IMG and SL Players

[Welshleaguelover]

Just to add on to my post.

I got talking to a Scottish lad on a night out a few weeks back.

Anyway, we got talking about sports etc. I told him I was big into rugby league. He said he's watched it on TV when nothing else has been on and thinks it's a great game.

I told him he should get into it and pick a team. He said he can't commit anymore time to watching sport as he already watches football, boxing, golf and tennis regularly. Gets behind the Scotland in rugby union internationals too.

I suppose my point is that this lad would be likely to watch more rugby league if he knew more about the players and we had some real national stars.

Hopefully we're moving in the right direction.

 

[Tommygilf]

32 minutes ago, Welshleaguelover said:

It's great stuff.

Kruise Leeming was interviewed live at ringside just before the Liam Smith-Chris Eubank Jr fight a few months back too.

It makes our players look like stars to sports fans who don't know much about rugby league.

We need to have a plan to get all over TikTok and YouTube shorts. That's the way the world is going. 30 and under spend half their day scrolling through those short videos.

Get the spectacular finishes in the corner, big hits, try saving tackles etc all over those social media apps in short clips and get the good looking lads front and centre too.

We've gotta make the game seem somewhat glamorous to the younger generation.

 

Exactly, a bit of cross promotion and boosting profile of both the individual players and sport.

[The Masked Poster]

I actually watched the second half of the KR-Wigan game in a pub. There was a bunch of typical TOWIE types, all gelled hair and Rylan teeth and huge lips..... and one girl was asking what was going on.

 

A lad stated he hated rugby but then explained....they have 3 downs and have to try to get as far as possible down field. This was in West Yorkshire. We have a long way to go!  And frankly the more exposure, the better, however that happens. 

[JM2010]

As well as getting our players out there to build their profiles I’d also like to see more celebrities invited to RL games if possible and as guests in the studio at TV games. This would help get more coverage for RL and also help it’s image

Edited July 25, 2023 by JM2010

[17 stone giant]

On 24/07/2023 at 12:55, Welshleaguelover said:

and we had some real national stars.

Play regular Ashes, Four Nations, as well as the World Cup, and you'll get your national stars. We may have had some last year at the World Cup, but unfortunately England crashed out in the SF. Even then, it brought to my attention the likes of Jack Welsby and Dom Young.

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, 17 stone giant said:

Play regular Ashes, Four Nations, as well as the World Cup, and you'll get your national stars. We may have had some last year at the World Cup, but unfortunately England crashed out in the SF. Even then, it brought to my attention the likes of Jack Welsby and Dom Young.

Its a holistic approach that is needed. No single thing is superior to others and all reach different audiences and reinforce the game with them.

[gingerjon]

2 hours ago, 17 stone giant said:

Play regular Ashes, Four Nations, as well as the World Cup, and you'll get your national stars.

Will we?

How?

[17 stone giant]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

Will we?

How?

Because it's the big international events where teams or individuals represent England/GB that often produce nationally known figures. I don't think that I'm saying anything surprising, am I?

[gingerjon]

8 hours ago, 17 stone giant said:

Because it's the big international events where teams or individuals represent England/GB that often produce nationally known figures. I don't think that I'm saying anything surprising, am I?

I just mean it's not enough by itself. We went through quite a decent stretch where England had regular games (say 2004 to 2013) but we're still where we are now because not enough was done around it.

Everyone saying, "play the Ashes" normally misses out how losing 3-0 to Australia, assuming Australia even want to play, is going to be helpful.

[RP London]

The other bit to be remembered is for the players themselves that are being made more into "stars".. this is extra cash that isnt on the cap, its the extras that Union offers, national exposure etc That chance to break into a different world that offers post Rugby career opportunities. 

If as a sport we can say "look what could happen" then we become more appealing to people to stay in the game or to give it a go too.. 

Its only a minor part of it but its all incremental gains for the players and the game and the more of these types of things happen (that includes regular internationals, FTA TV exposure, "celeb" style hang outs", Tik Tok and You Tube etc etc) the more little gains we get which end up barrel rolling.

[Dave T]

3 hours ago, gingerjon said:

I just mean it's not enough by itself. We went through quite a decent stretch where England had regular games (say 2004 to 2013) but we're still where we are now because not enough was done around it.

Everyone saying, "play the Ashes" normally misses out how losing 3-0 to Australia, assuming Australia even want to play, is going to be helpful.

