The 2017 tournament sees Accenture in its sixth year as the ‘official technology partner of the RBS 6 Nations Rugby Championship’ and this year’s real-time data led activation includes not just an improved official tournament app, but also an enhanced data dashboard as well as an on-site installation that enables fans to broadcast their own virtual reality (VR) experience.
The Accenture-created official Championship mobile app includes pre-match news, line-ups and previews, providing play-by-play commentary during the game and most importantly performance analysis, including match, team and player insights, whilst allowing fans to interact over social media.
Amplified by rights holder and brand, the app, which is also translated for Apple iWatch to provide wearers with information at the flick of a wrist, runs on iOS, Android and Kindle Fire and brings the brand’s and its team’s insights direct to fans’ pockets.
Momentum tracker
Fixtures
News
CompetitionsFor all this & more download the official #RBS6Nations app https://t.co/atk6yObMCq pic.twitter.com/acPAAWb6zo
— RBS 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 19, 2017
The real-time dashboard blends live and historical tournament statistics with expert insights from former players and coaches that uses machine learning to improve the accuracy and depth of their data led judgements and observations.
It runs right across the tournament across the app, digital and social, peaking on game days with pre-game
With the kicking game will be crucial today. Here's how Ireland & England's back three compare in retaining opposition kicks. #IREvENG pic.twitter.com/h8nOEhkgXd
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) March 18, 2017
and live in- match analysis.
A dominant first half from Ireland put the game out of reach for England. Here's our #IREvENG momentum tracker. #RBS6Nations pic.twitter.com/w23r6e5CYH
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) March 18, 2017
and post-match.
As it happened, all the insights for #IREvENG from today's final #SuperSaturday fixture. https://t.co/EIbwi35Yih
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) March 18, 2017
An epic finish in Paris. Here's our #FRAvWAL momentum tracker. #SuperSaturday pic.twitter.com/elkzzJKpO9
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) March 18, 2017
While the immersive VR experience gives users an opportunity to interact with players on a virtual playing pitch – while the dashboard displays that player’s personal and team analytics.
This mixed reality element also enables onlookers can watch the VR user’s point of view – thus allowing more people to experience the virtual action.
The VR experience was also a core pillar of its 2017 tournament activation launch event on 25 January
It's been great to help a few captains #Seebeyond with our mixed reality and analytics experience at today's #RBS6Nations launch. pic.twitter.com/qtJq4dScCz
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) January 25, 2017
and it was also amplified digitally and socially through the tournament
Irish rugby legend and @AccentureRugby analyst @Gordonwdarcy trying our RBS 6 Nations VR experience at #DublinTechSummit #DTS pic.twitter.com/jWtzgMWXUu
— Accenture Ireland (@Accenture_Irl) February 15, 2017
The partnership also offers Accenture plenty off the usual rights package elements: ranging from physical and digital logo visibility, to hospitality and player time,
The stage is set for today's #RBS6Nations launch… pic.twitter.com/jIsRz4OhLd
— RBS 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) January 25, 2017
as well as the title backer of the ‘Team Of The Tournament’,
After a massive finish to the 2017 #RBS6Nations, we've crunched the numbers to find the statistical Team of the Championship #Seebeyond. pic.twitter.com/fDuqqTEiF7
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) March 20, 2017
and the ‘Player Of The Championships’.
There's 30 minutes left to vote for the #RBS6Nations Player of the Championship. Get your vote in now! https://t.co/cwiYfviYUO
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) March 21, 2017
The hospitality programme, focused on clients and potential clients, sees large groups (as big as 100) attend games as Accenture guests who enjoyed appearances from former players (eg Will Greenwood and Ben Kay) who offered a blend of banter and analysis (some based on Accenture number crunching).
Plus there were new tech demonstrations of the likes of Amazon Echo, as well as the VR experience and plenty of food and drink too of course.
