Liberty Mutual in talks over RDS naming rights

[AdamK]

Funny thing is, after working in roles somewhat related to marketing I have to say the whole idea of product placement in this sense is totally out dated. I'm sure if you held a survey tomorrow and asked 100 people that were regular visitors to Landsdowne rd what insurance company they'd go with they wouldn't be answering 'Aviva' like brainless zombies.

I frankly couldn't care what they call it so long as the RDS involves a great architect and they bear us in mind whilst building it.

[thepunter]

i hear what youre saying Adam, and I agree, but it's the principle. When is enough enough? When does the selling out of what is important stop? Will we finally say stop when they try to sponsor our kids backs? I realise that is an extreme and unlikely scenario, but im just sick to my teeth of the monetisation of everything that means something.

[AdamK]

Yeah, true, but I don't think anyone willing likes the idea of monetarism by large brands, having said that the RDS wouldn't just happen to come across the 15m needed. They were the ones offering naming rights. Just like Leinster offered sponsorship deals to BoI. It takes two to tango, and these are things that are required, so I wouldn't exactly bundle them in the 'sell out' category. Just like the mock thread there a while ago when bails stipulated that KFC was getting the rights deal, the idea of naming the squad 'KFC Leinster' was bundled around as a joke - we know it's a joke because the majority of teams/clubs wouldn't need to go to that level with the exception of greed. I can't see that happening so I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, this is more of a requirement, Leinster badly need an updated home grounds, and the RDS are doing their best by obliging to sell naming rights.

[ronk]

Yeah, true, but I don't think anyone willing likes the idea of monetarism by large brands, having said that the RDS wouldn't just happen to come across the 15m needed. They were the ones offering naming rights. Just like Leinster offered sponsorship deals to BoI. It takes two to tango, and these are things that are required, so I wouldn't exactly bundle them in the 'sell out' category. Just like the mock thread there a while ago when bails stipulated that KFC was getting the rights deal, the idea of naming the squad 'KFC Leinster' was bundled around as a joke - we know it's a joke because the majority of teams/clubs wouldn't need to go to that level with the exception of greed. I can't see that happening so I wouldn't worry about it. Like I said, this is more of a requirement, Leinster badly need an updated home grounds, and the RDS are doing their best by obliging to sell naming rights.

Hang on there. That's something that's been discussed and debated, but it's not a consensus.

Leinster badly needed an updated home grounds when we were bursting out of Donnybrook, the RDS isn't perfect, but it's about right in a lot of ways.

My general take is that fans are open to the concept of a new Anglesea Stand, providing it's done well and there aren't too many downsides, but it's not something that is all that actively wanted either. It's still a premium stand, it pays for itself. I'm not sure that fans around the other 3 ends of the ground would be too enthusiastic about paying for it.

Any major expansion of the RDS narrows the gap between it and Lansdowne Road, and will (almost inevitably) come at the price of more restrictions on the ability to use LR often. LR is not necessarily just for 2 games, there were 4 there in 2010-2011 season and there's potential for more with the Rabo.

Leinster don't need any major changes to the RDS. It's entirely plausible that a new Anglesea Stand will end up reducing capacity/occupancy in the North/South Stands.

If it all works out, I'm not opposed to it all, but it's not the only option. Current contract says 12 games, that could be renegotiated (using the opt out clauses as leverage) or some other game could be added to the season ticket. Or another team could join the Rabo. There's another Lansdowne Road date there. I've seen anecdotal evidence that the LR games are affecting the attendance of low-priority games. Based on that it's reasonable to speculate that even a single extra LR game could reduce excessive demand for the RDS to a degree. And when you get to the point where even that's not enough, then is a bigger RDS the answer?

If a proposed development is skillfully conceived and executed, great. But if not, the status quo is better.

[AdamK]

I think you misunderstand me ronk. I've already said I'm happy with the layout of RDS and it's fine in most ways - I wasn't so much commenting on numbers or luxuries, infact I think the current capacity is also fine. However from a health/risk point of view the anglesea stand is in dire need of a re haul. People have already alluded to the fact that there may be asbestos used in the roofing. From that point of view it is indeed a necessity for Leinster.

[Danthefan]

Couldn't care less what it's called as long as it has a terrace in it.

