Rugby League is one of the most poorly market sports in the world. The shame of it is, when the games administration gets its act together, it can produce marketing campaigns that people remember for a long time. Here is a look at five of the best.
1. Simply The Best – Tina Turner
The follow up to the NSWRL’s “What You Get Is What You See” promotion, the “Simply The Best” marketing campaign won many awards for its effectiveness. Taking a great promotion and putting it into overdrive, the campaign Rugby League the glamour sport in Australian sport and lead it into unprecedented success.
2. What You Get Is What You See – Tina Turner
The first of the NSWRL’s glamour campaigns, the big budget that saw the NSWRL use Tina Turner as the singer and showing the many players and clubs from around the expanded competition. It was an unprecedented marketing success the likes of which had never been seen in Australia. Even in cities that didn’t have a Rugby League team the campaign was a hit.
3. That’s My Team – Hoodoo Guru’s
With the game on the nose to many after the Super League War the NRL had tried a number of marketing campaigns without success. Everything from a poem from Thomas Kenneally to footage of players set to audio of car noises, and one season the entire marketing campaign was Trent Barrett reading an “oath” to the game before the first game of a double header! It wasn’t until the “That’s My Team” campaign that the NRL hit a home run and found a new anthem for the game.
6. Its My Game – Unknown
The ARL’s anthem during the Super League War. It was a war cry to fans that its “My Game” and they are trying to take it away from us. It was simple with four words in the who song “Oooooh, its my game!” but it was effective and ended up being one of those tunes that gets stuck in your head.
7. When Two Tribes Go To War – John Stevens
Australian Super Leagues marketing campaign was big budget. A flashy TV ad showing Super League aligned players smashing their way through the galaxy. It was a good campaign, but because of the way the general public felt about Super League every time the advert was seen it just made people think about how much they hated the way the game had been torn apart.