Demise of the WP brand: 'It is like a label on a wine bottle'
First it was the demise of the grande dame, Newlands. Now the iconic Western Province brand is also just a footnote in history.
In the modern era, when off-field jollities and merriment are at a premium and rugby is almost a sideshow, it is to be expected that franchises will look to more marketable brand names.
Last week’s announcement that all the Stormers teams will, going forward, be aligned under a single brand was expected.
The Stormers’ equity partner, Red Disa Consortium, has been hinting about the move for some time.
However, the pushback from some of the more long-term fans, especially those who grew up in the Newlands era, did not take kindly to the change.
The well-versed slogan, ‘WP jou lekker ding‘ has been consigned to the history books.
Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson described the change as a ‘positive’ step, even though he himself is from the old-school Newlands/WP era.
“I grew up supporting [Western] Province,” he said, adding: “I was a Province season ticket holder.”
His first game at Newlands, now fast becoming a dilapidated pile of rubble, was in the mid-1970s.
“There has always been an inevitability about it,” Dobson said.
The Stormers are the last franchise to merge their brands into one, with the Lions, Bulls and Sharks having done so decades ago.
“Why it [the WP brand] held so long was that the Currie Cup still attracted Springboks and Newlands was a sell-out for the Currie Cup Final in 2014.
“Four years later, in 2018, the Springboks had finished playing in the Currie Cup.
“I’ve been involved in the Currie Cup for 12 seasons.
“For us to have a separate brand for a competition [the Currie Cup] for a long time, makes it very tough commercially.
“The writing has been on the wall.”
* (WATCH as Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson gives his reasons for supporting the ‘single brand’ Stormers campaign, which means the and of ‘WP jou lekker ding’…..)
Dobson said the Stormers have made an ostensible and obvious effort to look more like Western Province, with the redesigned logo, with the Disa on the back of the shirt, while the blue-and-white hoops are also more prominent.
“It is a bit like wine,” the Stormers boss said, adding: “The label on the bottle is a nice brand and you go for the ‘sea salt Sauvignon Blanc’.
“You can’t take away the land where it comes from, where the vines are grown.
“The Stormers and Western Province are like the bottle and the wine [inside], the region, the climate.
“It is inseparable.
“It is just practical commercially. We did very well to hold out as long as we did.”
@JanDKrugby
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