Crouch, Touch, Pause…Engage!
In our latest research focus article, TGI’s Ashley Underwood looks at the forthcoming Rugby World Cup and what makes the keenest rugby fans so valuable and the effectiveness of sponsorship around the event.
When on 9th September the All Blacks rip into the ever-intimidating haka, the first thumping tackle of the 2011 Rugby World Cup will be mere minutes away. Taking place this year in New Zealand, this event represents a golden opportunity for advertisers to convert passion for a beloved game into hard cash.
The latest TGI data from Kantar Media shows that 78% of adults in Britain who are very interested in rugby are men. Three-quarters of these men are aged 35 or older.
These mature rugby fans represent a group of major value to many marketers, being successful, materialistic, corporate-oriented and financially engaged. According to TGI, 35+ year old men who are very interested in rugby are nearly 60% more likely than the average adult to earn over £50,000.
But their value doesn’t stop there. Compared with the average man aged 35+, they are a third more likely to buy something they like without considering the price, to wear a valuable watch, or equally to have travelled by air for business in the last year.
They are over a quarter more likely to wear designer clothes and 50% more likely to have splashed out over £20,000 on a car. No doubt in part as a result of their relative wealth they are much more likely to be interested in financial services and nearly a quarter more likely to look for profitable ways to invest money than other men their age.
Little wonder RBS choose to sponsor the Six Nations so prominently.
World Cups can represent a golden ticket for brands seeking to sponsor a global event and reach a world wide audience. TGI data shows that the typical rugby buff is 70% more likely to pay attention to the advertising of companies who sponsor sports events than other men aged 35+.
Looking at the rugby devotee’s relationship with sponsors of this year’s Rugby World Cup, it seems that the corporate subsidy could well prove money well spent. One example is Heineken, which represents a good sponsor-fan match and thus platform for effective sponsorship activation. Rugby fans are 27% more likely to buy Heineken than the average 35+ year old man.
When it comes to the media that most engage mature rugby fans, newspapers fare particularly well. Compared with the whole of the rest of the GB adult population, rugby fans are nearly 40% more likely to be amongst the heaviest fifth of newspaper consumers. Even compared with men their own age, when asked which advertising medium they pay most attention to they are a fifth more likely to choose newspapers over the rest.
Analysed against the same demographic they show a tendency towards quality broadsheets: they are over twice as likely to read The Daily Telegraph and 50% more likely to read The Times. Thus advertising in such newspapers stands an excellent chance of appealing to rugby zealots.
The Rugby World Cup 2011 is a way for advertisers to engage with wealthy consumers who love to spend. While we may tune in to see explosive running and crunching tackles, from a commercial perspective the real big hitters are the fans, who have a tendency to be wealthy, receptive to branding and responsive to sponsorship.