The Rugby World Cup kicked off last week, igniting a flurry of activity both on and off the pitch. And as ever, the game’s brand partners have been busy promoting themselves and their relationship with the event. So which branded marketing campaigns have been the most effective so far?

When it comes to event campaigns, we particularly liked the series of short videos created by Societe Generale. The official worldwide partner of the World Cup created four videos, exploring everything from the brand’s relationship with the event, to testing event goers on their rugby knowledge and terminology. These were showcased on Societe Generale’s website and social media channels, while the company’s main brand video was also displayed to the crowd at Twickenham. This focused on the theme of “Team Spirit”, and featured Rugby legend, Johnny Wilkinson.

Worldwide partner Heineken, has also been promoting the World Cup- we particularly liked their pre-event contest which advertised the chance for one lucky fan to watch the coin toss at Twickenham. In addition, the winner would be invited to attend the match itself, and receive VIP perks such as unlimited Heineken, food, behind-the-scenes access, and entertainment before and after the game. The opportunity was marketed via its lager packaging and through a social media contest, where participants had to take part in a coin hunt. Once users had located the coin, minted in 2001, they were asked to tweet a picture of it, accompanied by the official hash tag, #ItsYourCall, to be in with a chance of winning.

Official partner, Dove has also been using the event to advertise its Dove Men brand, with a Twitter-exclusive ticket way under the @DoveMen account. Throughout its social media channels too, it has been eager to promote its slogan- “care makes a man stronger”. And Emirates has also taken a consumer-first approach, asking its 14-16 year old social media followers to follow clues in order to find hidden Emirates flags for each host city. After successfully locating these, users were then asked to upload a selfie with the flag in order to win event prizes.

This year, one of the themes the Rugby World Cup has been keen to emphasize is diversity, acknowledging the sport’s wider appeal, with an attempt to also include non-fans too. The England Team sponsor, Samsung, for instance, created a series of six videos entitled “School of Rugby”, which sees personalities such as Lawrence Dallaglio, and Martin Johnson teach rugby-novice, comedian Jack Whitehall, about the ins and outs of the game. On social media, another worldwide partner, Land Rover, created a campaign under the hash tag, #WeDealInReal, which looks at some of the world’s smallest rugby clubs, in order to raise awareness for grassroots organizations and amateur players. In addition, the brand created an accompanying video entitled, “We Deal in Real”, to explore different groups such as female rugby societies. Land Rover has also been advertising ticket giveaways on its event Twitter account, @LandRoverRugby, which has helped grow its follower number to over 16,000.

What do you think of the brand campaigns surrounding the Rugby World Cup this year? Do you think partners have been influential in encouraging and reaching out to consumers? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.