[Isaac4leinster]

It's a perjorative term (at present) for a South Sider(Dublin) who has aspirations and delusions of being somewhat British. Although they won't readily admit it, they look fondly and lovingly(consciously and subconsciously) across the water at their former colonial masters. They tend to scoff at Irish Culture, (language, and Irish Nationalism in particular) and believe British (mis)rule was by and large the making of this country. They accentuate the positive aspects of British (mis)rule but conveniently forget the atrocities. The Sunday Independent is their bible and lap up the musings and revisionism of Eoghan Harris,Ruth Dudley whatever and Eilis O'hanlon for example.
Another curious and frankly hilarious aspect of this phenomenom in recent decades is the increase in double barrel names. i.e Sweeney -Burke, Roche-Byrne for example. Pretentious and comical in equal measure.


Originally dates back to the land struggle when O'Connell and DP Moran coined the phrase.

Interesting interpretation there of the phrase West Brit. I would have always associated the word, up until very recently at least, with Church of Ireland, landed gentry and the horsey set, and very much distinct from the D4 set. They speak with accents indistinguishable from a posh English accent, and tend to live in the country in large estates.

There is only one school in Dublin that I would describe as genuinely West British, and that's St Columba's (don't they do A levels?) and to a slight degree King's Hospital. Your description of West Brit would appear to me to be a very recent use of the expression. The West Brit set in popular culture have largely been subsumed by the D4 set, to extent that to an untrained ear you might not notice the difference. Many seem to think that David Norris and Shane Ross are West Brit, but they're not really.

Typically the D4 set would be characterised by the moneyed Catholic, business and political class, South Dublin families and are a very different phenomenon to the old money, country land owning, formerly wealthy group of people who would refer to themselves as West Brit. That would be my take on it.

[Sauvignon Blank]

It's a perjorative term (at present) for a South Sider(Dublin) who has aspirations and delusions of being somewhat British. Although they won't readily admit it, they look fondly and lovingly(consciously and subconsciously) across the water at their former colonial masters. They tend to scoff at Irish Culture, (language, and Irish Nationalism in particular) and believe British (mis)rule was by and large the making of this country. They accentuate the positive aspects of British (mis)rule but conveniently forget the atrocities. The Sunday Independent is their bible and lap up the musings and revisionism of Eoghan Harris,Ruth Dudley whatever and Eilis O'hanlon for example.
Another curious and frankly hilarious aspect of this phenomenom in recent decades is the increase in double barrel names. i.e Sweeney -Burke, Roche-Byrne for example. Pretentious and comical in equal measure.


Originally dates back to the land struggle when O'Connell and DP Moran coined the phrase.

Interesting interpretation there of the phrase West Brit. I would have always associated the word, up until very recently at least, with Church of Ireland, landed gentry and the horsey set, and very much distinct from the D4 set. They speak with accents indistinguishable from a posh English accent, and tend to live in the country in large estates.

There is only one school in Dublin that I would describe as genuinely West British, and that's St Columba's (don't they do A levels?) and to a slight degree King's Hospital. Your description of West Brit would appear to me to be a very recent use of the expression. The West Brit set in popular culture have largely been subsumed by the D4 set, to extent that to an untrained ear you might not notice the difference. Many seem to think that David Norris and Shane Ross are West Brit, but they're not really.

Typically the D4 set would be characterised by the moneyed Catholic, business and political class, South Dublin families and are a very different phenomenon to the old money, country land owning, formerly wealthy group of people who would refer to themselves as West Brit. That would be my take on it.

All very correct Isaac, but if you look again at my description, I started off with the modern day or 'present' 'WestBrit' interpretation and qualified it at the end with it's origins i.e The land league struggle vis a vis Daniel O'Connell and the Critic DP Moran who was very voiciferous against the landed gentry and Anglo Irish in his publication 'The Leader'.

Also owing to the intense Anglicising of South Dublin e.g Bray to Ballsbridge in particular, as witnessed by most if not all the street names and places, it was also known and regarded as an enclave of Britain(West) even after Independence.

I'd wager a hefty percentage of posters on here would be ignorant(or couldn't care less) to the fact we have streets in and around our home ground, The Royal(ahem) Dublin Society, with names such as 'Prince of Wales Terrace' & 'Churchill' terrace(Winston was removed many years back), 'Wellington' (Duke removed previously) and others who imposed their will on this country for many the year.

