Rugby is "entering a golden period," according to Craig Tuck of CAMPAIGN LIVE. TV viewing figures for the Premiership "are up 13% and crowds up 10%." The Rugby Football Union "doubled revenues last year" with profits up a record 37%. February's Six Nations tournament is the sports "biggest annual tournament, attracting 125 million TV viewers." Rugby fans "are a marketing goldmine" -- incomes are "at least 20% higher" than the U.K. average. Of those, 71% are "social grade AB" and they are "more likely to convert across key sectors such as business, finance and automotive." Great news for brands looking to target rugby fans is that they are "among the most likely to send strong signals" they are engaged at a "deeper level than just watching the games on TV." Nearly half "share rugby-related content online, doing so 2.8 times a day," while 7.4 million people follow a Six Nations team on social media. This prevalence for sharing content is "extremely valuable and relatively easy to harness." A "major blind spot" among marketers is that 77% of rugby content is shared in "dark social" channels -- such as email, instant messaging and online forums. The average rugby fan owns 3.2 connected devices and Six Nations viewers are "big second-screeners." More than half will "actively second screen while watching the match on TV which is a great opportunity for brands to build reach and awareness" (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 1/27).
