Autex Industries
Vodafone Warriors acquisition
Brief
Provide communications support around the announcement of Autex Industries’ part in the highly-anticipated acquisition of national NRL team the Vodafone Warriors, in New Zealand and Australia.
Approach
With timeframes between briefing and a potential announcement being incredibly tight, we needed to act flexibly and quickly. We rapidly acquired an in-depth understanding of the business and its relationship with New Zealand rugby league, then provided external communications planning and media management.
Impact
- More than 186 pieces of media coverage
- News of the Warriors’ new owners reached the NZ population more than three times over (total reach of 17 million).
- Coverage dominated headlines in national broadcast (TVNZ, Newshub, Maori Television, RNZ, Newstalk ZB, Radio Sport), national print (NZ Herald, Dominion Post), regional print and a mixture of online media outlets.
- Autex and Robinson family history with rugby league was evident, with consistent references in media coverage.
- Alignment with Porter Novelli in Australia ensured messaging consistency around the acquisition in another key NRL territory.