[mikey]

It's a perjorative term (at present) for a South Sider(Dublin) who has aspirations and delusions of being somewhat British. Although they won't readily admit it, they look fondly and lovingly(consciously and subconsciously) across the water at their former colonial masters. They tend to scoff at Irish Culture, (language, and Irish Nationalism in particular) and believe British (mis)rule was by and large the making of this country. They accentuate the positive aspects of British (mis)rule but conveniently forget the atrocities. The Sunday Independent is their bible and lap up the musings and revisionism of Eoghan Harris,Ruth Dudley whatever and Eilis O'hanlon for example.
Another curious and frankly hilarious aspect of this phenomenom in recent decades is the increase in double barrel names. i.e Sweeney -Burke, Roche-Byrne for example. Pretentious and comical in equal measure.


Originally dates back to the land struggle when O'Connell and DP Moran coined the phrase.

Interesting interpretation there of the phrase West Brit. I would have always associated the word, up until very recently at least, with Church of Ireland, landed gentry and the horsey set, and very much distinct from the D4 set. They speak with accents indistinguishable from a posh English accent, and tend to live in the country in large estates.

There is only one school in Dublin that I would describe as genuinely West British, and that's St Columba's (don't they do A levels?) and to a slight degree King's Hospital. Your description of West Brit would appear to me to be a very recent use of the expression. The West Brit set in popular culture have largely been subsumed by the D4 set, to extent that to an untrained ear you might not notice the difference. Many seem to think that David Norris and Shane Ross are West Brit, but they're not really.

Typically the D4 set would be characterised by the moneyed Catholic, business and political class, South Dublin families and are a very different phenomenon to the old money, country land owning, formerly wealthy group of people who would refer to themselves as West Brit. That would be my take on it.

I'd wager a hefty percentage of posters on here would be ignorant(or couldn't care less) to the fact we have streets in and around our home ground, The Royal(ahem) Dublin Society, with names such as 'Prince of Wales Terrace' & 'Churchill' terrace(Winston was removed many years back), 'Wellington' (Duke removed previously) and others who imposed their will on this country for many the year.

Do you not think that it's a measure of how far a nation has come that the names that were associated with colonialism and control are now just part of the fabric, invisible to most ?

Or is is sad that people don't recognise the imperialistic nature of these things and actively campaign for their removal ?

Or, is it simply part of our history, and what makes us who we are now and they should be part of a modern Ireland along with all of the other relics of the past ?

A ponder for Sunday ! (while I try to remove the drubbing by Saints that I witnessed yesterday from my mind!!)

[AdamK]

A ponder for Sunday ! (while I try to remove the drubbing by Saints that I witnessed yesterday from my mind!!)

Any positives to take from it? Let us know what ye thought in the pre-season thread!

[Sauvignon Blank]

Interesting interpretation there of the phrase West Brit. I would have always associated the word, up until very recently at least, with Church of Ireland, landed gentry and the horsey set, and very much distinct from the D4 set. They speak with accents indistinguishable from a posh English accent, and tend to live in the country in large estates.

There is only one school in Dublin that I would describe as genuinely West British, and that's St Columba's (don't they do A levels?) and to a slight degree King's Hospital. Your description of West Brit would appear to me to be a very recent use of the expression. The West Brit set in popular culture have largely been subsumed by the D4 set, to extent that to an untrained ear you might not notice the difference. Many seem to think that David Norris and Shane Ross are West Brit, but they're not really.

Typically the D4 set would be characterised by the moneyed Catholic, business and political class, South Dublin families and are a very different phenomenon to the old money, country land owning, formerly wealthy group of people who would refer to themselves as West Brit. That would be my take on it.

I'd wager a hefty percentage of posters on here would be ignorant(or couldn't care less) to the fact we have streets in and around our home ground, The Royal(ahem) Dublin Society, with names such as 'Prince of Wales Terrace' & 'Churchill' terrace(Winston was removed many years back), 'Wellington' (Duke removed previously) and others who imposed their will on this country for many the year.

Do you not think that it's a measure of how far a nation has come that the names that were associated with colonialism and control are now just part of the fabric, invisible to most ?


Or is is sad that people don't recognise the imperialistic nature of these things and actively campaign for their removal ?

Or, is it simply part of our history, and what makes us who we are now and they should be part of a modern Ireland along with all of the other relics of the past ?

