Women in rugby: North Harbour's partnership team

For Provincial Unions around the country, this time of year is busy. Managing and delivering club rugby overlaps with the National Provincial Championship, Farah Palmer Cup and Heartland Championship competitions.

For Ellen Kunzli and Fynnola (Fifi) Campbell, North Harbour’s commercial partnerships team, this season has been their first real taste of a full schedule after the men’s side was unable be part of last year’s NPC due to Auckland’s long lockdown. As well as overseeing the Union’s marketing and partnerships, they each pick up other duties to help keep the wheels spinning – Fifi in social media and website content, Ellen in membership and ticketing.

The pair lead the partnership process, from first approaches to signing and servicing all aspects of a contract. Usually beginning over a beverage, the key is discovering what each potential partner is looking for. “Everyone has a different why,” Ellen tells. “It could be a marketing thing, it could be rewarding clients or staff. It’s up to us to understand that and draw up something which is connected to what they’re genuinely interested in. Everyone involved has a better experience if you have those conversations.”

Depending on the nature of the partnership, that could be arranging logos on playing jerseys, in-ground advertising or big screen graphics, or wining and dining people in hospitality suites. Funds secured through partnerships can be earmarked for certain areas or spread across all the Union’s activities. There are specific partnerships for community rugby and junior participation across the North Shore, while some of the national and international sponsors are exclusively tied to elite team programmes.

Recent graduates in their first full time roles, Fifi and Ellen are aware they’re not necessarily the traditional people working in sports sponsorship. “Being young and being a woman is definitely the biggest challenge in our roles,” Ellen shares. “Everyone has an opinion on what we do, and sometimes we’re not taken as seriously as we’d like to be. We have learned to stick up for ourselves, to be firm, trust ourselves and what we’re doing.” The support of Harbour’s CEO, former player Adrian Donald, is a big part of that. “He knows he doesn’t need to hold our hands,” Fifi says. “It’s great when you have a boss who trusts in your abilities.”

North Harbour recently held a successful Champions of Women’s Rugby event ahead of a Harbour FPC/NPC double header. It was a chance for the Union to display their commitment to the women’s game, something which Fifi and Ellen say is genuine and evident in day-to-day operation. “We’re making really positive and meaningful steps towards doing better for women’s rugby,” says Ellen. “Our CEO and Board are really invested, we’re excited to support the Rugby World Cup and how that can help our women’s programme.” Being new into the industry, Fifi feels there’s a natural sense of equity in their approach. “We’ve come into rugby when the women’s game is coming to life on all levels,” she says. “I think for some people who have been part of rugby for a while, a focus on the women’s game is new to them. For us, it’s just part of what we do, it's not separate. It’s making really good progress.”

One way North Harbour chose to express that sentiment this year was leaving their women’s team, the Hibiscus, without a front of jersey sponsor. Contractual shuffling saw the NPC and FPC jersey sponsorship become different properties, and while there were a few parties interested, the Union didn’t manage to secure a partner in time for the FPC season. “We didn’t want to agree to an amount of money which wasn’t fair to the women’s programme,” Ellen says. “We chose to leave it blank and start a conversation. We wanted to draw interest to our women’s jersey in hopes of people realising its value and opening up options for a partnership next year.” The move certainly generated a lot of feedback, and the pair are confident that the Hibiscus will have a jersey partner in the 2023 season.

For now, they’re both enjoying the slightly frenetic pace of their first full season. While neither came to the role with a rugby background, they are now dedicated Harbour rugby fans. “Once you start working in the industry, you see behind the scenes and the culture within the game,” Fifi says. “It gives you more passion, you become invested.” Ellen agrees. “You see the passion everyone else has, and you can’t help but feel it too. The people become ‘your people’ in a way, you have that personal connection with them, and you want them to do well.”