The latest social data revealed that O2 "may have backed the wrong horse, but at least it came out trumps on social media," according to MARKETING MAGAZINE. After "throwing its considerable
sponsorship weight behind England Rugby, the mobile network could only
watch in horror as the team became the first Rugby World Cup host nation
ever to be knocked out of the tournament in the group stages, after its
untimely defeat to Australia." Putting on a "brave face," the company said it was "here for the ups
and the downs -- this is what sport is all about." O2's #weartherose and #makethemgiants activity aimed to
generate 5 million "acts of support," which included social-media shares as
well as offline interactions. The company "can take some comfort that, by
the time England crashed out, the campaign had achieved this." Human Digital’s research shows
that "the majority of consumers felt positive sentiment toward the
sponsorship." Hashtag #weartherose was mentioned more than 17,000 times during September, "as the Rugby World Cup kicked off." England’s defeat to Australia on Oct. 3 "created the highest spike in mentions, as more than 11,500 users engaged in conversation on this day alone" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 10/30).
