On 27 January a social media campaign trumpeted the new official partnership between Six Nations Rugby and TikTok: a tie-up pitched as ‘a landmark partnership’ which spans the men’s and women’s tournaments of the leading annual rugby union international competition and which sees the short-form video social network become the title partner of the Women’s Six Nations (the first such a partnership in its history).
The three-year deal and associated promotional campaign came at the start of a significant year for Women’s rugby union which will culminate in October/November with the late running Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and will see TikTok promote players, teams, unions and stories within the sport as well as committing significant investment and promotional support to drive audience engagement with women’s rugby.
As well as its Title Sponsorship of the Women’s Six Nations, TikTok will also become the Official Partner of the Guinness Six Nations and Autumn Nations Series, ensuring TikTok will both promote the tournament and engage rugby fans throughout the calendar year.
The new alliance was promoted through a social first campaign led by an online film and supported by additional co-branded content with the hashtags #SixNations, #JoinTheScrum and #WhereAllFansPlay.
The news is out! We're so excited to announce that we are the Official Fans of @SixNationsRugby, @autumnnations and the new title sponsor of the @Womens6Nations #SixNations #JoinTheScrum #WhereAllFansPlay pic.twitter.com/BgY9pYxlKQ
— TikTok Sports (@TikTokSports) January 27, 2022
— TikTok Sports (@TikTokSports) January 27, 2022
HISTORY MADE.
Landmark partnership between @SixNationsRugby and @TikTokSports signals historic first title partnership for Women’s Championship.
The TikTok Women's Six Nations will commence in 2022! ✨ pic.twitter.com/vYE1yzxJu8
— TikTok Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) January 27, 2022
TikTok’s tournament activation will include working with dedicated creators in each participating country to enhance fan experience and deliver short-form creative content to grow and engage the audience. Indeed, each rugby creator will be tasked with offering exclusive access to the game, its culture, its people and the major moments around the sport, while fans will be able to access content around the tournament and each nation’s own accounts.
Plus, in-app activations will include custom effects and hashtag challenges aimed at driving engagement around the sport’s fanbase.
“The significance of our partnership with TikTok cannot be understated. The very first Title Partner in the history of the Women’s Six Nations Championship, as well as support for the Guinness Six Nations and Autumn Nations Series is something to be incredibly excited about,” said Six Nations Rugby CEO Ben Morel commenting on the TikTok partnership. “TikTok shares our ambitions for providing fans with the best possible experience and has the perfect platform for fans to access and engage with rugby throughout the year. Complementing this is the collective aim of giving the sport a global shop window to reach new and existing fans and put the likes of the Women’s game in front of more people.”
TikTok Europe General Manager Rich Waterworth added: “The fast growth of sporting talent, fan communities, sports trends and commentary on TikTok makes the platform a compelling place to engage new and existing audiences for Six Nations Rugby, bringing the spirit and passion of these iconic tournaments to our diverse and creative community.”
Comment
The Guinness Six Nations kicks off on 5 February 5 and the TikTok Women’s Six Nations begins on 26 March.
Another sports deal to further tighten the links between the social network and the sporting world, the partnership will see a wealth of content, creative and challenges designed to bring fans closer to the action and particularly to offer new and existing rugby fans a window into the Women’s game (one of the fastest growing areas of the sport).
At time of press, TikTok had already generated more than 5.1bn views for its rugby content – with #SixNationsRugby the fastest growing rugby hashtag on the platform.
Back in 2019, TikTok agreed a multi-year partnership with the NFL and the following year it signed on as an official partner of the UEFA European Championships, while it’s other sports tie-ups include sponsoring the Africa Nations Cup and Saudi Arabia’s First Division football.
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