How the Hurricanes created excitement around Super Rugby again
On the morning of the Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final, as someone who isn't a rugby union fan, or lives in Wellington, I find myself backing the Hurricanes👀
The reason has very little to do with what has happened on the field. Over the past few months, I've become increasingly interested in what the Hurricanes are building off it.
At a time when much of the conversation around Super Rugby has centred on declining crowds, financial sustainability, changing fan behaviours and questions of relevance, the Hurricanes appear to have taken a different approach. Rather than accepting those challenges as inevitable, they have made a deliberate investment in storytelling, fan engagement and community connection.
The open letter from Malcolm Gillies earlier this year was one of the first moments that caught my attention. It was honest, direct and unusually vulnerable for sport. Rather than pretending everything was fine, it acknowledged the challenges facing the club and invited supporters into the conversation.
The 'Fill The Tin campaign' has been one of my favourite sport marketing campaigns of the year. Not because it was flashy, but because it understood that attendance is rarely driven by ticket promotions alone. The best campaigns create a sense of belonging and collective ownership.
One piece of content in particular has stood out (https://lnkd.in/eqVWXDtZ). The video shows empty sections of Hnry Stadium, juxtaposed with those same sections filled with supporters on game day. Beyond the technical skill required to execute it (could have a post on its own), what I appreciated was the idea behind it. Rather than selling a seat, it visualised a shared ambition and invited supporters to help create it.
Even the shift to the black and white creative direction throughout the finals series demonstrated a level of strategic consistency that is often overlooked. It created distinction, signalled occasion and reinforced the broader narrative the club had been building all season.
Importantly, none of these things exist in isolation. The content feels connected to the brand. The brand feels connected to the fan experience. The fan experience feels connected to the club's broader ambitions.
To me, that reflects an organisation where marketing, content and digital are influencing strategy rather than simply communicating it. Too often in sport, those functions are still viewed as support services responsible for promoting what everyone else is doing (find me talking about this at Victory Lap in a couple of weeks).
Win or lose tonight, the Hurricanes have been a reminder of what can happen when marketing, content and fan engagement are treated as strategic capabilities rather than communications functions.
In a year where much of the discussion around Super Rugby has centred on decline, the Hurricanes have created genuine excitement around the club and, in doing so, reminded people what the competition can be at its best.
(Up the canes 💛🖤)