This is one of the problems we have on discussions like this, and we are all guilty of it to different levels, but we all feel that our preferences are the silver bullet.

We have always had regular internationals for England/GB. For the last 12/13 of those years the biggest games have been exclusively shown live on the BBC, but even prior to that, there were always extended highlights on the BBC in the afternoon even when live on Sky.

There is this misconception that we have hidden the international game away and if we stopped doing that, then all would be good, but in reality, the BBC have been an excellent partner and have shown plenty of us. 

We act like a small time international sport, we get what we deserve. 

[Londonbornirishbred]

I think IMG have the right idea. Getting RL players out and about at "other" sports events that they have access to is a cheap and easy way to raise the profile of the sport.

The next step is to get other sports stars to be actively seen at RL games/events. I believe it's called "cross-pollination" and the idea is to use the reach of other sports to attract new fans to different sorts.

Getting our players in front of the sports watching public is absolutely key to growing awareness and interest!

And it would seem that getting them on TV at these events is becoming more important as the generations evolve.

That's a headache for clubs moving forward and one that they (and IMG) will need to address too, but that might belong in another thread.

[Tommygilf]

7 hours ago, Londonbornirishbred said:

The next step is to get other sports stars to be actively seen at RL games/events. I believe it's called "cross-pollination" and the idea is to use the reach of other sports to attract new fans to different sorts.

Agreed. But unfortunately this is where some limitations come in with the facilities and locations we have within the sport.

[RP London]

10 hours ago, Londonbornirishbred said:

I think IMG have the right idea. Getting RL players out and about at "other" sports events that they have access to is a cheap and easy way to raise the profile of the sport.

The next step is to get other sports stars to be actively seen at RL games/events. I believe it's called "cross-pollination" and the idea is to use the reach of other sports to attract new fans to different sorts.

Getting our players in front of the sports watching public is absolutely key to growing awareness and interest!

And it would seem that getting them on TV at these events is becoming more important as the generations evolve.

That's a headache for clubs moving forward and one that they (and IMG) will need to address too, but that might belong in another thread.

Indeed.. its quick and easy really, especially as IMG also have a management arm for sports people. Get a couple of "big stars" at games, get them on twitter/insta/ticktok whichever is "cool" now saying "wow this sport is brilliant, tough but amazingly entertaining" etc etc.. and you can have millions of eyes on quickly. You only have to turn a few % of those into watchers/attendees etc and you're growing the game.. 

Of course that is hugely simplistic but you get the idea and its all the "incremental gains" of which this is a part.

2 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Agreed. But unfortunately this is where some limitations come in with the facilities and locations we have within the sport.

indeed.. if the idea is to bring new people in, they then need to be kept in. Going to good facilities will be key to that if new people turn up who are used to nice shiny things and they end up at some proper hole in the ground then they're hardly coming back.

Again its incremental stuff, everything has to get better for this 12 year plan to work. Not one single thing is going to work in isolation. A nice shiny new stadium with LEDs up the ying yang is going to do nothing if no one knows its there or goes to it to see how lovely and shiny it is.. and so on.

[redjonn]

10 hours ago, Londonbornirishbred said:

I think IMG have the right idea. Getting RL players out and about at "other" sports events that they have access to is a cheap and easy way to raise the profile of the sport.

The next step is to get other sports stars to be actively seen at RL games/events. I believe it's called "cross-pollination" and the idea is to use the reach of other sports to attract new fans to different sorts.

Getting our players in front of the sports watching public is absolutely key to growing awareness and interest!

And it would seem that getting them on TV at these events is becoming more important as the generations evolve.

That's a headache for clubs moving forward and one that they (and IMG) will need to address too, but that might belong in another thread.

For sure getting players out and about may raise some profile. Would be interesting to know how IMG marketing are measuring if any real impact on general public or sports watching public awareness.

I guess for me I'm more aware of the sport they attend through RL players speaking subsequently, which may well be the rational behind this rather than the assumption being primary for benefit of RL... but maybe both. Never-the-less unless you know the player/celebrity I guess it has no impact unless they are introduced to the watching crowd or TV audience.  Anyway as someone said in another comment it's good for the individual players and may help with endorsement potential which would be a good thing.

As to you underlined part, I guess if aiming at evolving generations then my query is which TV do they watch. I'm guessing some form of social media is the key. In this crazy world I guess you need some sort of "influences" to come to the aid of the party, so to speak.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

How about another rebrand...

