KEY POINTS:
In these troubled economic times, the All Black brand remains a shining star.
Marketing budgets globally are being cut as major corporations battle the credit crunch, rising inflation and recession. These are tough times yet the All Blacks continue to field inquiries about potential sponsorship tie-ups.
New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew says there are no deals imminent but interest in the brand remains constant.
And that is vital because the All Blacks are too big for New Zealand. The All Blacks continue to grow their profile overseas. The World Cup disaster did not dent their popularity in Europe, Asia or North America.
Those agencies that monitor the potential worth of sporting brands say the All Blacks are up there with the likes of Ferrari and Manchester United.
Realising that value is not possible in New Zealand where the small population restricts the amount of money sponsors are prepared to pump in.
The All Blacks are currently backed by Ford, Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Sanitarium, Lion Nathan and Air New Zealand. While some of these are global brands, they have only domestic rights to the All Blacks.
That means they can't promote their association with the All Blacks in offshore markets.
To get the most out of their package, the domestic sponsors have to put the pressure on the NZRU to eke out every cent they can.
That gives the NZRU issues. Each sponsor needs to feel they are getting value for money and access to the players to promote their brand.
With such a crowded fixture list, the players have limited time in which they can participate in promotional activity.
"One of the things we have to look at is when can we fit in all the promotional work," Tew says.
"This year we didn't pick the All Black side until the week before the first test of the year. How do you then fit in things like poster shoots and all the other commercial activities that we need to fulfil?
"Sometimes we just have to take a punt and say that there is a core group who we think are likely to be long-term All Blacks and use them for that sort of activity."
The NZRU would prefer to have fewer sponsors. Rather than have multiple domestic sponsors they would rather increase, to four or five, the number of international backers.
It is the international contracts that deliver the biggest financial benefits and also do the most in terms of building the brand awareness.
Adidas are the All Blacks' principal international sponsor and that association has increased the profile of the team, especially in Western Europe.
Italian truck manufacturer Iveco came on board in 2007 with a major sponsorship arrangement that has proven surprisingly successful.
"We never thought about heavy trucks as being a market for us," says Tew, "but there has been an affinity there."
Tew would now like two or three, possibly more, international tie-ups to secure fair value for the clout of the All Black brand.
He says that playing a test in Hong Kong later this year, and the possibility of playing a game against Ireland in 2009 or 2010, was not driven by a desire to tempt new sponsors on board. That just happens to be a secondary benefit and exposing the All Blacks to new markets potentially open up doors.
"We could maybe accommodate two or three more global rights' holders," Tew says. "It depends on what the companies are trying to sell and in which markets they operate."
Whether the All Blacks would look to drop some of their domestic sponsors should they build their international relationships will depend on whether those without global rights still feel they are getting value for money.
Tew says the most important thing is giving every sponsor the service and exposure they deserve. If the All Blacks have too many partners, it gets tough to do justice to each relationship.
It also gets tough on the players who don't benefit directly from their promotional activity. The work the All Blacks do for key sponsors is reflected in the value of their contracts rather than paid for on an ad-hoc basis.
Tew also says there were no plans in place to review the All Blacks' long-standing association with brewer Lion Nathan.
The French have banned all alcohol sponsorship and the UK is thinking of doing the same, believing there should be no link between sport and booze.
Steinlager has been a long-time backer of the All Blacks and Tew says it would not make sense to cut that link without the issue of alcohol abuse being tackled at all levels - from Government to schools and parents.
