Rabo to pull the plug on Pro12 sponsorship

According to the Irish Times - www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/rabodirec...ponsorship-1.1503563 ]. Rabo are to pull the plug on Pro12 sponsorship. They are currently on year 3 of a 4 year deal.

Not sure what the reason for this is, but looking for a 3rd sponsor in 6 years is not great.

I don't know why but the text in my first post is invisible.

www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/rabodirec...ponsorship-1.1503563

According to the Irish Times, Rabo Bank are to pull the plug on Pro12 sponsorship. They are currently on year 3 of a 4 year deal.

Not sure what the reason for this is, but looking for a 3rd sponsor in 6 years is not great.

Didn't give this much thought but came across this interesting point of view as to why they pulled plug early.

Apparently rabodirect only trade in republic of Ireland and have no presence at all in UK and Italy. When Bank of Ireland were announced as title sponsors for Munster(in addition to ulster and Leinster) rabos investment was no longer deemed viable.

Makes perfect sense, I'm sure Sky weren't too impressed with BT sponsoring the two Scottish teams, either.

Finding a brand that has markets in the UK and Ireland might not be too difficult, but one that is also in Italy might be tough. We'll need either the Apple, Google or Microsoft Pro12 at this rate.

ummm, wrote: Makes perfect sense, I'm sure Sky weren't too impressed with BT sponsoring the two Scottish teams, either.

Finding a brand that has markets in the UK and Ireland might not be too difficult, but one that is also in Italy might be tough. We'll need either the Apple, Google or Microsoft Pro12 at this rate.

A car company could work too. There was a lot of talk of Fiat, last time the naming rights were up for grabs

rossie wrote: Didn't give this much thought but came across this interesting point of view as to why they pulled plug early.

Apparently rabodirect only trade in republic of Ireland and have no presence at all in UK and Italy. When Bank of Ireland were announced as title sponsors for Munster(in addition to ulster and Leinster) rabos investment was no longer deemed viable.

And funny enough that's the exact opposite of why Bulmers/Magners pulled out:

The Irish attendances accounted for over half of Magners League totals, and all those fans knew the product as Bulmers....

salmson wrote:

rossie wrote: Didn't give this much thought but came across this interesting point of view as to why they pulled plug early.

Apparently rabodirect only trade in republic of Ireland and have no presence at all in UK and Italy. When Bank of Ireland were announced as title sponsors for Munster(in addition to ulster and Leinster) rabos investment was no longer deemed viable.

And funny enough that's the exact opposite of why Bulmers/Magners pulled out:

The Irish attendances accounted for over half of Magners League totals, and all those fans knew the product as Bulmers....

RaboDirect operates in the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Germany and New Zealand.
The parent RaboBank, have a office in London, but that is mainly due to the London Stock Exchange.
I am guessing they had gotten as much as could be got from the sponsorship, but in truth with no operations in Wales, Scotland or Italy the RaboDirect deal did not make a good fit.

As for Magners/Bulmers, that is their own stupid fault, whomever decided to give the product different names in different regions should get a good kicking.


It will most likely come from one of
Drinks - Soft-drinks or Alcohol
Transport - Automotive/Airlines
Telecommunications - Phone/Internet/TV
Gambling

IT - maybe but not really their thing
Online retailers - same as above


Italy will be the hard sell for a sponsor, not many companies will have a sufficient footprint win all 5 regions.

If Rabo are interested in Irish market they could become our sponsors after Mazda term finishes. Rabo are current sponsors of Melbourne Rebels.