Brand confusion in South African Rugby – Super 12 brands vs Currie-Cup brands?

Abstract

Through the application of marketing principles and practice, sport marketers should anticipate, manage and satisfy sports consumers' needs and wants when marketing sport. They should strive to create and build awareness of a specific sports team, which should ultimately lead to loyal supporters. Sports teams' brands should therefore be emphasised and marketed. Branding is a relatively new phenomenon in rugby, a sport that a decade ago became professional and commercialised in South Africa. Despite the importance of brands and consumer perceptions of brands, rugby management in South Africa has been slow to realise the importance of brand management (Williams, 2004: 18). A case in point is the South African Super 12 rugby brands and the apparent lack of differentiation from the traditional Currie Cup brands. This study investigated South African rugby supporters' awareness of the various South African Super 12 and top Currie Cup brands. The aim was to determine whether there is brand confusion regarding these brands among South African rugby supporters.

South African Journal for Research in Sport, Physical Education and Recreation Vol. 28(1) 2006: 43-54