Rugby Europe and Two Circles today announced their three-year strategic partnership.
The governing body responsible for the development of rugby in Europe, and industry-leading sports marketing and data technology company Two Circles, will work together to develop and enhance Rugby Europe’s direct-to-consumer proposition to create more value for fans and commercial partners.
This will enable Rugby Europe to acquire and engage new audiences by identifying and developing new digital assets –offering its commercial partners significant new business opportunities, through the development of direct relationships with a growing pan-European fanbase.
As such the partnership will look to maximize the opportunities offered by the growing interest in rugby across Europe - and the 96 million fans, 3 million players and 7,847 rugby clubs on the continent, beyond traditional rugby nations.
Two Circles will also provide data-driven insights to help grow the 'Rugby Europe' brand and its sports assets and create new opportunities for measurable and targeted digital sponsorship activations for its commercial partners.
Rugby Europe, which has its headquarters in Paris, organizes 750 international matches and around twenty rugby tournaments each year, including: The Men's and Women's Rugby Europe Championship; The new Rugby Europe Super Cup for clubs from emerging nations; as well as the Men's and Women's Rugby 7s tournaments, allowing nations to qualify for the World Rugby 7s Series, the Rugby 7s World Cup and the Olympic Games.
Florent Marty, Managing Director Rugby Europe, said: “It has been a historic year for Rugby Europe, marked by the successful launches of our ‘Rugby Europe TV’ membership programme, and the new Rugby Europe Super Cup. The considerable growth in the number of registered users (approx. 100,000) on our platform since its launch last year, and the more than one million unique visitors on our website over the same period, shows that there is a real appetite for the content we produce and a real enthusiasm for rugby in Europe, and for our competitions. It also shows us that as an organization, we have a strong potential for development with many interesting assets to work with.
“This is what convinced us to partner with Two Circles. We believe the project, and the implementation of a data-driven strategy, will add significant value to Rugby Europe and its Member Unions proposition towards fans and commercial partners alike – and will have a direct and measurable impact on the development of Rugby in Europe for the years to come.”
Clément Barouillet, Head of Two Circles France, added: “Sports properties must invest in their digital offerings, through a presence on the right platforms and the use of the right tools. Whether to remain competitive or to become so, sports properties should always be looking to offer new models to monetize their audiences. Data and fan engagement is now a valuable currency, and will provide Rugby Europe with a differentiating element with regards to their proposition to existing and future partners.
