Admiral’s jersey sponsorship deal with the men’s Welsh rugby team was never about seeking a commercial return on investment but creating a sense of pride amongst staff, says its founder and former chief executive Henry Engelhardt.
The FTSE 100 car insurance to loans group, which employs 7,000 in South Wales, was the principal shirt sponsor with its branding of the front of the jersey between 2010 and 2017.
In his new book, Be a Better Boss, Chicago-born Mr Engelhardt said a deal with the Welsh Rugby Union was only struck after staff approved the move in a poll having been offered the alternative of each getting a small bonus.
Mr Engelhardt, who now sits on the board of the WRU as an independent non-executive director, said: “We knew going in that we would never get enough new car insurance business to justify this expense. So why did we do it? Before we committed to the sponsorship, we polled staff and found that they were in favour. In fact, we offered them a choice of a bonus of £20 each or having the Admiral name on the country’s jerseys. They voted for the jerseys. We knew that having our game on the jerseys would be a source of pride for our workforce.”
He said while difficult to gauge the value of pride generated from the sponsorship deal, it was deemed greater than its financial cost.
However, he said when it came to an option of renewing for the fourth time in 2017, it was time to move it. He added: “The cost had gone up to a point where we decided that we’d have t find less expensive ways to generate that pride. There’s always a point where a cost is too great for the benefit.”
Earlier this month the WRU struck a new shirt sponsorship deal, building on a deal already for the women’s national side, with Vodafone.
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