IMG and SL Players

[OnStrike]

7 hours 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.

My young lad has loved all that

[Dave T]

4 hours 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.

 

 

3 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

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.

I always think this is overstated. Outside of the Premier League players on show they have a small handful of internationals stars. SL players absolutely don't sit in that company. 

But RL gets a hell of a lot of coverage and promo on Sky. Not every sport is in every ad, yet we get our own promos around the start of the year, and then standard ads through the year, we get coverage in many of the multi-sport ads too. 

People always moan we were not on main event, yet haven't praised them for the last few weeks when we have been on there. 

Broadly speaking, Sky are a good partner, I think we have some work to do to show that we bring something to the table. 

[Pulga]

23 hours ago, 17 stone giant said:

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. 

I'd say that's completely wrong.

Stars are 100% manufactured. Look at social media influencers. 

[HawkMan]

1 hour ago, Pulga said:

I'd say that's completely wrong.

Stars are 100% manufactured. Look at social media influencers. 

Social media influencers are not sport stars, the whole business of social media is artificial.

If Lionel Messi had been playing for a nondescript team and had little skill , no amount of manufacture could turn him into a global star.

He's a global star because he's good in a global sport. In Australia top NRL players are stars because they're good and RL is tops in Oz.

U.K. RL players  can't be stars in the UK because the sport has little  coverage or geographical spread.

IMG are unlikely to change that. If a SL player went on  QOS, did well, became a loved character,  it'll be because he'd been on QOS not because he plays RL. A prime example of this is Phil Tufnell,  a good player but only a star after I'm a Celeb and QOS.

Edited July 31, 2023 by HawkMan

[Pulga]

18 hours ago, HawkMan said:

Social media influencers are not sport stars, the whole business of social media is artificial.

If Lionel Messi had been playing for a nondescript team and had little skill , no amount of manufacture could turn him into a global star.

He's a global star because he's good in a global sport. In Australia top NRL players are stars because they're good and RL is tops in Oz.

U.K. RL players  can't be stars in the UK because the sport has little  coverage or geographical spread.

IMG are unlikely to change that. If a SL player went on  QOS, did well, became a loved character,  it'll be because he'd been on QOS not because he plays RL. A prime example of this is Phil Tufnell,  a good player but only a star after I'm a Celeb and QOS.

Saints beat Penrith in the WCC. Skill isn't part of it.

I agree it's an overall marketing thing though. If SL is marketed well then the better players will become well known.

The English game seems to be about 40 years behind on this.

[The Masked Poster]

20 hours ago, HawkMan said:

Social media influencers are not sport stars, the whole business of social media is artificial.

If Lionel Messi had been playing for a nondescript team and had little skill , no amount of manufacture could turn him into a global star.

He's a global star because he's good in a global sport. In Australia top NRL players are stars because they're good and RL is tops in Oz.

U.K. RL players  can't be stars in the UK because the sport has little  coverage or geographical spread.

IMG are unlikely to change that. If a SL player went on  QOS, did well, became a loved character,  it'll be because he'd been on QOS not because he plays RL. A prime example of this is Phil Tufnell,  a good player but only a star after I'm a Celeb and QOS.

It can be chicken and egg though. 
 

Peter lives in Welwyn Garden City. He’s barely heard of Rugby League but knows rugby exists. He sees Jack Smith popping up on SM and at events like Golf or F1.

Eventually he asks “who the hell is Jack Smith?” His friend informs him that he plays for Rugby League for Hull KR. This means little to him but he subsequently sees Sky Sports and there’s a SL game between Wigan and Hull KR. He watches a while and maybe enjoys it, or possibly finds it boring. If he likes it he possibly watches more games, although it doesn’t mean he’s a massive RL fan. But it has increased the awareness of the game.

Repeat x several thousand people and you have the beginnings of something like a bigger spread of the game and interest. 
It’s not as straightforward as that in reality but that’s the theory. 

[Tommygilf]

9 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

It can be chicken and egg though. 
 

Peter lives in Welwyn Garden City. He’s barely heard of Rugby League but knows rugby exists. He sees Jack Smith popping up on SM and at events like Golf or F1.

Eventually he asks “who the hell is Jack Smith?” His friend informs him that he plays for Rugby League for Hull KR. This means little to him but he subsequently sees Sky Sports and there’s a SL game between Wigan and Hull KR. He watches a while and maybe enjoys it, or possibly finds it boring. If he likes it he possibly watches more games, although it doesn’t mean he’s a massive RL fan. But it has increased the awareness of the game.

Repeat x several thousand people and you have the beginnings of something like a bigger spread of the game and interest. 
It’s not as straightforward as that in reality but that’s the theory. 

Quite. 

You've got to be known to be considered.

Quite simply RL doesn't register enough with the vast majority of the UK population. An easy way to change that is to be seen at events other people watch. Be visible, build up networks both in person and digitally, start appearing on non-RL specific content.

Awareness builds in conjunction with other activities and engagement and audience grows.

[RP London]

40 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

It can be chicken and egg though. 
 

Peter lives in Welwyn Garden City. He’s barely heard of Rugby League but knows rugby exists. He sees Jack Smith popping up on SM and at events like Golf or F1.

Eventually he asks “who the hell is Jack Smith?” His friend informs him that he plays for Rugby League for Hull KR. This means little to him but he subsequently sees Sky Sports and there’s a SL game between Wigan and Hull KR. He watches a while and maybe enjoys it, or possibly finds it boring. If he likes it he possibly watches more games, although it doesn’t mean he’s a massive RL fan. But it has increased the awareness of the game.

Repeat x several thousand people and you have the beginnings of something like a bigger spread of the game and interest. 
It’s not as straightforward as that in reality but that’s the theory. 

yes.. for example if it wasnt for Connor McGregor being everywhere and a bit of a pulblicity whore I probably wouldnt know that much about UFC (as i dont care for it) I certainly wouldnt have known about it before the wave of publicity it is getting now, which is arguably off the back of him. 

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, RP London said:

yes.. for example if it wasnt for Connor McGregor being everywhere and a bit of a pulblicity whore I probably wouldnt know that much about UFC (as i dont care for it) I certainly wouldnt have known about it before the wave of publicity it is getting now, which is arguably off the back of him. 

Precisely. I was at a job the other night and there was a throng of lads watching some UFC on one of their phones. In isolation this proves nothing but I suspect this is typical of multiple places all over the country. 

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, Tommygilf said:

Quite. 

You've got to be known to be considered.

Quite simply RL doesn't register enough with the vast majority of the UK population. An easy way to change that is to be seen at events other people watch. Be visible, build up networks both in person and digitally, start appearing on non-RL specific content.

Awareness builds in conjunction with other activities and engagement and audience grows.

People are often just wrong on this. Those who dismiss marketing are absolutely clueless. I think it is fine to not understand how it works, but to then be so vocal and dismissive of it just reflects badly on you.

It is just wrong to say people know about RL and if they don't come then they don't come.

I am well aware of boxing, but every now and again there is a boxer, or bout, or story that is attractive to me. I've paid for boxing a few times over the years - but if I know about it, why don't I pay every time or none of the time? It's because of the marketing, the story, the personalities, the access etc.