This is the edited text of a message I submitted on the ARU website via their contact us section regarding the lack of marketing for the National Rugby Championship.
I encourage others to send their feedback to the ARU, and welcome ideas and feedback from any readers on The Roar as to how we can improve the coverage of this great new competition.
Dear Bill Pulver and ARU,
I’m a keen rugby supporter and advocate of your new NRC competition – I think it’s a great innovation. So well done. But the lack of promotion and marketing around it is astounding.
On Sunday I had to follow Twitter feeds to find out how the matches – Brisbane City versus Perth Spirit and Melbourne Rising versus Sydney Stars – were going. Where are the live streams on the ARU website or via YouTube? You didn’t even have the Twitter feeds on your website.
Even going to the ARU website’s news section on NRC has the latest updates being about the Rugby Sevens coach liking the idea of the NRC and about an insurance company sponsorship.
Is that the best you can do? On the NRC homepage there are photos with headlines of the matches, but when you go to the NRC news page itself there is nothing about these games. I feel like this competition is being run in spite of the ARU, rather than by them.
The media coverage is woeful as well, shouldn’t your marketing and PR people be promoting this game to the media and the general public? I receive emails from the ARU promoting merchandise for the Wallabies but nothing promoting the games. Why is that? I received one email saying the competition was starting, but nothing more since then.
We own a family membership to our Super Rugby side, and have two children playing junior rugby, you should get the picture that we might be keen supporters. Yet we get nothing about the NRC games coming up. Is it so hard to send emails to your mailing list letting them know what games are on this weekend and where they are? Maybe add some links to the teams and information on some of the key players.
How often would someone in Perth get the chance to see James Horwill up close and personal like they did on the weekend? Wouldn’t it have made sense to email all of your West Australian contacts to encourage them to come along?
Yes, I realise that Rugby Western Australia could and should have done that, and I don’t know whether they did or not (I’m in Queensland), but given the number of Force players on the field, the small crowd present would suggest that they didn’t.
Since it is ARU’s competition, wouldn’t it make sense to use your resources to promote these matches? Are you encouraging your state unions and their clubs who feed into these teams to get involved in promoting the games and having activities to engage the spectators? They’re your branch offices so asking them what they have planned to promote the branch isn’t that much to expect.
Get the families along and you encourage the kids to become rugby players. What about promoting your new non-contact Rugby Sevens at these matches? Get junior players participating in games before the match and at halftime – that’s community engagement and we need more of it. But I’m not seeing any of it from ARU, just a focus on the Wallabies. I understand that they’re your cash cow, but Australian rugby desperately needs to build stronger foundations, hence why the NRC was developed.
Please take a look at what you’re doing with the NRC and put some effort into raising its profile. It doesn’t need to cost a lot of money – we’ve all heard about the financial situation – but you have staff who could send the emails out and update the website. Shock horror, a sports organisation updating their website over a weekend when their key matches are being performed.
Don’t you think it makes sense? If you don’t have the staff with the motivation to do this then contract someone who is, who can see the point in letting fellow rugby fans know about the games and really help to build those foundations.
I don’t wish to be negative but there are some great matches being played in the new NRC and some good talent being given the opportunity to shine, but if not enough people get the chance to see and hear about it then it will be a wasted opportunity.
That’s the message that I sent the ARU, now what about the clubs themselves?
To all NRC clubs: what are you doing to promote your games? What’s being done to engage the supporters when they’re there? Are you doing anything to draw in the casual rugby supporter or completely new supporters? What more could be done to help you reach these people? Have your state unions allowed utilisation of their database of supporters in your area to promote the games?
What ideas do readers on The Roar have about improving the promotion of the NRC and getting better coverage? I really like this competition but don’t want to see it shelved like last time because of a lack of interest from the public.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The ARU are currently marketing the NRC through advertising on The Roar. The Roar is also investing heavily in coverage of the tournament, with both experts and Roarers engaged to provide the most up-to-date news and game updates.
Midfielder
Guest
Ncart Decent article and aside from Brert its hard to find out about the NRC.. Given the time we live in web sites as you said are important... Consider Football has its FFA Cup and National Premier League ... look at their web pages and both run live on match days... afterall this is the competition at this level. FFA Cup http://www.theffacup.com.au/ National Premier League http://www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au/
bilbo
Guest
Pity no one was watching again,foxtel ratings below 35000
Steve CONNOLLY
Guest
I think the NRC is a fantastic concept but just a shame only one game a week is broadcast on Fox Sports. Last night's game between the Eagles and the Rays was terrific despite difficult playing conditions.
Tom G
Guest
I guess they would have to be to try to compensate for their totally ineffectual marketing department
Brett McKay
Expert
Tom, just for clarity, I'm talking about the communications people at the ARU (as in media management, social media, etc) working flat out, not the marketing people..
