Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup as the Springboks celebrate winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Image: Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images
The Springboks beat Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs as the strongest sports brand in the country, according to research by Brand Finance Africa.
Siya Kolisi’s two-time world champions scored 91.6 in a first-time study by the international research company, which focused on rugby, football and cricket.
Pirates came in second at 83.2 and Chiefs third at 82.6.
Brand Finance Africa MD Oliver Schmitz said at the launch of the latest brand rankings in Johannesburg on Thursday SA Rugby broke into the country’s top 100 most valuable brands with an estimated value of R2.2bn. He added there was room for potential growth considering the Boks were achieving 60% of the revenue enjoyed by the All Blacks.
But soccer monopolised the strongest sports leagues in the country, with the MTN8 winning on 89.2 ahead of the Nedbank Cup (87.7) and the Betway Premiership (86.6).
Springboks ‘For South Africa’ TV advertisement the 2023 Rugby World Cup. – Manned
Brands that received the most uptake from sports sponsorships from sports fans vs customers who were not fans were Nedbank (football, 20%), Investec (golf, 17%) and Vodacom (football and rugby, 7%).
MTN was the most valuable national brand overall with R50.7bn, ahead of Vodacom (R43.9) and Standard Bank (R37.8bn).
The strongest brand based on perceptions and behaviours of consumers was Checkers (scoring 97.7 out of 100), Clicks and Pick n Pay.
Strategy and insight consultant Jenny Moore said 94% of respondents believed national teams winning had a positive affect, but this perception was backed up by South Africa ranking 21 internationally on a list of reputations through the lens of sport.
Siya Kolisi talks PSL, Kaizer Chiefs, Betway Premiership. – SuperSport
She said sport, while not resulting directly in investment, had the ability to open doors internationally through the way people thought about the country. It could also be used to drive tourism.
The domination of sports sponsorships by sports betting companies was welcomed by most fans.
Moore said 67% of fans — 72% women and 63% men — did not have a problem with sports betting sponsorships, in line with international trends.
She said 80% of fans felt betting could make matches more exciting.
