Increased Pre-Event ‘Buzz Levels’ Recorded For RBS 6 Nations

This year’s RBS 6 Nations Championship culminated in a dramatic final day, with record TV audiences tuning in to watch the gripping showdown that ultimately led to Ireland securing the tournament trophy.SMG Insight, using its SportsIndex daily tracker tool which measuresthe ‘brand health’ of over 60 sporting events, covering 18 sports simultaneously, across 15 metrics, has analysed the consumer impact of this year’s championship versus the RBS 6 Nations 2014. 

Looking specifically at ‘buzz’, i.e. positive sentiment surrounding the event, SportsIndex shows that peak buzz for the RBS 6 Nations 2015 reached 56.2% mid-tournament, down slightly on the peak buzz of 58% achieved by the 2014 championship. However, during the week prior to the tournament,the RBS 6 Nations 2015 experienced a buzz ‘uplift’ of 10.6% in 2015, an increase on the 9.2% uplift achieved in the week prior to the start of the RBS 6 Nations 2014.

Correspondingly, when measuring ‘ad awareness in the week running up to the opening of the tournament, the RBS 6 Nations 2015 witnessed a significantly higher 16.4% uplift amongst fans,compared to just 9.9% in 2014.

These improved uplifts in ad awareness and buzz suggest that the 2015 tournament may have been more effectively promoted amongst fans and the general UK population, a theory also supported by slightly higher ‘WOM’ (word of mouth) exposure scores just before the start of both tournaments.  To view the full report, please click here