.
