TVNZ Marketing Awards Crop

Rugby For Life Wins TVNZ Marketing Excellence Award

Rugby for Life (RFL) has won the Excellence in Not-for-Profit Marketing Strategy award at the TVNZ Marketing Awards held in Auckland last week. The TVNZ Marketing Awards are dedicated to recognising and rewarding excellence in the discipline of marketing with RFL being recognised for Excellence in Not-for-Profit Marketing Strategy for the ‘Take 2 For The Team’ programme.

Pictured (left to right): Trustees Geoff Milner, Riki Kinnaird, Paul Scott (Ambassador), Garrick Loft (Colab), Ajit Balasingham, Sharon Morgan, Scott Rees (Colab), Martin Cleave.

Rugby for Life celebrates sport and the hubs our community have created around the clubs that provide a safe place to learn about wellbeing,  employment opportunities and education, as well as sport and the skills it takes to become a team. Take 2 For The Team was designed to approach the Covid vaccines in a grassroots and community-focused way in Northland. While it had to reach all Northlanders, its primary focus was Māori and  Pasifika communities – with 4,896 club rugby players (63 per cent) in the region identifying as Māori or Pasifika.

“Rugby for Life is connected to the community with a clear focus on the long-term club and community sustainability in Northland,” explains Ajit Balasingham, Chairperson of RFL. ‘Partnering with Garrick Loft and the team at Colab has enabled RFL and the Rugby community in Northland to raise much needed funds and help keep our whānau well.”

“Northland has the lowest level of internet access in New Zealand, so our communication strategy had to be multi layered across multiple channels to ensure we reached all areas of Northland,” explains Garrick Loft, Managing Director of Colab. “We are thrilled this vitally important piece of work has won this prestigious award and that the amazing work Rugby For Life does has been recognised on a national stage.”

RFL has also collaborated with the clubs to provide an increase in club membership, engage a volunteer army throughout the region, create an in-house union resource and a community outreach programme with the 42 clubs in Northland.

RFL has made enormous improvements in the Northland region over the last couple of years and has used the charity as a platform for a wide range of initiatives including getting the local community Covid Vaccinated, helping families with day-to-day life, and providing youngsters with a safe place away from the hardships of their everyday life through Rugby, its culture and network as the driver.

Video: Rugby For Life award win announcement.