May saw England Rugby kit partner Canterbury go directly to the country’s rugby lovers by creating and hosting an event that brought the sports brand’s offering to life in a direct, personal and physical way.
Engineered specifically to improve game performance, an immersive rugby training experience was the prize for an exclusive group of 50 competition winners (as determined by Canterbury’s key retail partners) – hosted in a purpose built Canterbury gym in London’s Shoreditch.
The purpose-built training studio, installed at ‘The Yard’ in Shoreditch , was designed to host a series of rugby drills spanning speed, endurance, power and strength: these four core pillars of rugby training run throughout Canterbury’s rugby offering and inform the technology that goes in to all of the brands training apparel.
The event was hosted by former England international and Rugby World Cup winner Will Greenwood and also on hand at the event were Canterbury ambassadors and rugby professionals Kevin Sinfield, Rob Vickerman, David Wallace and Adam Jones and the stars put the winners through their physical paces and offered their own training tips and advice throughout the day.
In addition to the former and current rug y stars themselves, Canterbury also teamed up with renowned Sports Psychologist Steve Black (most famous for guiding rugby legend Johnny Wilkinson through his world cup winning journey in 2003) to ensure participants were mentally prepared for their own training experience, and England Sevens Nutritionist Warren Bradley who worked with guests to refuel once their session was over and to offer expert advice on the importance of food and nutrition in rugby and sport as a whole.
The training experience was amplified through a short film posted on the sportswear brand’s YouTube channel.
The initiative was also amplified across the brand’s social platforms with assets ranging from a countdown series of tweets,
We are representing #rugbyunited at the Ultimate Training Experience with @canterburyNZ #CommittedToTheGame pic.twitter.com/Dk3G3xcH14
— Fill Your Boots (@fillyour_boots) May 17, 2016
to low latency video,
50 Winners
1 Ultimate Training Experience
You'll be out of breath just watching this… #CommittedToTheGamehttps://t.co/dXePQpdeVJ— Canterbury (@canterburyNZ) May 20, 2016
and live tweeting from the training experience itself.
Time to turn up the heat @AaronBarnettPT @Tonguey1 @robertkanePGT for @canterburyNZ experience #CommittedToTheGame pic.twitter.com/6kyyRDJ2Pk
— adam daniel (@adamadaniel) May 18, 2016
Great to meet @B1ackie and Kevin Sinfield today with @canterburyNZ #CommittedToTheGame #legends pic.twitter.com/5PnLduEzo0
— Adam Jones (@adamjones3) May 18, 2016
The ambassadors and Canterbury’s own experts shared their rich rugby knowledge directly with fans/consumers from all levels of the game.
‘To train hard is one thing, but training specifically to become a better rugby player is a whole different ball game. The drills these guys were taking on are designed to improve the strength and movement needed to compete on a rugby pitch,’ explained Sinfield at the event launch.
‘It’s great to see that there is help out there for players of all abilities to improve their rugby performance’.
Describing the training event, Canterbury CEO, Chris Stephenson, said: ‘Our rich history in rugby stretches back over 110 years which has allowed us to develop an understanding of the game at all levels. This event showcases our commitment to delivering the best in rugby – from the technology and innovation that goes into all of our training apparel to the workouts you embark on. No other brand is better placed to do this’
To support the event-specific experience, rugby lovers around the UK can access a host of rugby specific training content from the brand’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/OfficialCanterbury – whoich hosts a series of short ‘Skills and Drills’ videos featuring players such as Geoff Parling and Kevin Sinfield offer bitesize rugby training tips to the Canterbury community.
Comment
This kind of direct, in-person engagement between brand and fan is a fine example of the utility-led approach to ensuring genuine, personal conversations and relationships between the sportswear brand and its consumers/target market.
The official kit supplier to England Rugby, Canterbury, which has its global headquarters in Stockport, has been committed to the game for 111 years.
It has previously provided playing shirts to the New Zealand and Australia teams and is also currently team kit supplier to Ireland Rugby, the Japanese and Namibian national sides, as well as Bath, Leinster and Cardiff Blues and it supplies playing apparel to hundreds of school and club sides throughout the UK.
Canterbury was both the Official Sportswear Supplier for Rugby World Cup 2015 as well as to the England team and this campaign builds on its innovative ‘Launched By The Loyal’ Rugby World Cup kit campaign (see case study).
Links:
Canterbury Website:
Canterbury Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/canterbury
Canterbury Twitter:
https://twitter.com/canterburyNZ
Canterbury YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialCanterbury
England Rugby Website:
Synergy Website:
