That means the traditional red, black and yellow colours of the station will be rebranded green and gold for the duration of the World Cup, and feature on all marketing collateral, as HOT 102.7FM rolls out a range of initiatives in support of the Boks.
“We’re proud of our colours and what they mean to the identity of the station, so the decision to rebrand for just the next seven weeks wasn’t taken lightly,” says Lloyd Madurai, Managing Director of HOT 102.7FM.
“But, a Rugby World Cup only comes round every four years and it’s just one of the many ways we wanted to show our support for our boys.”
With this in mind, there’s no piece of music that invokes a sense of rugby nostalgia and fond South African World Cup memories more than the PJ Powers and Ladysmith Black Mambazo version of ‘World in Union’ from the 1995 tournament.
It was the soundtrack to that World Cup and what better way to revisit that iconic tournament than by having Powers live in the Bok-branded HOT 1027 Breakfast studio, singing ‘World in Union’ and celebrating the release of a remixed version of the track in collaboration with DJ Cosher, days before the start of this year’s tournament.
“If you were in the studio right now, you would honestly think kick-off was tonight,” said Powers.
“These guys have gone all out and you would think we’ve already won the World Cup, which is a good thing! We’re full of Springboks, we’re full of HOT 102.7FM, and we’re full of ‘Go, South Africa!’”
Video of Powers singing World in Union in the HOT 1027 Breakfast studio is available on the HOT 102.7FM Facebook – the perfect way to take a trip down memory lane and get fired up for the World Cup.
“We love our nostalgia and that’s why we love playing the very best ‘Old Skool’ music,” says Madurai.
“All we need now is for our boys to follow the example of Francois Pienaar, John Smit and Siya Kolisi’s squads of 1995, 2007 and 2019, and bring the trophy home again!”
Not only will HOT House be lit up in green and gold for the next seven weeks, but HOT 102.7FM listeners can also look forward to a host of World Cup-related content in the station’s featured shows, including in-studio appearances from some of rugby’s biggest names, regular updates in its sports bulletins, and a series of World Cup-focused interviews in Friday evening’s HOT Sport 60 with Betway sports show, hosted by Dylan Rogers.
