Everything 4 Rugby
The beating heart of grassroots rugby
Objective
The brief was to deliver an online grassroots rugby hub for clubs, fans and players to connect easily. And to bring people who love the game together in a virtual rugby community, where they can get all the information they need as well as exclusive discounts.
less than 10%
commercial rugby
funding invested in
grassroots game
Strategy
With three distinct audiences to serve, it was critical to carry out detailed research on each of these before any creative or technical work commenced:
The Rugby Club
KEY REQUIREMENT:
Add value to club members -
so they ‘get more’ for their ‘subs’
- Bring the club closer to our members and supporters
- Grow fanbase, encourage support
- Provide coaching materials
- Provide more value to sponsors
- Raise awareness of the club
- Connect clubs to one another
- Increase revenue
- Social media, news and events
- Buying kit, supplements etc.
- Banter, fun and friendship
The Rugby Player
KEY REQUIREMENT:
How do I improve myself
as a player?
- What should I be eating and drinking?
- How do I become bigger, stronger, faster?
- Identifying my weaknesses, strengths...
- That feeling of camaraderie, teammates
- Learning a new position
- Banter, fun & friendship
- Keeping fit
- Social media, news and events
- Buying kit, supplements etc.
- Feeling closer to the club
The Rugby Fan
KEY REQUIREMENT:
How can I engage with my favourite club?
- How can I connect with my fellow fans?
- I want to keep up-to-date with
developments in grassroots rugby - What perks do I get for paying subs?
- Where can I get rewards and discounts?
- I’d like to access everything in one place
- I want to learn more about training
and keeping fit - I want to read exclusive interviews
- Social media, news and events
- Buying kit, supplements etc.
- Banter, fun and friendship
Our research provided us with one key insight and idea - to bring the rugby fan closer to the club and the rugby community by placing the club in your pocket.
“Digital marketing is simply a matter of technology connecting human beings. What The Digital Age is achieving is managing those connections strategically, creatively and effectively. They’ve brought us and our customers together in new ways, and it’s working.”
Steven Turnbull, (former) Managing Director, Everything4Rugby
Execution
The content team managed to identify over 1,500 grassroots rugby clubs throughout the British Isles. Each of these clubs was created on the app, giving the individual user the ability to follow their favourite side and for the clubs to engage with more of their fans.
For the clubs
Clubs were able to gain increased visibility and interaction with their supporters for the first time. The annual subscription of £30 was off-set against members’ subs, allowing clubs the opportunity to provide players and supporters with a valuable resource in return for their club subscription.
For the players
Their self-improvement requirements were categorised into four main areas - nutrition, coaching, training and clubhouse. A content plan was formulated for each of these areas to provide engaging written and video content.
For the fans
The integration with a reward service called Perkz enabled users to gain access to over 200 offers from the country’s favourite retailers.
More recently, we have added a shop whereby clubs are able to sell branded kit (to gain a commission) and players and supporters are able to order sportswear, supplements and more.
Content
Content is divided into nutrition, coaching, training and clubhouse sections:
Effectiveness
Within the first six months of launching, the KPIs for engagement from both club members and rugby fans have been significant, and the app has delivered excellent results:
96,000
Page views
5:55
average session
duration
19.31
average pages
per session
1,500
rugby clubs
represented
40+
rugby club
partners
68%
of users using
the app frequently