The HSBC Sydney 7s rugby tournament has a new corporate identity and has launched a new campaign, ‘Get Your Game On’, to promote next year’s event.
Sydney creative agency Digilante created the campaign, which attempts to broaden the appeal of the event in spite of this year’s tournament selling out.
The rebrand comes in the wake of a lukewarm reception to Rugby Australia’s corporate makeover, also by Digilante, that drew the ire of one rugby fan and branding expert on AdNews.
Digilante says it has positioned Sydney 7s as “a young, fun and more spontaneous sporting event, and focused on the concept of ‘transformation’ for both Sydney as a destination and the colourful, party experience at the event - they described this as ‘The 7s Effect’”.
The campaign shows fans and players expressing themselves through colour, bold moves, and having fun, with more emphasis on the fan experience as opposed to just the gameplay.
Sevens Rugby is known for its fancy dress themes and light-hearted fun as much as it is for the fast-paced tryfest on the field. It became an Olympic sport at the Rio Olympic Games – a tournament in which the Australian women and Fijian men reigned supreme.
Showcase 7s to new audiences
“The time is right to refresh the event personality and re-position Sydney 7s as an international summer sports festival that can appeal to the next generation of fans and future participants,” Digilante ECD Eric O’Brien says.
“Previously Sydney 7s focused on core rugby audiences using more traditional messaging and mediums. However, sales statistics from previous years showed us that millennials and first-time rugby event attendees accounted for over 50% of the overall event sales, a wonderful opportunity to showcase 7s to new audiences.
“As such, we wanted to go beyond the usual on field, gameplay focus and put more emphasis on the young, fun, festival vibe. We set out to give Sydney 7s a bold, graphic look and gave it totally different personality to set it apart from the other, more traditional sporting events.”
The campaign will go out on digital display, SEM, online radio and social media. There’s also a three-part video series, by TippyTappy Sports, that takes a light-hearted look at Rugby Sevens training.
“The rebrand and creative strategy for Sydney 7s is part of a broader rebrand for all of Rugby Australia, lead by Digilante,” Rugby Australia head of marketing a digital Adam Freier says.
“The rebrand represents an important new step towards a broader national initiative designed to reinvigorate rugby in Australia with the introduction of new initiatives for the growth of the game at every level, and to inspire more Australians to play and watch rugby.”
The Sydney 7s takes place over the Australia Day weekend.
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