As the RBS 6 Nations draws to its conclusion this weekend, marketeers will be finalising their review of how their association with a team or the tournament played out against expectation.
One team who will be pleased will be those at Guinness, buoyed by results of a brand tracker survey from YouGov in the UK which shows the impact on awareness from their series of ‘Made of More’ adverts featuring Munster’s victory over the All Blacks, Bill McLaren and Jonny Wilkinson.
The brand is closely tied to the tournament through its designation as Official Responsible Drinking Partner of the RBS 6 Nations and that extra boost will have contributed to the success but the numbers tell of an increase in brand identity that must be beyond the original targets.
The increase in awareness among the general public is defined by whether a respondent had seen or heard of a particular brand in the last month. During the early weeks of the campaign the Guinness number rose from 11.0% to 16.4%, doubtless prompted by weight of the media spend as much as the quality of the creative.
The real win came though in the very deliberately targeted segment of those who describe themselves as Rugby fans. This groups attributes, assigned by themselves, include ‘enjoying going to the pub for a drink’ and not minding paying extra for good quality products.’
Within this group the awareness of Guinness’ advertising soared from 14.8% to 30.3% over the same period of the opening weeks of the RBS 6 Nations campaign.
This is a UK survey. There is no equivalent monitor of how that campaign compares to #AllitTakes from Three or others that have been specific to Ireland but it is clear that Rugby delivers for brands, especially around the big occasions.
Over the next two weeks the focus will switch back to the European Champions’ Cup and Leinster’s Quarter Final against Bath.
Heineken remains the only headline partner to date for that tournament, creating a seamless link to its previous incarnation as the Heineken Cup. The ball is now back with that brand and we have no doubt they will deliver to the same degree as their rivals in marketing of beer.
