The Australian Steelers, one of the most successful Paralympic or Olympic teams, is currently ranked world number two. The team has claimed multiple Paralympic gold medals and most recently secured a bronze medal at the Paris Paralympic Games.
Despite its remarkable success on the world stage and a trophy cabinet that rivals any Aussie sporting team, the Steelers are still yet to secure a major sponsor.
This prompted Wheelchair Rugby Australia to launch an ‘Officially Unsponsored’ campaign with WPP creative agency Ogilvy.
The campaign involves the Australian Steelers wheelchair rugby team wearing a stripped back white uniform with QR codes positioned where a sponsor’s logo traditionally would be placed.
Scanning the code leads to a purpose-built microsite, aptly named the ‘SponsorSHOP’ and a digital marketplace where brands can explore a curated range of sponsorship opportunities.
Three months since launching the campaign, Wheelchair Rugby CEO Chris Nay and Ogilvy Australia group creative director Josh Murrell spoke at Cairns Crocodiles, presented by Pinterest, about the success of the campaign, and whether or not Australia’s “most successful Paralympic or Olympic team” has locked in a major sponsor.
Nay said the Steelers have not been successful in signing a major sponsor, but they are certainly one step closer of the goal of becoming a household name.
“Our ambition is to become a household name and be the first Paralympic sport to do that. When I look at the Boomers [Australian men’s basketball team] and the Matildas [Australian women’s soccer team], I’m not a basketball fan, nor am I a football fan, but every time those national teams play as an Australian, I care about them. So, when the Steelers play we want the nation to care,” Nay said.
While that level of recognition may still be on the horizon, the campaign has already delivered moments that suggest wheelchair rugby is beginning to break through. Nay recalled a story of an eight-year-old junior player who was waiting for the bus after school when he spotted the Steelers campaign displayed at his local bus stop.
“His friends said, ‘That’s your sport’ and he said, ‘Yeah, it is’. They took a photo of the ad, he printed it out and put it on the wall in his room,” Nay said.
“For me, that’s success as well. He can see AFL stars on billboards, Olympic athletes on billboards, and now he’s seeing wheelchair rugby players in exactly the same place. To know that photo is sitting on his wall right now is pretty special.”
The way the Steelers were going to stand out was by doing a “different campaign to any that a sports team has ever done”.
“You’re used to seeing sports team with these really colourful jerseys,” Murrell said. “There’s probably six logos almost overlapping each other, so we’re like, how are we going to stand out? Let’s do the complete opposite and flip the script of this. In retrospect, getting rid of the green and gold from Australian team and pitching to go all white is actually quite controversial. But we made it work.”
It was the controversy of stripping the green and gold from an Australian team as well as the strong hook of being “Australia’s most successful team not having a major sponsor” that helped the campaign secure 1.5 billion impressions, in which 82 per cent of Australia was reached (11 million Australians reached within four days) and there was a 4,000 per cent increase in web traffic.
Although the Steelers are still on the hunt for a major partner, Nay said he is having positive conversations with brands. It also helped the Steelers land an official drinks partner in Posca Hydrate, which was co-founded by Ed Stening.
When a major sponsor does sign on, the campaign will evolve from ‘Officially Unsponsored’ to ‘Officially Sponsored’, with the successful brand’s logo replacing the QR code on the athletes’ uniforms and taking pride of place across the campaign assets.
The team sees that moment as a powerful cultural statement, not just for wheelchair rugby, but for the brand that chooses to back it.
