New research showed that Heineken UK is the best performing sponsor of the upcoming Rugby World Cup, while New Zealand has been rated the “Most Social Rugby Union,” according to NET IMPERATIVE. The study, from Adobe, “looks at the teams and sponsors of the UK-hosted event,” based on social mentions, sentiment, following and ranking within world rugby. Australia “came in second and England a close third,” the study found. Key findings include “Heineken UK is the best-performing Rugby World Cup sponsor in social, running a specific advertising campaign and engaging 29 percent of its Twitter following.” Also, “social mentions of the Rugby World Cup have grown by 116 percent since July.” In terms of sponsors, Heineken UK is the “best performing sponsor of the event when it comes to social.” It is running a “specific advertising campaign around the event," and has 12,600 followers on its U.K. Twitter account and 3,600 mentions, an engagement rate of around 29% of its following. The Rugby World Cup has “seen its social stature grow week on week," with social mentions up by 116% since ADI began its tracking on 4 July (NET IMPERATIVE, 9/16).
