The Warehouse, 47-49 Cowleaze Road, Kingston Upon Thames, KT2 6DZ
+44 (0)208 541 3434

Website version

Brand Watch: TikTok and Women’s Six Nations

Performance Communications Author Image Performance Communications | May 4, 2022

In January 2022, TikTok announced its partnership with Six Nations Rugby, which included the Women’s Six Nations, Guinness Six Nations and Autumn Nations Series.

The fact the women’s tournament is mentioned first in the press release is no accident. Not only was this an important landmark in women’s rugby – it was the first time the Women’s Championship had a Title Partner – it also showed TikTok’s commitment to the women’s game.

I can’t imagine the traditional rugby fan is on TikTok. However, as a move to engage new and existing fans with rugby content, it’s a smart one.

TikTok promised ‘significant investment and promotional support’ but what did they actually do?

Firstly, they had to grow the rugby presence on the platform.

At the time of writing, the @womenssixnations account has more than 80,000 followers and 1.2m likes. This official feed shows highlights from the games, player interviews and shots of full stadia and excited fans.

They needed an easy hashtag for the event and to date, #tiktokw6n has had 167.4m views. This is where users have been creating and sharing content, providing a fan’s take on the Championship. And #womensrugby has received 213.9m views so, in terms of driving audience engagement with women’s rugby, I’d say they’ve done a pretty good job.

Then they did the traditional things brands do to ensure their name is seen and heard throughout the Tournament: a lock-up logo, branding on pitches, the creation of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship / the Match / Round 1, 2, 3 & 4.

Just as I was beginning to worry they would follow the traditional route of sports sponsorship, they introduced their Rugby Creators – people who love rugby but who would appeal to a younger, more diverse audience. These Creators were heavily involved in their home games – they did the coin toss, brought out the match ball and presented the player of the match medals.

Welsh TikTok star Laura Orgill has 838,000 followers and is one of those Creators. Her videos across the Tournament regularly had more than 10,000 views with her most popular video from the Tournament being watched more than 184,000 times.

The players have got on board too. Welsh prop Cerys Hale and her teammates have fully embraced TikTok with this video, which has been watched more than 164,000 times.

It’s refreshing to see sports sponsorship being done in a very different way. The content is entertaining, informative and, perhaps most importantly for the new generation of rugby fans, short and easy to digest.

With record-breaking crowds attending the games and huge numbers watching on TV, I’m sure TikTok is looking forward to the next three years of its partnership with glee.

Nicola


Related stories.

Cruel Britannia? Why the IOC and Team GB restrict athlete’s brand partnerships during the Olympics and our top tips to handle it

  With the Paris Olympics officially starting today, the 16 worldwide partners of the Olympics (Coca Cola, Toyota, Visa and Anheuser Busch InBev to name but a few) will be relishing their time in the spotlight. However, the Games, as always, is not without its controversies. If you work in marketing or PR, the Olympics […]

Saying au revoir to range anxiety

As a way of communicating the range of an electric vehicle (EV), the idea of completing a long-distance drive is tried and tested. In 2018, we drove a Jaguar I-PACE through the Channel Tunnel (yep, literally, along the service tunnel) to show how it could travel from London to Brussels on a single charge. More […]

Performance Communications Transitions To Employee Ownership

Performance Communications, a leading provider of specialist communications services to the Automotive, Sport and Technology industries is delighted to announce that it has transitioned to employee ownership via an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). The move secures the agency’s long-term independence and will provide its employees with both a greater level of involvement and a share […]

Cricket at the Olympics, it’s just not cricket!

Let’s set the record straight, I don’t like cricket, I love it* but cricket at the 2028 Olympics, is that really necessary? The IOC has announced the five new sports that will be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Funnily enough some of the new sports that will appeal to a Northern American […]

Top 5 Sports Documentaries – The Power of Sports Documentaries

It seems that recently a new pro sports documentary appears on an almost daily basis, 24-7 viewing if you need to get away from the family over Christmas! While the docs undoubtedly provide the streaming channels with engaging content to draw subscriptions and drive revenue, should sporting associations or teams always give the green light […]

Unveiling Threads: Exploring the Disruptive Factors and Success Behind the New Social Media App

In a rapidly evolving social media landscape, new platforms emerge, seeking to disrupt the status quo and capture users’ attention. Can Threads go the distance though?

What are the pros and cons of an EV Motorcycle (According to ChatGPT)

What happens when you ask AI tool ChatGPT to create a blog article for you? Well, judge for yourself…   Electric-powered motorcycles are becoming an increasingly popular option for riders who are looking for an environmentally friendly and low-maintenance mode of transportation. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the pros and […]

Our favourite World Cup PR campaigns

The biggest stage in football is just days away as all attention turns to Qatar for what is set to be a competition like no other. With over 3.5 billion people watching the 2018 edition in Russia, including 1.12 billion for the final match alone, the World Cup provides brands with an unrivalled platform for […]

Be Bold.

It’s time to come off the fence:


Message us