Channel 4 Wins as "The home of NOT rugby"

I found this interesting little case study on how a Kiwi TV station managed to actually GROW its viewership during RWC 2011 even though it didn't stream any rugby per se.   Its strategy?  To loudly and proudly proclaim that they had NO rugby content on their schedule whatsoever - 'The Home of NOT Rugby'.  The channel became a destination where non-rugby lovers could enjoy the latest award winning TV shows.  Over the RWC every other mainstream channel lost share - whilst FOUR's viewership grew by 10%.  Not surprisingly, the campaign is going to Cannes this week

Hong Kong Sevens and HSBC: It's gonna be wild!

The Hong Kong Sevens is upon us, and with it all the fanfare and paegentry we've come to expect from Rugby's most colourful showpiece.
HSBC is celebrating its partnership with the tournament with a lively commercial called "Fancy Dress Street Rugby".  The ad reflects the popular trend of spectators to wear outlandish outfits to the tournament and to peform in a decidedly unorthodox way too.  A range of in-stadium films (as yet not available on YouTube) will keep fans entertained for the duration of the tournament.

Andrew Newman, Group Head of Marketing at HSBC said:  "Our serious play campaign represents the seriousness of the sport and the fun of the tournament"

I love this whole concept.  It's picked up on an obvious tradition which quite obviously belongs to the fans - and has taken it to a new level.  Good Stuff HSBC!

O2 renews England contract and further entrenches its ownership of Rugby

iSportconnect.com reports that O2 will renew its sponsorship of English Rugby for another 4 years.  The company, owned by Spain's Telefonica, has been a partner of English rugby since the game went professional back in 1995 making it one of the longer running partnerships in Rugby Union.

The obvious commitment of O2 aside, I am impressed by the imaginative ways in which they activate the partnership.  Its strategy is clearly to own rugby at every possible level.

To celebrate the start of the Six Nations Tournament, O2 is renewing its "For England" Pie and Beer offer which proved so successful during the World Cup in 2011.

Wheras previously the campaign was directed to "Priority Moment" customers in the home environment, the idea is now being rolled out to "Priority" customers in participating pubs as well as to the O2 Blue Room hospitality facility at Twickenham Stadium itself.

O2 Blue Room at Twickenham - courtesy of the O2 Website

For home viewers the pack includes 2 pies, 2 beers an an St George flag.  Pub viewers - by means of mobile technology - can redeem their meal at any one of the participating pubs while spectators at Twickenham enjoy the benefits in the O2 Blue Room hospitality suite (where they can meet England players after the game).

O2 will also be sponsoring "Inside Line" on the RFU website - a series of short yet exclusive interviews with players as well as player cam, match analysis and predictions.  Fans can sign up to receive video updates via e-mail.

Other details of the O2 England Rugby Sponsorship:

• O2 supports all England teams from U16 upwards including the England Women's team
• The O2 "Play On" scheme supports and encourages young players to continue playing rugby after they have left school.
• The O2 "Scrum on the Beach" invites people to enjoy the game through the summer months in a variety of participating beach venues around the UK.  The program allows participants to meet and train with their England heroes.

• O2 also sponsors "O2 Touch", a gateway to the game for those interested in keeping fit but avoiding the hard knocks of the full contact version.

2 great beer ads - Let's steal with pride for Tri-Nations Rugby

Here are two ridiculously powerful ads for beer.  As Geoff Whyte used to say:  "great beer ads don't mirror the beer drinking moment, they provoke it"...The ad also aligns very powerfully with the "rugby is a time" platform we identified a few years back...imagine an ad, brought to you buy Castle, that uses the same device to cue all the highlights and definitive moments of Test Rugby - with Castle as the essential catalyst of the experience?