A ponder for Sunday ! (while I try to remove the drubbing by Saints that I witnessed yesterday from my mind!!)

Not at all. As a nation we have actually regressed (at worst), (at best) stagnated IMHO. Our reputation is in tatters. The fact that those names which have zero relevance to their actual location still exist is indicative of the renowned Irish submissiveness/apathy/cowardice etc on the part of the majority. What you term 'invisible to most'.

It is sad but all rather predictable. We are Europe's bitch now as opposed to Britains and will continue to be so for generations. We learnt nothing from British imperialism except their language and how to bow our heads and carry on regardless.

It is part of our sad history absolutely. It shouldn't define us but it most definitely has. It has eroded our sense of identity and Irishness to the point where anyone who slings an arrow in our direction with the poison dart 'West Brit' is 100% correct to do so. And frankly I fail to see why us as Leinster folk can do anything other than to accept it, because it's true, like it or not.

My ponder for Sunday.

[Mauler]

Oh sweet Jesus, roll on the season proper & we can get back to rugby talk & not have to read this b*%&!cks!!!

[Sauvignon Blank]

Oh sweet Jesus, roll on the season proper & we can get back to rugby talk & not have to read this b*%&!cks!!!

We have to listen to your b*%&!x about soccer on a continual basis.

Parity of esteem 'n all that.

[rosscarrick]

Funny thing is, after working in roles somewhat related to marketing I have to say the whole idea of product placement in this sense is totally out dated. I'm sure if you held a survey tomorrow and asked 100 people that were regular visitors to Landsdowne rd what insurance company they'd go with they wouldn't be answering 'Aviva' like brainless zombies.

I frankly couldn't care what they call it so long as the RDS involves a great architect and they bear us in mind whilst building it.

Im not sure the naming rights is to get us all to move our insurance but instead get brand recognised as something sustainable. Usually done by a new institution in a market place.

[Munsterboy]

Funny thing is, after working in roles somewhat related to marketing I have to say the whole idea of product placement in this sense is totally out dated. I'm sure if you held a survey tomorrow and asked 100 people that were regular visitors to Landsdowne rd what insurance company they'd go with they wouldn't be answering 'Aviva' like brainless zombies.

I frankly couldn't care what they call it so long as the RDS involves a great architect and they bear us in mind whilst building it.

Im not sure the naming rights is to get us all to move our insurance but instead get brand recognised as something sustainable. Usually done by a new institution in a market place.

Correct. Who'd ever heard of Rabo before last year? It's all about creating brand awareness and positive associations with the right demographic.

I think Leinster Rugby should jump at the chance. It's free money and the ground could use a bit of development.

[[Jackass]]

They're taking over the Quinn group and want brand recognition.

We've benefitted from the exact same marketing move before with Bank of Scotland sponsorship when they moved into the Irish market. (and played a major part in collapsing it)

[sheepshagger]

Funny thing is, after working in roles somewhat related to marketing I have to say the whole idea of product placement in this sense is totally out dated. I'm sure if you held a survey tomorrow and asked 100 people that were regular visitors to Landsdowne rd what insurance company they'd go with they wouldn't be answering 'Aviva' like brainless zombies.

I frankly couldn't care what they call it so long as the RDS involves a great architect and they bear us in mind whilst building it.

Im not sure the naming rights is to get us all to move our insurance but instead get brand recognised as something sustainable. Usually done by a new institution in a market place.

Correct. Who'd ever heard of Rabo before last year? It's all about creating brand awareness and positive associations with the right demographic.

I think Leinster Rugby should jump at the chance. It's free money and the ground could use a bit of development.

Its not LRs decision, we are just a tenant - the RDS own the ground so make the decision.

[tones]

Sheepshagger, you are correct. They are a tenant.
However, they are a huge contributor and most likely one of the main reasons companies are looking at it.

[domhnallj]

Sheepshagger, you are correct. They are a tenant.
However, they are a huge contributor and most likely one of the main reasons companies are looking at it.

There is a world famous and historic horse show there every year. No idea who organises it but they will also have a dog in this fight. End of the day how much does this really impact of Leinsters brand? Not much I would think.

[Clermont]

Sheepshagger, you are correct. They are a tenant.
However, they are a huge contributor and most likely one of the main reasons companies are looking at it.

I'd say we're 99% of the reason companies are looking at it!
A bit of soccer, a bit of horsey, and a few concerts.