January, as rugby interest begins to turn towards the Six Nations, England Rugby’s official performance partner Mitsubishi Motors UK teams up with the RFU to launch the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year Awards.
The initiative aims to encourage as many grassroots rugby clubs around England to nominate the volunteers from their clubs to receive an award for the hard work they put in week in week out to make their clubs a home.
The ‘Volunteer of the Year Awards’ campaign is spearheaded by an emotional film fronted by England captain Dylan Hartley celebrating and participating with amateur rugby club volunteers.
The programme is amplified on YouTube
and across both the Mitsubishi and RFU’s digital platforms and social channels such as Twitter
Introducing the @MitsubishiUK Volunteer Recognition Programme.
Know a great volunteer?
Nominate them todayhttps://t.co/xxPpuzUk9P pic.twitter.com/nHCjBnvqFv— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) January 10, 2017
and Facebook.
The promotional pieces and campaign assets drive viewers to an RFU digital hub at http://www.englandrugby.com/my-rugby/volunteers/recognition/ where rugby fans and viewers can nominate individuals.
Club members, players and supporters are now able to nominate a volunteer who has made a real difference in their community.
Nominated volunteers will get the chance to attend one of 42 local events being held at Mitsubishi Motors Dealerships across England, where exclusive prizes will be awarded. These rewards span match day hospitality packages and to money-can’t-buy rugby experiences (such as watching the England team train).
Then one ‘Volunteer of the Year finalist’ will be nominated from each of the 42 events and invited to attend the awards dinner at Twickenham Stadium in September – where three overall winners will be unveiled and will receive a Mitsubishi vehicle for a year.
The awards sit at the heart of the ongoing Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme – which aims to recognise and reward rugby union volunteers across the country.
Lance Bradley, managing director of Mitsubishi Motors UK, said: ‘We are very proud to show our appreciation for the time and effort volunteers put in to making their clubs a home. From the kit washers to the line painters, the game we love wouldn’t be the same without them. We are thrilled to be creating more opportunities to thank them for all they do.’
Steve Grainger, rugby development director, England Rugby, added: ‘Rugby union has a long and proud tradition of thanking the volunteers who give so much to the game. Encouraging these traditions at clubs and Constituent Bodies helps to maintain the ethos of the sport, which is why we are delighted to be launching the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme. We look forward to rewarding the many volunteers who are recognised through this programme and hope that it also inspires more people to become volunteers.’
Comment:
It was back in April 2016 that the Rugby Football Union first unveiled a new partnership with Mitsubishi Motors and a further deal was signed in September that saw the car brand became the Official Performance Partner of England Rugby at the start of the 2016/17 season.
The initial alliance saw Mitsubishi sponsor England Under 18s and Under 20s (the brand logo will appear on the team shirts), as well as back the Exeter Sevens tournament (the England leg of the European Grand Prix Sevens Series).
While the later tie-in saw the auto company sign-on to support the game from grassroots level all the way up to the elite squad as it builds towards the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
As Official Performance Partner to England Rugby, Mitsubishi Motors also adds a rights package that includes the England Senior team and the England training centre (which was renamed the ‘Mitsubishi Motors England Rugby Training Centre’).
The partnership will be used priamrily to bring to life the automotive brand’s ‘Intelligent Motion’ brand positioning via fan-based campaigns – such as an initiative leveraging the Autumn internationals which saw England players (inlcuding Hartley) put through skills tests in a wind tunnel (see case study).
England Rugby head coach Eddie Jones, who is also a Mitsubishi brand ambassador, said: ‘‘I’m very pleased Mitsubishi Motors are on-board with England Rugby.’
‘Mitsubishi is a globally recognised brand with a track record of innovation, excellence and quality, so we look forward to working closely with them,’ said England head coach Eddie Jones at the September announcement.’
When the deal was signed, Mitsubishi Motors UK MD Bradley announced that the partnership would activate right across the business: from the brand and its dealer network, to customers and rugby fans across the country.
‘The ethos and values of the game align perfectly with our own and the partnership announcement comes as a natural development of the work we are doing, and have already done to support some of the UK’s leading rugby clubs and players,’ he explained.
‘The core values of the game of rugby align perfectly with our own and the England Rugby partnership comes as a natural progression of the work we are doing, and have already done, to support rugby. We are looking forward to seeing the partnership evolve as we head towards Japan 2019.’
‘As a globally recognised brand with strong heritage in innovation and high quality performance, Mitsubishi Motors is a great fit for the RFU,’ added RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie when the first deal was signed.
Mitsubishi Motors has existing heritage in sponsoring the sport through its partnership with Gloucester Rugby (which has run since 2007) and alliances with both Edinburgh Rugby and the Salford Red Devils.
Links:
Mitsubishi Motors UK
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/rugby/england/
https://twitter.com/MitsubishiUK
https://www.facebook.com/MitsubishiUK
England Rugby
https://twitter.com/EnglandRugby
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEnglandRugby/
