New Zealand Rugby World Cup triumph boosts All Blacks brand value by £25m
New Zealand's show of sporting supremacy at the Rugby World Cup boosted the All Blacks brand value by $37m (£24.6m), according to brand valuation and consultancy firm Brand Finance.
The All Blacks brand, the most valuable in rugby, is now estimated to be worth $169m following a successful campaign in which the iconic rugby team became the first to both win the World Cup for a third time and from back-to-back tournaments.
New Zealand's national side enjoy global recognition thanks to a historic win ratio of 77 per cent, an attractive style of rugby, their pre-match haka and, of course, their iconic head-to-toe jet black uniform marked by a single silver fern.
Read more: AIG and the All Blacks brand: How New Zealand dominates rugby on and off the pitch
Bryn Anderson, head of Brand Finance's sports marketing unit said the All Blacks' history of achievement in rugby was the "closest thing to guaranteed success a sponsor of a major sport could hope for".
He added: "The All Blacks are a sponsor's dream off the field too, renowned for their fairness, good sportsmanship and disciplined behaviour."
In recent years, the All Blacks have secured a number of commercial partnerships most famously with AIG who, in 2012, became the team's first ever shirt sponsor.
Brand Finance believe the brand could be worth close to $500m (roughly the current value of Liverpool Football Club) by the 2023 World Cup but its commercial potential is currently being restrained by a conservative approach to sponsorship.
Anderson said: "[New Zealand Rugby] have in the past taken a conservative approach to establishing new deals, cautious of the sense of ownership that many Kiwis feel for their national team.
"If managed properly to ensure brand fit, there is no reason they couldn't establish dozens of global, top-tier partnerships in the same way that football clubs such as Manchester United have done."