Local and international brands have jumped on the rugby bandwagon, leading to a surge in cross-branded advertising collateral, such as the pictured signage in the arrivals tunnel at Auckland International Airport, produced by The Image Centre.
Craig Polley, director of the wide-format specialist, gave insight into the 35 metre-long installation for wine label Brancott Estate, "the only New Zealand-based sponsor of the event".
"There were various elements to it but the bulk was around creating a rugby pitch, putting artificial grass down and producing one section of digitally printed imagery and another section of lenticular panel linked to crowd music, which plays when you walk through the international terminal," said Polley.
A significant chunk of large-format work was managed by H&H Signs, which clinched contracts with major sponsors Mastercard, Heineken and Brancott.
Account manager Hadyn Cordiss and a colleague handled around $150,000 of World Cup work, with installation done in-house but many jobs brokered out to fellow print suppliers.
Cordiss said H&H won the work thanks to its solid relationship with Heineken, which opened the door to the print for other major sponsors.
Another company to pick up plenty of World Cup work was point-of-sale and digital printer Dpod, with a number of contracts linked to the competition.
Sales director Mitch Boocock said: "August was Dpod’s busiest month this fiscal year and this is certainly unusual for the month when compared historically, though September is shaping up to be even better.
He pointed to "interesting strategic cross-brand partnerships", such as a poster on top of petrol pumps at Z Energy Petrol Stations as part of a Coca-Cola promotion.
Auckland-based Soar Printing picked up "a fair bit of POS for the World Cup", said managing director Fred Soar.
"We have produce heaps of bunting for the different teams and for some of the corporate sponsors as well as a lot of stuff for the credit card companies who are sponsoring the event."
However, it is believed a significant portion of print was imported from Germany, a decision criticised by some of the printers who spoke to ProPrint.
"It is disappointing. The [International Rugby Board] should be shot for that," said one.
Have you produced work for the Rugby World Cup? Send your photos to skiernan@proprint.com.au
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