Following on from a successful first year of ‘The Clash’ in 2017, where more than 60,000 fans watched Bath Rugby beat Leicester Tigers at Twickenham in the first regular-season Aviva Premiership match of its kind, the teams went head-to-head again in 2018, and Bath Rugby appointed us to tackle event PR for the second year.
We were required to support ticket sales with PR, to promote the fixture to general rugby and sport enthusiasts as well as families in London and the South East – plus other relevant audiences, like tourists to the area.
Objectives:
The aim was to support ticket sales for The Clash through good, solid event PR, aiming to reach audiences beyond the sports pages.
How did we do it?
We created a media strategy to announce and promote the event and support ticket sales, which was a mix of proactive PR stories and media relations around the event, targeting key media to cover the specific areas.
The proactive PR was made up of developing creative idea campaigns, selling-in press releases to announce ticket availability for the event and invitations to journalists who wouldn’t usually be invited to rugby matches (e.g. lifestyle media).
Well done @bathrugby for putting on such a great ‘home’ game at Twickenham. 60k crowd & the atmosphere of an international. Just a shame about the result. #TheClash #bathvleicester pic.twitter.com/ZfHJ7W2tqi
— Aly Vance (@AlyVance1) April 7, 2018
We worked with Bath Rugby to create an inclusive training session. We spoke to a number of schools in the Twickenham area, and eventually partnered with Clarendon Special Educational Needs School, to spread the message that sport is for everyone – echoing what Bath Rugby does with its mixed ability squad.
Bath and England players Sam Underhill, Zach Mercer and Freddie Burns coached the children of the school, along with some of Bath Rugby’s mixed ability kids, before joining them for a tour of Twickenham. Key national and London-specific media titles were invited along to report on the event and highlight ‘The Clash’ in the coverage.
In the lead up to the event, we pitched features and interviews to target media – such as interviews with the players or diet and fitness tips.
We also offered competitions – e.g. signed shirts and tickets – to key titles as well as influencer engagement, such as celebrities and past and present rugby players.
Outputs:
Great day today #TheClash with @bathrugby , flag waving at its best! Blue flags the best flag!#thisgirlcan Well done girls @DorchesterRFC . Doing the club proud! pic.twitter.com/oYQx3sxdCD
— Dorchester Girls Rugby (@DorchGirlsRugby) April 7, 2018
As the event got closer, we made sure that ‘What’s On’ guides were aware of the event and all of the other activities – like fair rides, a stunt show and live music – available on the day as well as the match.
#BATvLEI good view!! pic.twitter.com/Ji2lxq1C9F
— Kathryn Maskew (@MaskewK) April 7, 2018
All activity was support by our press office service (e.g. responding to media requests) throughout the duration of the activity.
Results:
Coverage appeared in the likes of The Guardian, Sky Sports, iNews, Daily Mail, The Metro, The London Evening Standard and The Telegraph.
According to Coverage Book’s metrics, the coverage had a total online audience of 1.13bn, with just shy of 2m estimated coverage views.
(Click here to see the coverage report)
Outcomes:
Four key titles agreed to attend ‘The Clash’ – the BBC, The Londonist, The London Evening Standard and The Metro.
More than 61,000 fans enjoyed the family friendly day!
A game of inches, Massive thanks to all the supporters who came and even bigger shout out to the staff at @bathrugby and @BR_Foundation for putting the day on pic.twitter.com/9q2mTX4hUV
— matt banahan (@mattbanahan1) April 7, 2018
Looking for event PR? Contact us!
Email us at: hello@weareradioactive.com, or call the office on 01452 698765. We’re lovely, HONEST.