INTERVIEW: DHL’s Lindsay Birley talks Rugby World Cup

Although sports marketing is nothing new for DHL, this is the first time the brand has sponsored the Rugby World Cup (RWC) and Birley says it has been "very busy" leveraging that sponsorship in the run up to the event, which kicks off this Friday, 9 September, in New Zealand.

The sports DHL choose, which include rugby,Formula 1 and recently the Volvo Round the World Yacht Race, are in line with the brand’s attributes, “Speed, teamwork, history and heritage – team spirit’s a big one, and even a word like 'delivery',” says Birley.

Describing the RWC sponsorship as an extension of the brand’s extensive existing association with rugby, Birley said DHL Express is seeing a "solid" return on investment from its involvement with the sport. Going on to explain the many ways the relationship is leveraged, he says activities range from major rugby dinners featuring brand ambassador and former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick, to supporting youth rugby for underprivileged children.

Asked whether this sponsorship was at the cost of any other marketing spend, Birley said that the brand has always been aggressive in its marketing activity and, in order to maintain high brand visibility DHL continues to invest heavily in sports sponsorship. Unable to comment on spend at a global level, which is co-ordinated from the company’s headquarters in Germany, Birley does say that from a regional perspective, sports marketing spend remains at least at the same level as previous years, if not, on the rise.

Above all, he emphasises the importance of fully exploiting a sponsorship in the build-up to the event itself.  “Within about a week of the finals, it’s pretty much all over," he said. "Before you know it the end of the year’s gone and you’ve got a Rugby World Cup and DHL 2011 on your jersey and you’re into 2012. Nice memento, but the opportunity we’ve got is right now.”