To leverage the 2018 Autumn international, Rugby Football Union partner O2 teamed up with England rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson to launch a new ‘Skill’ for Alexa-enabled devices – the first ever in rugby.
The Alex Skill, which is called ‘Wear the Rose with O2’, launched ahead of England’s opening Quilter International against South Africa.
Fans can download the Skill now from the ‘Amazon Alexa Skills Store’ and the sponsor hopes it will add another route for the brand to bring fans closer to the team and the game they love.
Users simply need to say “Alexa: Open Wear the Rose” and fans will also be offered the chance to explore Priority offers (which include England Rugby shirts and match tickets), plus a range of features including Wilkinson-led content that includes his thoughts on the team, predictions and post-match reviews and a podcast hosted by Vernon Kay.
The initiative was promoted by a digital and social campaign led by a video launched on 1 November
which was amplified across all the telecoms brand’s usual digital and social platforms – including Instagram and Twitter.
Guess who we’ve got to #WearTheRose for the Quilter Internationals?
Alexa. Yep, we’re launching the first ever Alexa skill for @EnglandRugby, featuring @JonnyWilkinson
To try it, download the skill: https://t.co/9RbkeyrDYA and ask 'Alexa, open Wear the Rose'. pic.twitter.com/fJLl3kGMcW
— O2 Sports (@O2sports) November 1, 2018
O2 launched the ‘Alexa Skill’ following recent research showing that one in 10 UK households now has a digital home assistant.
The planning work also found that prediction for 2022 show that 48% of homes in Britain will have such as device in just three years time.
This ‘Alexa Skill’ activation is effectively a trial for the four Quilter Internationals with a view to enhancing it further for O2’s Six Nations and Rugby World Cup in 2019.
Wilkinson said: “I’m really excited to be part of the brand new ‘Wear the Rose with O2’ Skill for Alexa, where I will be sharing my take on the Quilter Internationals for England Rugby fans,” commented former England captain and Woirld Cup winner Wilkinson.
“Whether they’ll be watching the games at Twickenham at home with family or out with friends, they can start their match day with a few thoughts from me straight into their living room.”
Gareth Griffiths, head of sponsorship, O2, added: “We are always looking for new, exciting and innovative ways to get fans behind England Rugby. The growth and increasing popularity of voice assistant technology will have a huge impact across all areas of sport so we’re delighted to be working with Jonny, bringing fans even more exclusive ‘Wear the Rose’ content.”
Comment:
As far as we are aware, ‘Wear the Rose With O2’ is the first rugby-related Skill launched on Alexa – Amazon’s voice service accessed through its Echo device.
Any ‘first’ always generates a bit of PR and buzz and this initiative is no exception to that rule of thumb.
But while this ‘Alexa Skill’ initiative is, as far as we are aware, the first in the rugby space, we are surpirsed it has comes 18 months after Arsenal FC rolled out the first Alexa Skill in football back in April 2017 (see case study).
We wonder why it has taken quite so long to find its way to the 15-man rugby union code?
Skill are essentially similar in concept to smartphone apps: built by third-parties to expand Alexa’s functionality.
Other strands of the telecoms brand’s RFU activation include its ongoing broad and deep ‘O2 Inside Line’ work which for the SA game included a wealth of content including Facebook Live video and live events:
Links:
O2
https://www.o2.co.uk/sponsorship/o2-sports
https://www.youtube.com/user/o2sports
https://www.instagram.com/o2sports/
RFU / England Rugby
https://www.youtube.com/user/officialRFUTV
https://twitter.com/EnglandRugby
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialEnglandRugby/
https://www.instagram.com/englandrugby/
