Emirates Lions and Ctrack announce new sponsorship deal
Brand alignment with one of SA’s top six rugby teams
On the heels of celebrating their first ever Super Rugby victory over the Chiefs on their home ground in Hamilton, New Zealand the Emirate Lions have revealed vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions company, Ctrack, a subsidiary of Novatel Wireless (Nasdaq: MIFI) as their latest associate sponsor.
The sponsorship will see the Ctrack brand firmly visible on the back of the shorts of their official playing kit in the Super Rugby and Currie Cup tournaments. The branding will make its debut at this Saturday’s Super Rugby match in Dunedin, New Zealand where the Lions will play against the Highlanders. Ctrack is familiar with the region given its operational presence in both New Zealand and Australia.
“We are extremely proud to announce our partnership with one of the most successful rugby franchises in the country. Integrity, innovation and quality are three of our values which are reflective in the value eco-system of the Lions Rugby Company. From an innovation point of view, we’ve seen them reinventing themselves over the past couple of years into a winning and formidable team,” said Pierre Bruwer, MD of Ctrack SA.
The rugby season kicked off recently, with round three of Super Rugby currently in full swing and watched by millions of fans across the globe. This is Ctrack’s first major sponsorship in this sport which, for the many rugby fans, is a serious matter and a source of bursting pride and joy.
The Lions have already played in Japan this year and in July will tour to Argentina, adding to the internationalism of the game. “Such exposure enables Ctrack to continue to build its brand globally,” added Bruwer.
“We are really excited about the partnership between Ctrack and our companies. It is truly important that our sponsors and partners receive the value of associating with the brand. The fact that Ctrack is increasing their association this season, has shown that they have been receiving the value as an international brand by leveraging their partnership with us,” said Rudolf Straeuli, CEO of the Lions Rugby Company (Pty) Ltd & Ellispark Stadium (Pty) Ltd.
Ctrack has shown growing commitment to the development of the different sporting codes, and it is evident in its wide variety of sport sponsorships. This is the second associate sponsorship in sport for the global telematics company who, for the last three years, has been the associate sponsor of the successful Titans cricket team. At a community level, Ctrack sponsors the South African Police Service internal head office football association (SAPSHOFA), which includes more than 20 teams.
Ctrack’s relationship with the Lions started two years ago when they branded the east wing of the stadium when the Lions made their return to Super Rugby. “We showed support when it was needed most and today we are proud to be alongside their other sponsors such as Emirates, Bidvest, Canterbury, Fidelity, Xerox, Vox Telecom, Jonsson Workwear, Sun International, USN and 94.7,” Bruwer added.
“After establishing the business thirty years ago in Johannesburg, I am very proud to see us sponsoring the Lions, as this is where it all began for us,” added Nick Vlok, CEO and founder of DigiCore, supplier of Ctrack.
About Ctrack
South African-based company Ctrack, a subsidiary of Novatel Wireless, Inc., specialises in vehicle tracking, fleet management and insurance telematics for a global client base. With 30 years of innovation, technical and implementation experience, Ctrack is recognised as a world-leading provider of advanced machine-to-machine communication and telematics solutions that adds value to its global base of customers with mobile assets.
Ctrack’s end-to-end research, design, development, manufacturing, sales and support of customised solutions for customers is serviced by a global network of staff and team members in more than 50 countries. The company’s technology and electronic division designs and develops a robust range of asset management and monitoring systems using GPS satellite positioning, GSM cellular communication systems, and other advanced communication and sensory technologies. The result is innovative and advanced machine-to-machine communication that provide Ctrack customers with 24x7x365 information and monitoring of their mobile assets that help them to achieve operational efficiencies and cost reduction targets.
Operations span six continents, with over 1,000 employees. The company is headquartered in Irene, Pretoria, Gauteng. http://www.ctrack.com/za. @CtrackSA (Twitter)
About Novatel Wireless, Inc.
Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIFI) is a leading global provider of solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT), including software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for the fleet telematics market. Our innovative products and solutions provide anywhere, anytime communications and analytics for consumers and businesses of all sizes, with approximately 158,000 subscribed fleet vehicles for Ctrack among the Company’s 520,000 global subscribers. Novatel Wireless, Inc. is headquartered in San Diego, California. www.novatelwireless.com. @MIFI (Twitter); LinkedIn