The activation programme also includes a free to download and share B2B targeted pdf paper ( half magazine, half white paper) called ‘See Beyond: Exploring Digital Innovations Through the RBS 6 Nations’.
https://www.accenture.com/t00010101T000000__w__/gb-en/_acnmedia/PDF-42/Accenture-See-Beyond-Exploring-Digital-Innovations-Through-RBS-6-Nations.pdf#zoom=50
With an umbrella objective of helping fans and executives to #SeeBeyond the pure match data and standard game stats, these are the lead strands fronting an Accenture’s activation programme which spans a range of data-led, digital solutions to help the tournament respond to changing fan and team needs.
These include data collection, visualisation and analytics, to mobility, virtual reality and machine learning and all aim to enable supporters, coaches and players to ‘see beyond the match data’ and thus bring them ‘closer to the action of Rugby’s Greatest Championship’.
To deliver these unique insights into game-changing moments, Accenture’s analytics experts process more than 28.5 million rows of data each Championship.
They work alongside a team of rugby expert brand ambassador, including former international coach Nick Mallett, World Cup winner Ben Kay and Irish rugby legend Gordon D’Arcy.
Ahead of this weekend's action, read our Accenture Analysis Team's insights for all the matches. #RBS6Nations https://t.co/9HH9cqjjkI
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) February 22, 2017
Read our Accenture Analysis Team's take on Round 1 of the #RBS6Nations. #Seebeyond https://t.co/9HH9cqjjkI
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) February 3, 2017
VIDEO: @AccentureRugby Analyst Nick Mallett talks #RBS6Nations and using data to generate rugby insight https://t.co/WkTVFrTJIx #SeeBeyond pic.twitter.com/AXv4O0ln5f
— RBS 6 Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 3, 2017
The strategy is to use 6 Nations relevant and insightful digital technologies to create a highly visual showcase of Accenture’s digital expertise: using rugby as an exciting and engaging platform to demonstrate capabilities to clients.
We've been proud to use our partnership with the #RBS6Nations to explore the future of digital innovation. https://t.co/8teMyjail2
— Accenture Rugby (@AccentureRugby) February 17, 2017
‘We’re bringing the latest digital technologies to this year’s championship to deliver new experiences with people as the focus,’ trumpets managing director of Accenture Analytics Nick Millman.
‘The innovations we’re making around the RBS 6 Nations are also applicable for businesses. Just as players are unpredictable, so are customers. It’s important for any entity – sporting, business or otherwise – to be agile and innovate constantly.’
Activative Comment:
Accenture takes an integrated digital approach that combines analytics, data visualisation, mobility and social media to deliver a series of digital-led value-in-kind projects for the RBS 6 Nations.
In terms of results, in the five years that Accenture has been created the tournament app it has been downloaded more than 3.9 million times in more than 200 countries.
Accenture, like other B2B sponsors, uses its 6 Nations partnership as a proof of concept and a skills and services showcase.
While consumer brand sponsors tend to focus on driving engagement through entertainment-oriented uses for emerging technology (like AI and VR), Accenture’s strategy is built around using its activation as a shop window for the business use and application of its data analysis skills.
In the last two years sponsors have littered the sports and entertainment activation landscape with VR experiences primarily to entertain and engage (and position themselves as tech-savvy), but B2B partners like Accenture focuses more a leverage strategy that acts as a product demonstration for the enterprise uses of its offering.
Accenture follows in the footsteps of fellow B2B brands like IBM (particularly in tennis)
and Intel (with partners like the NBA and the NFL) to leverage popular live sports and entertainment event as a means of introduce c-suite executives to new applications for emerging technology and the brand’s own credentials for analysis the data in meaningful, valuable ways.
Links:
Accenture
http://www.accenture-rugby.com/
https://twitter.com/AccentureRugby
https://www.facebook.com/accenture
https://www.youtube.com/user/Accenture
6 Nations Championship
https://www.facebook.com/sixnationsrugby
https://twitter.com/SixNationsRugby
https://www.youtube.com/sixnations
https://www.instagram.com/sixnationsrugby/
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/official-rbs-6-nations-championship-app/id489164343?mt=8
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.accenture.android.rbs6nations&hl=en_GB