[Dave T]

5 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Agreed. But unfortunately this is where some limitations come in with the facilities and locations we have within the sport.

 

3 hours ago, RP London said:

indeed.. if the idea is to bring new people in, they then need to be kept in. Going to good facilities will be key to that if new people turn up who are used to nice shiny things and they end up at some proper hole in the ground then they're hardly coming back.

Again its incremental stuff, everything has to get better for this 12 year plan to work. Not one single thing is going to work in isolation. A nice shiny new stadium with LEDs up the ying yang is going to do nothing if no one knows its there or goes to it to see how lovely and shiny it is.. and so on.

Our facilities are generally very good.

If we look at where we are going to draw in 'personalities' we are talking the likes of Leeds, Salford, Wigan, Wire, Saints etc due to the proximity to Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool etc. We then have Old Trafford, Wembley and Newcastle for our major events. 

The majority of Sky Sports games cover games at these grounds too - this is where you want to be putting people.

[Tommygilf]

21 hours ago, Dave T said:

 

Our facilities are generally very good.

If we look at where we are going to draw in 'personalities' we are talking the likes of Leeds, Salford, Wigan, Wire, Saints etc due to the proximity to Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool etc. We then have Old Trafford, Wembley and Newcastle for our major events. 

The majority of Sky Sports games cover games at these grounds too - this is where you want to be putting people.

I agree that at our marquee events there is a lot to work with. I'm less certain on the majority of Super League fixtures but that can change. 

[Pulga]

Why can't SL partner with Betfred and do what the NRL are doing with Try July?

It's been good seeing the NRL players show off some personality.

[The Rocket]

15 minutes ago, Pulga said:

Why can't SL partner with Betfred and do what the NRL are doing with Try July?

It's been good seeing the NRL players show off some personality.

And haven`t the women`s players been killing it; I`ve seen conga lines, the can-can, the limbo - with one player held horizontally in the air while the other players limbo beneath her and loads more all done with loads of smiles and laughter. BTW for anyone out there check out Dom Young`s slam dunk over the cross-bar to celebrate a try.

Back on topic, the beauty with more exposure for players is that sooner or later you will come up with a personality who will be a natural and capture the public`s interest and then will start to be sought out by the cameras. and interviews etc. etc. That can only be good for the game.

[Pulga]

 

 

 

[Mark S]

On 26/07/2023 at 09:14, RP London said:

The other bit to be remembered is for the players themselves that are being made more into "stars".. this is extra cash that isnt on the cap, its the extras that Union offers, national exposure etc That chance to break into a different world that offers post Rugby career opportunities. 

If as a sport we can say "look what could happen" then we become more appealing to people to stay in the game or to give it a go too.. 

Its only a minor part of it but its all incremental gains for the players and the game and the more of these types of things happen (that includes regular internationals, FTA TV exposure, "celeb" style hang outs", Tik Tok and You Tube etc etc) the more little gains we get which end up barrel rolling.

As a sport we seem to prefer seeing players earning poor wages and then getting mundane jobs after retirement. RL players should be earning very good money when playing, with opportunities to maximise their post-playing earning potential. 

Edited July 30, 2023 by Mark S

[HawkMan]

Sky don't seem to think SL players are stars, and IMG haven't changed that yet. Lots of praise on social media for Sky's latest ad for their upcoming sports, no SL though.

 

[Tommygilf]

24 minutes ago, HawkMan said:

Sky don't seem to think SL players are stars, and IMG haven't changed that yet. Lots of praise on social media for Sky's latest ad for their upcoming sports, no SL though.

 

Sky's attitude on this has been disappointing for years. It shows though that RL doesn't feature prominently in their commercial strategy meetings, nor even in the marketing strategy.

Sky has increasingly felt less like a partner for the sport, which only re-emphasises that we need to take more control ourselves.

[17 stone giant]

On 26/07/2023 at 06:48, gingerjon said:

I just mean it's not enough by itself. We went through quite a decent stretch where England had regular games (say 2004 to 2013) but we're still where we are now because not enough was done around it.

I agree that it's not the only thing you do, but it's the central component that you build the rest upon. Stars aren't manufactured by slick marketing and getting them seen at whatever other major event is happening - it's done by them performing on the biggest stages. You might disagree, but my opinion is that RL hasn't done enough to consistently and regularly provide that at international level. I am confident I can back that up with evidence, but I think it's all been said before and I don't want to waste my time repeating what I think is fairly clear.