Rugby marketing has traditionally focused on the strength, speed, sporting ability and the general muddiness of the players to entice the fans to purchase tickets to see their favourite team. However, Leeds Rhinos has taken a more customer focused approach, after engaging Leeds based agency, Brass to develop the creative concept to launch the start of the new 2016 Rugby Super League season.
Brass developed a customer focused campaign to appeal to current and potential fans, by placing them central to the teams’ success.
“The ‘Play Your Part’ campaign is all about putting the fans in the limelight. Traditionally our campaigns feature players but fans play such an important part in the clubs success and we wanted to reflect this in our marketing campaigns. We are really proud of their passion and commitment and it was great to be able to thank some of them with the opportunity to meet players and the experience being part of a photo-shoot. Our new campaign portrays Rugby League as the inclusive sport that it is, with fans of all ages, genders and from all backgrounds.”
In December 2015, Leeds Rhinos ran a Facebook competition, offering current members the chance to be photographed next to their heroes in the 2016 Leeds Rhinos advertising campaign. A diverse selection of members, including women, children, and those with disabilities, were subsequently photographed in a series of strong images alongside Leeds Rhinos players. The final creative developed by Brass encourages fans to “Play your part” and become a Rhinos member in 2016.
“At Brass, we pride ourselves on being a customer centric agency, delivering strong creative executions that are strategically driven. Our new membership campaign for Leeds Rhinos comes from the insight that Rugby League fans are as big a part of the game as the players themselves and that when they wear the shirt they’re part of the team. They may not score the tries, but they’re a massive part of the game.”
The new Leeds Rhinos campaign went live on 21st January 2016, and can be seen across online and offline marketing channels.