Tom G
Guest
Totally agree with your letter ncart. I think the ARU need this sort of feedback otherwise the NRC will become the sequel to the ARC with an identical conclusion. There's no point in applauding the ARU for its efforts to date when there is so little evidence to suggest that any type of job has been done. Unfortunately sports administrators,particularly their marketers are prone to self congratulation and kid themselves that they are doing a great job. Their suppliers, friends and family compound this by slapping them on the back for their "effort". It's a bit like the Queen. She thinks the World smells like fresh paint because everywhere she goes there's a crew just ahead of her touching up. These people need feedback of the type that you have provided. Incidentally, I also believe that The Roar have done a great job, particularly Brett McKay
Mark Richmond
Roar Guru
That is certainly an option Bakkies, and I will take that opportunity when it presents itself.
Tom G
Guest
With respect if as you say, the ARU/NRC comms people are in fact "working flat out" that in itself is a concern. Unfortunately their efforts should be measured by achievement not activity. Right now the evidence or lack of it suggests a really poor job. I read on Monday this week that this competition had JUST engaged the services of an advertising agency. This is week three of a very short competition. Although I know the competition was somewhat rushed together shouldn't the appointment of marketing resources be done during the planning not after it so that a more effective launch and sustainable program could be formulated? As a big supporter of this concept I have to say that I'm really disappointed with the marketing. It's a shame because it appears they have a pretty decent product.
Bakkies
Guest
Teams were confirmed but venues weren't. Q Country need to make people aware that they will be playing a curtain raiser before the Aus v Arg test. That's a big shop window for the comp.
Bakkies
Guest
Perth was one of the better performing teams financially in the ARC and that was with the games at NIB. Rising def need a smaller venue but where.
Bakkies
Guest
I know for a fact that she writes articles on the roar so question her there.
RobC
Roar Guru
Thanks for the article. Good pointers. Im guessing the ARU already have similar ideas, but unable to deliver. No streams, no marketing, no audience. But there are 9 teams playing each other. Next year will be muh4 better, as long as the comp is financially viable. Will be v interested to know if Rising and Spirit will be solvent by end of comp. Reminds me of Packers early days, which was worse than this. And that was with full support of a major nextwork. If the product is good, it will grow.
RobC
Roar Guru
Yup. Roy Masters is another ARU needs to do a better job with ABC
Crazy Horse
Guest
The Perth Spirit plays and trains on The Unversity of Western Australia's grounds.
Steve
Guest
That's a little harsh on Gold Coast. With the ARU leaving it so late to even confirn teams, let alone rease an NRC draw, you can hardly blame the Gold Coast for their Semi's clashing. They would have set the draw well before the NRC I imagine.
Charcoal
Guest
Spillane is an avowed Rugby League supporter, which she has professed many times, and her bias against Rugby Union leaves me cold. In fact I'm pissed off with the ABC, because they no longer even give the Shute Shield scores on Saturday night's news, let alone show some highlights, considering they televise the match of the day which is paid for by the NSW Rugby Union. You'd think they would have the negotiating skills to at least demand that some coverage be also given in the news bulletins.
BrumbyJack
Guest
Good to hear Roarers are actually attempting to follow this, and Ash good to see someone say it like it really is - even with the bulk of tickets being given away only 1,000 people turned up. Still great memory for your son. Woodsman is spot on. If it wasn't for the Roar, who the hell would know that this thing is actually happening??? Before Mike and Brett jump down my neck for speaking honestly at how poorly and absurdly disgracefully the ARU has gone about marketing and promoting this comp, surely couldn't the ARU - if they were serious - call upon the established old boys network of businessmen to get behind this? The answer is of course they could. But they won't because even they are not committed to this.
Mark Richmond
Roar Guru
I doubt it Bakkies.....we hear her week in week out, doesn't cover rugby well, in fact her knowledge is woeful. While she was in Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, her replacement, Shannon Byrne was far superior, balanced on all 4 football codes. In fact I sent a complaint to ABC Grandstand last year in which I asked for a response....I'm still waiting. The complaint was that on the day of the Brumbies v Bulls semi final, "Cracking the Codes" which is supposed to cover what is happening in terms of upcoming fixtures, results etc in Rugby, League, AFL, and Soccer, didn't even mention the semi final....just that Quade Cooper was set to miss out to Matt Toomua in the Bledisloe test.....that was due to be played in 3 weeks time. She definitely comes across as being anti Union, mind you being an ex Canterbury Bulldogs media manager that may not be much of a surprise.
Brett McKay
Expert
Cheers Bakkies. I actually had someone over the weekend reply to one of my pleas for people to read an article just a *tad* more closely (about streaming info) saying "there's often too many articles on the Rugby tab, and I can't get through them all" Forehead, meet desk.... I do understand the sentiment though, and I applaud NCart for getting in touch via the NRC site. But like Patty says at the top, we can't presume just because we can't see something that nothing is happening. I'm talking to the ARU/NRC comms people weekly and they are going flat out. They are honestly doing what they can. That said, the marketing and exposure for the competition has been disappointing, there's no two ways about it. Things that should've been a competition-wide expense - like the streaming of games - have been pushed down to the clubs, and that's just wrong, in my humble opinion. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY these are lessons learned for next season...
Bakkies
Guest
Pretty sure that Spillane has worked on the SS coverage before.