Brewing up a sporting deal

By KARYN SCHERER

You don't get too many thanks in New Zealand if you're one of the country's biggest companies and you pour some of your profits into a major sporting event like the America's Cup.

Over the years, brewer Lion Nathan has spent megabucks supporting Team New Zealand, as one of a group of major sponsors which has become known as the "Family of Five".

Like the beer his company brews, chairman Doug Myers is not particularly bitter. Yeah, right.

"In those days we were stupid enough or naive enough to believe that corporates being associated with things that were positive for New Zealand was a positive thing for corporates to be doing," he muses from his farm in Matauri Bay.

"But you don't get any brownie points for that. In fact, people probably despise you even more because you do."

Well maybe some people do, but the team of people behind Team New Zealand certainly don't. The America's Cup may be perceived as a rich man's boat race, but these days it is largely corporate sponsors who fund the multi-million yachting syndicates that vie for the antique trophy. Without them, the event simply wouldn't happen.

Bitterness aside, New Zealand's richest man does not regret his company's decision to become involved.

The millions of dollars Lion has forked out over the years has not only helped its own staff morale, but has indirectly helped New Zealand's economy by giving a boost to the boatbuilding industry and helping to spur the development around the Viaduct Basin in Auckland, he believes.

Lion's involvement in the Cup dates back to the days when it sponsored a boat skippered by Sir Peter Blake in what used to be known as the Whitbread Round the World yacht race. The company was going through major changes at the time, due to increasing competition in the beer market and falling beer consumption.

"There was a feeling in the company that we needed something to feel good about and associate with that was uplifting," he recalls.

When Sir Michael Fay was considering a New Zealand challenge for the America's Cup back in 1992, Myers suggested he bring Blake on board. The sailor jumped at the opportunity even though it meant pulling out of a trip down the Amazon River that Myers had helped organise.

In the early days, Lion plastered its own name on the boat, but it now uses the deal to highlight its Steinlager brand. The aim is the same in both cases: to force New Zealanders to think in more international terms.

"I think as part of a package of things we have done with the company, it has certainly helped us transform ourselves into what was a relatively small local company into a company that now has 80 per cent of its business offshore."

As far as Team New Zealand is concerned, keeping its corporate sponsors happy involves a lot more than inviting their staff to come cruising and occasionally popping into their offices to rev up the troops.

Blake is renowned for being a sponsor's dream - even if it means turning up to Lion sales conferences in the middle of a Dunedin winter.

"It was probably the last place either of us wanted to be, but I'm chairman and Peter was there by association. He spoke and it really helped. It has helped us focus on winning."

While Myers concedes rival brewer DB has done a good job with its Heineken brand in recent years, he maintains Steinlager is now back on track partly due its association with the Cup. In December, sales of Steinlager were up by 20 per cent.

"I don't think you go into sponsorship as a sales tool - it's a marketing tool. Having said that, if it didn't have any sales impact you'd be disappointed. But it has."

However, that does not mean Team New Zealand can take Lion's money for granted. In these tough commercial times, every sponsorship deal has to be justified. So what would cause Lion to end the relationship?

"If they lost the Cup, we might." And no, he's not joking.