“Sponsorships represent a critical component of MasterCard's global marketing approach, and we are proud to add Rugby World Cup 2011 to our roster of world-class alliances,” said Andre Sekulic, president, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide.
“We will leverage this unique platform to further deliver shareholder value by creating exclusive business-building opportunities for our customer financial institutions, while building MasterCard brand affinity by offering priceless experiences to MasterCard cardholders.”
The Rugby World Cup is considered the crown jewel of the sport and a prominent global property -television coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2007 reportedly spanned more than 200 territories, reaching a cumulative audience of 4.3 billion viewers.
The cup is being held in New Zealand for the first time since the inaugural event in 1987. Teams representing 20 nations will compete in 48 matches across several host cities during September and October 2011. The final and semi-final matches are slated for Auckland's historic Eden Park, 22 - 23 October 2011.
RWCL chairman Bernard Lapasset said, “In addition to demonstrating a commitment to helping grow the sport of Rugby through its grassroots campaign in New Zealand, MasterCard also delivers a proven track record of global sponsorship activation which combines strategy and creativity to drive business results.”
Beyond its experience in sponsorship marketing, MasterCard also has a rich heritage of supporting the sport of rugby in the host country. Over the past six years, MasterCard has been a sponsor of the New Zealand All Blacks team.
As part of the agreement, MasterCard secures a comprehensive rights and benefits package that allows the company to deliver value to customer financial institutions, merchants and cardholders, including the ability to access “Priceless” experiences linked to Rugby World Cup 2011.
The relationship with Rugby World Cup 2011 also provides opportunities to support a number of the company's strategic priorities, including: