Engage ends Super League sponsorship

Engage Mutual Assurance is ending its title sponsorship of rugby league’s Super League after seven years.

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The financial services firm is not renewing its deal, which concludes at the end of the current season and is thought to be worth about £1.2m a year, because sport no longer fits with its strategy of targeting the over 50s market.

The Rugby Football League (RFL), the sport’s governing body, is in discussions with potential new sponsors and is hoping to announce a new backer in the next few months.

The RFL is also looking to refresh the Super League brand and has hired market research firm Happen to find out what stakeholders, including fans and the media, think of the current proposition.

The move could lead to a new logo and marketing strategy, with changes set to be introduced by the start of the 2012 season.

The rethink has been timed to coincide with the unveiling of a new title sponsor and TV deal.

The RFL claims that Super League is the second most watched domestic league outside football. It estimates that 24 million people watch live coverage and highlights across Sky and the BBC each season.

Karl Elliot, marketing director, says: “The title sponsorship has performed exactly as we hoped, providing great national profile for the Engage Mutual name and proving to be a great fit with our own values and family focus.

“Going forward we are considering other options to maintain the brand investment that Super League provided such a good return on.

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