The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) is leveraging peak rugby interest around the climax of the RBS 6 Nations to launch a new campaign, called ‘Be The Best You’, which aims to highlight the benefits of playing rugby to women and girls.
The objective behind the initiative is to change perceptions of women’s rugby and encourage more women and girls to take up the game.
The initiative, which capitalises on the sport’s growing popularity in Scotland ([perhaps linked to the renewed success of the national team after years of mediocrity), is being promoted by an integrated campaign.
The campaign assets typically take the form of an invite to all women and girls in Scotland to come along to try the game at their local club.
It positions rugby as a game for everyone: all ages, all body shapes and all levels of experience.
The programme is led by a spearhead digital video posted to the SRU’s YouTube channel on 20 Match and hosted on its digital hub.
This launch ad coincides with Scotland Women’s game against Italy in the final match of the Six Nations (at Broadwood Stadium, Cumbernauld) as well as the final weekend of the men’s championship.
It runs on social media in a mix of promoted posts across Facebook and Instagram, on Scottish Rugby’s online channels as well as digital advertising sites across Scotland.
The ads were shot at the home of Scottish Rugby – BT Murrayfield – and feature players from the Greenock Wanderers, Hillhead Jordanhill, Cartha Ladies Rugby, Watsonians, Edinburgh University and Murrayfield Wanderers clubs and developed by Scottish Rugby’s in-house designers.
There is also a set of digital creatives and social media interactions from players across the women’s game all aiming to encourage women and girls sign up for the ‘come and try’ events across the country.
Be Powerful. Be Active. Be Badass. #BeTheBestYou with Scottish Rugby! Visit https://t.co/oIsrTeMsCH for more information! pic.twitter.com/WLBahG4LvH
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 18, 2017
The assets include the copy: ‘Rugby is a game for everyone – all ages, all body shapes and all levels of experience. We’re inviting You to come along and try it at a local club. Be bold and try something new with your friends. Be active and make healthy choices. Be powerful and discover new skills you didn’t know you have. Be a team and have a laugh with your mates. #BeTheBestYou’.
A slew of rugby clubs across Scotland are acting as hubs for the campaign and a campaign microsite (at http://www.scottishrugby.org/bestyou) enables those new to the sport to find a club near them and how to get involved.
These clubs are offering various versions of the game: from taster sessions for women that have never tried rugby before, to fun warm-ups, plus stretching and skills sessions.
‘We are very excited about the possibilities #BeTheBestYou can have for female rugby this year,’ said Sheila Begbie, head of women’s and girl’s rugby at Scottish Rugby.
‘There are many reasons why people take up a particular sport, to keep fit and test themselves physically, however with this campaign we wanted to show there is a lot more to women’s rugby than simply the physical benefits of being active and want it to really help raise its profile and get people talking about the game and how enjoyable it is on many different levels.’
While Scotland Women international Emma Wassel also added: ‘The values of rugby make the game what it is and for me it creates a very respectful and positive environment for young players to develop in. I hope this campaign gets people talking about women’s rugby and our sport continues to grow.’
This initial phase of the campaign aims to increase participation levels among over 18s, while a follow-up set of activations in the summer will target 12 to 18-year-old girls.
Activative Comment:
The programme mirrors the RFU’s equivalent #InnerWarrior contact rugby campaign in England (see case study) – which launched in January ahead of this year’s 6 Nations.
This initiative also has echoes of Sport England’s super successful #ThisGirlCan initiative (see case study) originally launched in 2014: the second iteration of which is running through the same timeline to this SRU women’s rugby push (see case study).
Links:
SRU
http://scottishrugby.org/bestyou
https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottishRugbyonline
https://twitter.com/scotlandteam
https://www.instagram.com/scotlandteam/
https://www.facebook.com/scottishrugby
