Turnkey Intelligence recently completed a research study that evaluated consumer perceptions and attitudes toward leading sports and leagues in key countries. As interest and investment in rugby continue to grow in the U.S., we offer three takeaways from a comparative snapshot of U.K.’s top two team sports, soccer and rugby, that may highlight opportunities for successfully promoting rugby on this side of the Atlantic.
■ International competitions are more popular than the top domestic league. The variety of international rugby events that could rally general sports fans in the U.S. to get behind the national team offer an opportunity to elevate the sport, not unlike what U.S. Soccer’s participation in the FIFA World Cup has done for soccer.
■ A colleague in London referred to rugby as a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen, while describing soccer as a gentleman’s game played by hooligans. This notion appears to extend to the stands, as fans of rugby feel more appreciated than soccer fans and rugby matches offer a safer and much more family-friendly environment than soccer matches. Given rugby’s well-educated and affluent supporters, this could be a key distinction for positioning the sport versus other team sports in the U.S. that allow plenty of physical contact.
■ Rugby fans are loyal to sponsors of the sport. The propensity of U.K. rugby fans to support sponsors of Premiership Rugby and the Rugby World Cup with their wallet is on par with the support of soccer fans for sponsors of the Premier League and the FIFA World Cup. If promoters of rugby in the U.S. can demonstrate to brands that the small but passionate group of rugby fans in the U.S. is ready to give back to marketing partners of the sport, similar to what MLS and U.S. Soccer have done, the appeal of rugby as a marketing platform will continue to grow.
Nikolay Panchev is senior vice president at Turnkey Intelligence.
