England’s Red Roses weren’t the only winners at the Women’s Rugby World Cup; sponsors Mitsubishi Electric, Emirates and Mastercard all enjoyed major boosts from the tournament.
Mitsubishi saw a 60 per cent increase in online engagement as a result of its partnership with the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which hosts England won on Saturday in Twickenham.
Airline Emirates witnessed a 50 per cent uplift and Mastercard 45 per cent, according to data from adtech firm Quantcast.
Prime-time broadcast slots and a significant promotional push from World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union helped the tournament achieve record-breaking engagement levels.
Interactions topped 10m – 20 times the volume of the Women’s Six Nations – and engagement grew by 35 per cent during the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Quantcast added.
It comes after the BBC reported 5.8m viewers for Saturday’s final against Canada, making it the most-watched women’s rugby union match ever on UK television.
Record T audiences and ticket sales
“For marketers, the message couldn’t be clearer. England’s run to the World Cup final has attracted record TV audiences, sold-out stadiums and driven record-breaking online interaction,” said Nisha Ridout, marketing director at Quantcast.
“That’s why an omnichannel approach is so important – brands need to be present wherever fans are engaging, not confined to a single platform.
“Tournament sponsors have already felt that impact across every channel on the open internet, proving the commercial power of women’s sport is growing fast and here to stay.”
The Red Roses’ 33-13 victory over Canada was watched by 81,885 fans at Allianz Stadium and organisers sold three times more tickets than at the last Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Across the full tournament, the BBC said its coverage reached a total TV audience of 12m and that live reporting pages on its website pulled 18.3m views over the course.