Australia’s premier Rugby League club stays connected with Zoom

The South Sydney Rabbitohs, known as the Rabbitohs, are Sydney’s biggest National Rugby League club. A Membership of more than 32,000, alongside an ambitious Commercial Partnership Program and a Foundation for supporting Indigenous and marginalised youth (Souths Cares), underpins this formidable sporting presence. 

At the helm, CEO Blake Solly’s job is to ensure the Club is set up to continue its rise and maintain its valuable contributions to the community, the region, and Australian sport.

“In my time at the Rabbitohs, I’ve led the development and construction of the new community and high-performance centre in Heffron Park located in Maroubra, NSW and negotiated with the NRL on the Collective Bargaining Agreement to secure fair funding allocation for our players and the game,” Blake said.

Connected culture

The Club is proud of its connected culture, which promotes strong, honest communication between staff and departments. Zoom’s products and services bridge the gap between functions, including football, commercial, consumer, digital, finance, and human resources, bringing them together so the Club runs smoothly. They view Zoom as a connector and a way to create bonds between diverse groups.

“We’re the most successful club in the history of Australian Rugby League, with 21 first-grade premierships under our belt. We’re proud of that, and we want to inspire pride across the organisation as well as throughout the entire community. Zoom helps us do that, providing a straightforward way for us to repeatedly communicate our values of Brave, Unbreakable and Belonging,” Blake said.

Forging a partnership

The Rabbitohs partnered with Zoom in 2018 in a relationship designed to help them stay at the forefront of communications tech with state-of-the-art video conferencing. It would also give Zoom valuable feedback from a high-profile organisation as they evolved the platform.

As the Club widened its geographic footprint, Zoom became instrumental in keeping teams connected. The Football Department and elite playing group were in the Southeast Queensland hub, away from the broader Sydney operations, yet they still functioned as one club. 

And, through Zoom-hosted media conferences, the Rabbitohs have continued successfully engaging new audiences and delighting Members and fans by giving them exclusive access to top Rugby League talent across coaching and playing groups online to satisfy their love of footy.

“Zoom is one platform that connects many. They have become a crucial partner of ours during the Club’s expansion,” said Blake. 

From on-premises telephony to Zoom Phone

From one-on-one client meetings, board meetings, and all-hands staff briefings, the Rabbitohs grew their use of Zoom to include Zoom Rooms, Zoom Webinars, and Zoom Phone via the simple addition of platform functionality, taking the team’s communications strategy to the next level.

To integrate with its customer service solution, the Rabbitohs needed to transition from a traditional phone system to a cloud-based solution. As a Zoom partner, it was an easy decision to extend the already adopted Zoom platform to include Zoom Phone. 

“Implementing was seamless, efficient, and cost-effective, and the ongoing management is simple, done through a very user-friendly online portal,” said Blake.

First-class online events with Zoom Webinars

With Zoom Webinars, the Club is able to run first-class virtual events for more than 100 guests. Webinars started during lockdown with a Rabbitohs Business Chamber networking event with Anthony Albanese, the 31st Prime Minister of Australia, as keynote speaker. Guest presenting was a seamless experience for ‘Albo,’ who was granted a Zoom spotlight from the virtual waiting room and took it forward.

Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs commercial team monitored and managed questions for the Prime Minister in the background, giving audience members the spotlight at the appropriate time to ask their questions.  

A pre-match function on the 2021 NRL Grand Final day further tested Zoom Webinars, allowing the staff at the game to give those at home the feeling that they were in Brisbane, Queensland for the match. 

Deepening commercial relationships

After more than five years of using Zoom to evolve its communications, the Rabbitohs strongly believe that Zoom is giving them a competitive advantage across the organisation. “In our commercial team, ad-hoc phone calls with sponsors are replaced with Zoom work-in-progress meetings that ensure we deliver on our partnerships. The face-to-face time with our sponsors, albeit virtual, significantly develops the relationship and helps to build trust,” Blake said. 

Increasing wellness touchpoints

In the football department, it’s effortless for a club doctor, psychologist, or nutritionist to engage with the playing group via Zoom, extending wellness touchpoints to keep everyone on form.

As the Rabbitohs have integrated Zoom throughout their various functions, they’ve seen productivity, collaboration, and effectiveness significantly heighten, contributing to the Club consistently achieving an operational profit for stakeholders alongside strong performances on the field. 

Innovation is an enabler of success

With the Rabbitohs’ ongoing commitment to excellence and desire to inspire the community, they see Zoom as part of their long-term vision. “Innovation is a key enabler of continued success,” said Blake. 

“We are fortunate to partner with the world’s best video platform. From the Rabbitohs boardroom to our elite Rugby League field, Zoom keeps our Club connected, innovative, and performing at our absolute best.”