Canterbury Rugby Football Union appoints Strategy Creative following a competitive pitch

Strategy Creative are extremely proud to announce that it has been appointed the Canterbury Rugby Football Union (CRFU) account after a competitive pitch process.

CRFU, the governing body for rugby union in Canterbury, tasked Strategy Creative with developing a grassroots recruitment drive for local clubs around the region. The agency’s response was to revolutionise the entire recruitment process into a massive, county-wide programme called The Draft.

With a media ecosystem devised by media partners, Strategy Media, running across press, OOH, radio, digital and social assets, The Draft transforms the player recruitment and registration process into an exciting and highly anticipated part of the annual rugby calendar. More than this, The Draft is a call to arms. While its primary focus is on generating first time sign ups — boys and girls of  5 to 6 years old — the CRFU hopes The Draft will encourage players of all levels to register for the season ahead. Its purpose is to remind the people of Canterbury why grassroots rugby is so vital to their community and to the game at all levels.  

The Draft is the first iteration of a much larger repositioning devised by Strategy Creative for the CRFU,  ‘Your Club. Your Canterbury’. This aims to strengthen people’s pride in their local club, both on and off the pitch.

Says Nick Harvey, managing partner, Strategy Creative: “We are all privileged to live, work and play in Canterbury, being able to partner with a business and brand such as the CRFU, where we’re helping to build on the legacy of Canterbury Rugby, is just amazing.

“With The Draft, the CRFU have shown real courage by allowing us to present the union in a new light, in an exciting way, attracting others to experience all that rugby has to offer by getting more people into the game, promoting more growth towards the future.”

Says Tony Small, chief executive, CRFU: “Our clubs in Canterbury work tirelessly to recruit and retain players, and we are excited to be able to complement the work they are already doing with this new initiative.”

“It’s important we support our clubs with a really cohesive and innovative approach and we’re confident this partnership will achieve that.”

Says Simon Carter, GM of commercial and marketing, CRFU: “We are excited about this new partnership with Strategy Creative. During the pitch process they impressed us with their passion, strategic thinking and creative approach. As the first cab off the rank, The Draft is a brilliant way for clubs and communities to get involved with rugby. We want to inspire anyone from 6-26 to sign up.”