For the past five years, Internet service provider (ISP) UKFast has been official club sponsor of RFU Premiership team Sale Sharks. It has also recently become the individual sponsor of rising England star Charlie Hodgson, as well as renewing its overall deal with the club for a further four years.
UKFast has a strong presence in the domestic market, winning the Best Business Internet Service Provider Award in November 2004, at the Future ISP Awards. Based in Manchester, the ISP has strong customer bases amongst small and medium sized businesses in the North West and London regions, although it targets larger businesses also.
The sponsorship deal for Sale Sharks was originally instigated in 2000, although the England team’s Rugby World Cup win in 2003 increased interest in the sport amongst the general public considerably, and consequently the value of the association. Club fullback and captain Jason Robinson’s profile has also risen, and his star-status was confirmed by his recent appointment as England captain. A born-again Christian, Robinson’s clean and trustworthy image make him an excellent brand ambassador for UKFast, and has become the focus of a new year above-the-line campaign, with ads appearing in IT trade magazines such as Linux Format, PC Plus and .Net.
Laura Blizard, head of marketing at UK Fast, explains, “Jason Robinson epitomises our key strengths: speed, precision, expertise and team support. He also provides us an unusual and striking presence in the office environment, giving the product that extra edge.”
Lawrence Jones, managing director of UKFast, comments: “I’m a keen rugby player myself and I’m incredibly proud to have Jason Robinson as well as Charlie Hodgson in our camp. He will be of great help in enhancing our image and company profile nationwide.”
Off-the-pitch ads
UKFast uses pitch-side banner advertising at Sale Sharks’ Stockport Stadium to create strong brand awareness at home games, attended by up to 10,000 fans per match. The company’s branding appears on all of the club’s marketing material, including posters and mailers. The UKFast brand also features on the front cover of the match day programme and internally on a full page ad. And most visibly of all, the logo is also carried on all players kit – although the ISP is not the main kit sponsor.
Nurturing a partnership
As well as leveraging the relationship with Sale Sharks for promotional purposes, the Internet service provider has nurtured a wider spirit of co-operation, designing and managing the club’s website (www.salesharks.com). The site was launched prior to the start of the 2004/5 season, and is rapidly proving itself a key interface, with 70 per cent of tickets bought online and 100,000 visitors a week.
It features a club shop, enabling replica kit and accessories to be purchased online, and is currently being expanded to integrate a corporate hospitality section. On the back of this success UKFast has since expanded its presence in the website design sector, becoming a major revenue generator.
Charlie Hodgson of Sale Sharks comments, “UKFast enabled the club to build a consistent online presence. Since the launch of the website our number of supporters has rocketed as more and more people travel to away games to support us on the ground.”
Lawrence Jones of UKFast adds, “I have always been involved with rugby and love the sport. By sponsoring the team and providing them with a highly efficient website, not only are we helping to promote the club’s web presence but we’re also enhancing our own profile. In today’s world, it is unthinkable not to have a website, it is the first business-to-customer contact and creates an initial impression in the eyes of potential clients. Our job is to make a great visual impact.”
