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Yahoo! and Kia warm the bench with netball sponsorships

Yahoo! New Zealand has announced a three-year sponsorship of Netball New Zealand and the Silver Ferns. And the good news doesn’t stop there for the sport, because Kia has switched its sponsorship focus from tennis and signed up as the naming rights sponsor for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. 

Laura Maxwell-Hansen, general manager, Yahoo! New Zealand and recently appointed chair of the IAB, says it is proud to be supporting netball in this country and to be able to use its digital platform to better connect fans to the game. 

“Kiwis have an obvious passion for sport and are already heading online and onto mobile to stay in-the-know, connect with other fans, and view exclusive video content, so this is a natural partnership for Yahoo! New Zealand,” she says. “The Silver Ferns are fantastic role models for the next generation of netball stars, and we look forward to standing beside them as they take on the rest of the world.” 

In addition to its sponsorship, which also included the recent Fast5 series held in Auckland, Yahoo! New Zealand developed the dedicated Fast5 Netball World Series website, which offered news and behind-the-scenes footage. Yahoo! New Zealand also hosted the Fanzone at Vector Arena and gave fans the opportunity to show off their shooting skills in the YaHOOPs competition. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Yahoo! New Zealand to our family of sponsors [which includes principal sponsor New World, as well as Fisher & Paykel, ANZ, Holden and others],” says Raelene Castle, chief executive, Netball New Zealand. “This is an exciting new partnership that will further secure the future of netball at all levels in this country and pave the way for our game to reach new fans in New Zealand and around the world.”

As for Kia, it has been a strong supporter of sports events in recent years, through the ASB Women’s Classic, Heineken Men’s Open and NZ Winter Games, but has reassessed its sponsorship involvements in New Zealand and is moving away from tennis, which means the ANZ Championship-winning Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic will now be known as the Kia Magic for the next three years.

Todd McDonald, general manager of Kia Motors New Zealand, says the opportunity to become involved in the country’s leading female sport fits with the goals of the fastest-growing automotive company.

“We have been looking to lift our profile in a different way and the naming rights sponsorship of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic will help us to do that. As the Kia Magic, the team will provide us with consistent exposure during the ANZ Championship series and we are really looking forward to working with them and becoming involved in their campaign to retain their championship crown in 2013.”

Among other things, the sponsorship will see Kia vehicles provided to the team, to assist with transportation around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty Region. And McDonald says there will also be a strong Kia presence at each of the games played by the Kia Magic as it helps to drive support for coach Noeline Taurua and the team.

“We certainly have the Power to Surprise, as 2012 showed, and the link with Kia will be strong partnership,” says Kia Magic chief executive Sheryl Dawson.

The sponsorship of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic is not the first netball involvement for Kia Motors in New Zealand as through its local dealers, Kia has also provided vehicles to the Southern Steel team since 2009.

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