Saturday’s upset of California over BYU at the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup marked the latest activation from the insurance brand, with the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship now on deck on June 4-5 in Philadelphia. The company has gone all-in on the growing sport, with the results seeing the brand become synonymous with rugby stateside in recent years, capped by Penn Mutual, United World Sports and NBC Sports Group locking in a landmark extension and expansion of their partnership for the events earlier this year and includes Penn Mutual’s title sponsorship for both events through 2019.
Ahead of the CRC, Cynopsis Sports asked Penn Mutual Chairman and CEO Eileen McDonnell about the strategy, the event and the evolution of rugby in the States.
McDonnell on leveraging rugby: We think rugby is a perfect match for us. First of all, it’s the fastest growing team sport in America, and Penn Mutual is one of the fastest growing companies in the life insurance industry, so there’s great alignment there. And while it’s the fastest growing team sport, no one had stepped up to sponsor collegiate rugby, so we believed it was a great opportunity for us and it sets us apart in the sports marketing space. From a values perspective, rugby is all about integrity, respect and teamwork, things that Penn Mutual is about too. From a business perspective, we believe rugby is a great way to connect with the next generation of advisors and clients. And we’re making very strong connections with the rugby community via social media, campus visits and the Rugby Business Network. We believe our sponsorship is a great strategic marketing decision that will bear fruit for us in the years ahead as well as grow the sport of rugby.
On lessons learned: We’ve learned that rugby is a highly connected community that values its traditions. Our sponsorship has allowed us to reach a new audience on a national scale, and has presented our offices across the country the opportunity to connect directly on a local level through colleges, clubs and Rugby Business Network chapters in various cities. The rugby community has been very welcoming to our efforts to build contacts and support the sport.
On activating: We’re very excited about our expanded partnership with United World Sports and NBC Sports. We were very pleased with our results in year one of the sponsorship and look forward to continued success. Our rugby fan experience (3D art) was part of the Fan Festival, helping us build brand awareness through social media. Because recruiting rugby players to our company is a key focus for us, we also meet with coaches and administrators at both the Penn Mutual Varsity Cup and Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship to familiarize them with the opportunities at Penn Mutual that are available to their athletes.
On the sport’s growth: Rugby has certainly increased in popularity at the collegiate and high school levels. In fact, there’s a safe tackling component at the Penn Mutual CRC, where high school football players are invited to learn the same safe tackling techniques that the Seattle Seahawks and Ohio State Buckeyes have learned. Ex-Philadelphia Eagles are on hand to support this initiative, and because of it, rugby will be introduced to a brand new audience, who are great candidates to play collegiate rugby in a few years. With rugby being reintroduced to the Summer Olympics in Rio this year after a 92-year hiatus, we think the popularity of the sport will increase even more. In addition, it’s gaining popularity because the sport is inclusive of gender and ability, and is a sport that is played from youth to adulthood, that’s very important to Penn Mutual. And rugby’s values, like integrity and respect are paramount to the sport, just as they are to Penn Mutual.
