Branding Malaysian rugby

LIKE many other Malaysians, I’m proud of the achievement of our national rugby team who successfully defended the Asia Rugby Championship 2017 Division 1 title last month after beating regional rivals Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.

It proves that last year’s success was not a fluke. This achievement should be credited to the Malaysian Rugby Union (MRU), players and officials at every level and fans who show great passion and commitment for the game.

But let’s not get carried away by the achievement. If we do not take the right measure by using the recent success as a platform to enhance the standard of rugby in Malaysia, we will find ourselves trapped and unable to progress further.

Being a rugby enthusiast and an academic who has an eye for sport communication and branding, I strongly believe that beyond the performance in the field, Malaysian rugby also needs to thrive off the field by working on its brand to build a strong reputation for itself and to be sustainable in the long run.

Rugby in Malaysia has a long and colourful history. It has been played here since the end of the 19th century. Since its establishment in 1921, the MRU has been very active in its role to govern rugby union in the country, organise competitions and promote the game.

In 1998, we hosted the first ever sevens competition in the Commonwealth Games. We also had the opportunity to host the 2000-2001 and the 2001-2002 editions of the IRB Sevens World Series.

The exposure provided by hosting world class competitions and playing against top rugby teams should be used as a platform to garner wider public interest and to take the game to new heights.

Unfortunately, this did not happen and in reality, despite our long rugby history and tradition, we never took off.

The Malaysian rugby community remains exclusive, our pool of players is still relatively small, our presence is often not felt by the public, we lack publicity and we find that sponsorship is hard to come by. As result, we are struggling to take the game further.

In the past, I have come across comments from some players and fans alike who blasted the local media for not covering Malaysian rugby enough despite its recent success.

To be fair, it is important to note that media in general are an enterprise. What’s in the news is very much determined by the news value, which refers to the prominence and impact the news generates to the public. Hence, the lack of media coverage sums up the low value of Malaysian rugby to the media and the public.

If we are serious about improving the game further, and in order to gain the competitive edge required to contest against the likes of Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea, we must start building a strong brand for Malaysian rugby.

But what is a brand and how does it translate into a sporting success? In short, brand refers to a specific product or service, person, place, firm, organisation or even a sporting team that consumers can connect with. A strong brand lies in the minds and hearts of consumers. It creates awareness, a certain expectation, reputation, prominence and loyalty.

With regards to Malaysian rugby, a strong brand will harness greater awareness towards the game, generate more public support and media publicity and, more importantly, the ability to attract financial avenues from sponsors.

Brand-building is an ongoing process but to start with, it is important to get useful insight related to public awareness and perception towards Malaysian rugby as well as the existing media landscape and sponsorship opportunity.

Such knowledge provides a basis to design a long term brand building programme. All of these, which I would refer to as off-the-field work, are catalysts for improved on-the-field performance, which is important to take Malaysian rugby to new heights.