Auto & General wraps its tower in a bold statement of its support for the Lions Super 14 team

In a bold statement of its support for the Lions Super 14 rugby team, Auto & General Insurance has wrapped its thirteen-floor head quarters in Richmond, Johannesburg with a 1862.22m² graphical tribute to the team.

Covering the length and breadth of the Auto & General tower, the wrap is the largest One-Way Vision perforated self-adhesive vinyl sticker in South Africa.

The project was wrapped up in time for Christmas.

Printing the massive sticker took 84 straight hours on Media Foundry’s HP Scitex Exel 1500 printer and, applying it to the surface of the building took two weeks. A crew of four people, three in the gondola and one at street level, were involved in the challenging installation, meticulously applying the sticker using squeegies while suspended at heights of up to 45 metres off the ground.

“It was a mammoth undertaking but, one that all parties involved were well-experienced to execute. From designing the wrap to fit the dimensions and elevation of the tower, to printing and applying it, it was a smooth team effort which took less than two weeks to complete.

“Auto & General is delighted with the result. It is a bold testament of our support and commitment to the Lions rugby team. When we undertook to sponsor the Lions Super 14 team in 2008, we intended to go all out. There are no half measures when it comes to us supporting our team.

“Covering our building is just another way of us showing our team and the rest of Johannesburg just how proud we are of the Lions rugby team,” says Leon Vermaak, CEO of Auto & General.

According to Manie Reyneke, CEO of the Golden Lions Rugby Union: “What an absolute honor and privilege it is being associated with Auto & General. It’s very rare that a team finds a sponsor who is so passionate, dedicated and encouraging, and it gives me such pride to have found exactly that in Auto & General – as an organisation and in the individuals in the company.”

Reyneke continues: “The building wrap was such a wonderful initiative, and the exposure it has given to the Auto & General Super 14 Lions has been immeasurable. The numbers at our stadium have definitely increased, and on behalf of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, I extend my heartfelt thanks to every member of the Auto & General team.”

Auto & General has also just wrapped up its Kick of the Century competition, which ran from 12 January to 12 February 2009 and included a R50000 cash prize incentive. Entrants were asked to guess how far an Auto & General Super 14 Lions player would have to kick a ball from Coca-Cola Park to Auto & General’s offices “as the crow flies”.

The winner of the R50000 is Sydney Shange, who guessed correctly that the ball would have to travel 5kms to reach its destination (rounded up to the nearest kilometer). Shange, who entered on Auto & General’s website, is 26 years old and is currently unemployed. He happened to be searching for a job on the website when he took the chance and entered the competition. Shange didn’t believe at first that he had actually won the competition. He plans to use the money to go back to school saying that the prize money has “brought him back to life”.

Vermaak says that the competition was part of Auto & General’s ongoing programme to generate greater consumer interest in the sport of rugby and their local team.

“We see our sponsorship of the Lions Super 14 team as an investment in our community because we believe that sport is a powerful mechanism for bringing people together and building a sense of community spirit and pride.

“The competition was a fun way for us to get our community involved and get them excited about the Super 14 tournament which has recently kicked off. We are thrilled that the money has gone to someone who will use it to better his life by studying further,” concludes Vermaak.

Photo 1 : CAPTION (winner pic): Pictured here is the winner of the Auto & General Kick of the Century competition, Sydney Shange (left) with Alex Taljaard from Auto & General.

Photo 2: CAPTION (building wrap pic): The emperors new clothes: Auto & General’s head quarters in Richmond, Johannesburg.

(Click on images to enlarge)