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Brenden Nel - SuperSport
Pretoria - There may be those who believe waving a red flag in front of a Bull may get an adverse reaction, but the Chiefs will be hoping this isn’t true this weekend as the Bulls turn red for their Vodacom Super Rugby game at Loftus Versfeld this weekend.
The Bulls will shed their normal light blue jerseys for a red version – in support of the rebranding of their sponsor – as they return home in an effort to resuscitate their flagging defence of their Super Rugby crown.
The one-off jersey, which will only be worn this weekend, will see the team play in a newly designed jersey, which will be given away to fans attending the game in a competition afterwards, signed by the player who wears the jersey.
The initiative goes hand in hand with two other marketing announcements made by the Blue Bulls Company on Thursday.
Vodacom will also be giving 500 tickets to residents of Orlando, Soweto to attend the Chiefs match, as it “celebrates the spirit of Orlando” – nearly a year to the day the Bulls won their Super 14 title last year in Soweto.
The Bulls moved their semi-final and final to the township stadium after they were denied use of Loftus Versfeld by the 2010 Soccer World Cup, where it was used as a host stadium for the footballing event.
What transpired was a glorious example of nation building as Soweto residents opened their homes to Bulls fans on both weekends ahead of the game.
“The Bulls have been on the road for the past five weeks and to welcome them back, we’ve launched this campaign. I’m sure you’ve noticed in the media that Vodacom has undergone quite a transition in its brand identity. Part of that you will see at Loftus and on the jersey,” Enzo Scarcella, Marketing executive of Vodacom said.
“To welcome the Bulls back to Loftus, the first weekend that the new identity will be featured at Loftus Versfeld, we are running two campaigns; the first one is the Orlando to Loftus campaign. We are two weeks away from the one year anniversary of the Bulls playing in Orlando and winning the Super 14. To re-invoke that spirit, we are running a competition on various radio stations to get Orlando Bulls fans to Loftus to support the Bulls.
“The prize is 500 tickets – a VIP package giveaway, transport, meals and tickets and they will also stand a chance of winning an additional prize.
“In addition to that, we have an activation of a once-off memorabilia jersey. The idea is that in line with us moving to a red brand, we’ve designed a jersey in line with that. Our partnership with the Bulls is eight years strong and we still have another two years left. That jersey will be worn once off this weekend against the Chiefs.
“There have only been 22 of those jerseys made and they will be signed by the player who wears each jersey. People in the crowd will have a chance to win that once off jersey, only for supporters who are at the stadium on the day.”
Bulls CEO Barend van Graan said the decision was taken unanimously by the Blue Bulls Company board of directors. “We’ve had a long relationship with our sponsor. Vodacom supported us when we did not do well and currently as we are going through a challenging time on the field, they have been supportive. It’s a once off support gesture from the Bulls, taken unanimously by our board to support the rebranding of the sponsor.
“There have been a lot of questions when we are playing in Orlando, and while it won’t happen again in the new future, it is a brilliant idea from Vodacom to bring people from Orlando to Loftus. They opened their houses, and opened their hearts to us a year ago and we need to do the same this weekend.”
The Bulls also launched their fan-based Facebook site, the Legends of Loftus, where supporters can win prizes if their photographs are shown while they are at Loftus Versfeld for a game.
Victor Matfield and Morne Steyn don the new jersey (Brenden Nel - SuperSport)
Pretoria - There may be those who believe waving a red flag in front of a Bull may get an adverse reaction, but the Chiefs will be hoping this isn’t true this weekend as the Bulls turn red for their Vodacom Super Rugby game at Loftus Versfeld this weekend.
The Bulls will shed their normal light blue jerseys for a red version – in support of the rebranding of their sponsor – as they return home in an effort to resuscitate their flagging defence of their Super Rugby crown.
The one-off jersey, which will only be worn this weekend, will see the team play in a newly designed jersey, which will be given away to fans attending the game in a competition afterwards, signed by the player who wears the jersey.
The initiative goes hand in hand with two other marketing announcements made by the Blue Bulls Company on Thursday.
Vodacom will also be giving 500 tickets to residents of Orlando, Soweto to attend the Chiefs match, as it “celebrates the spirit of Orlando” – nearly a year to the day the Bulls won their Super 14 title last year in Soweto.
The Bulls moved their semi-final and final to the township stadium after they were denied use of Loftus Versfeld by the 2010 Soccer World Cup, where it was used as a host stadium for the footballing event.
What transpired was a glorious example of nation building as Soweto residents opened their homes to Bulls fans on both weekends ahead of the game.
“The Bulls have been on the road for the past five weeks and to welcome them back, we’ve launched this campaign. I’m sure you’ve noticed in the media that Vodacom has undergone quite a transition in its brand identity. Part of that you will see at Loftus and on the jersey,” Enzo Scarcella, Marketing executive of Vodacom said.
“To welcome the Bulls back to Loftus, the first weekend that the new identity will be featured at Loftus Versfeld, we are running two campaigns; the first one is the Orlando to Loftus campaign. We are two weeks away from the one year anniversary of the Bulls playing in Orlando and winning the Super 14. To re-invoke that spirit, we are running a competition on various radio stations to get Orlando Bulls fans to Loftus to support the Bulls.
“The prize is 500 tickets – a VIP package giveaway, transport, meals and tickets and they will also stand a chance of winning an additional prize.
“In addition to that, we have an activation of a once-off memorabilia jersey. The idea is that in line with us moving to a red brand, we’ve designed a jersey in line with that. Our partnership with the Bulls is eight years strong and we still have another two years left. That jersey will be worn once off this weekend against the Chiefs.
“There have only been 22 of those jerseys made and they will be signed by the player who wears each jersey. People in the crowd will have a chance to win that once off jersey, only for supporters who are at the stadium on the day.”
Bulls CEO Barend van Graan said the decision was taken unanimously by the Blue Bulls Company board of directors. “We’ve had a long relationship with our sponsor. Vodacom supported us when we did not do well and currently as we are going through a challenging time on the field, they have been supportive. It’s a once off support gesture from the Bulls, taken unanimously by our board to support the rebranding of the sponsor.
“There have been a lot of questions when we are playing in Orlando, and while it won’t happen again in the new future, it is a brilliant idea from Vodacom to bring people from Orlando to Loftus. They opened their houses, and opened their hearts to us a year ago and we need to do the same this weekend.”
The Bulls also launched their fan-based Facebook site, the Legends of Loftus, where supporters can win prizes if their photographs are shown while they are at Loftus Versfeld for a game.
Victor Matfield and Morne Steyn don the new jersey (Brenden Nel - SuperSport)
