The 2011 Rugby World Cup has come and gone and in the end, the New Zealand All Blacks have stood victorious. For a country that has been waiting for 24 years to hoist the Rugby World Cup trophy, their storybook ending was something that will go down in history as one of the greatest moments in New Zealand history.
When watching the final game, I couldn’t help but think about the recent 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver when Canada defeated the United States to win hockey gold. In Canada, hockey is a religion. And, when Canada won Olympic Gold, I would imagine it was the same type of feeling the New Zealand All Blacks fans experienced!
If you don’t believe me, check out this video of me and my buddy (Mike Olaski) after Team Canada Wins Hockey Gold and on the streets of Vancouver after the win. If you are still not convinced, check out this video compilation of fan reactions across Canada after Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal. (Still gives me chills)
2011 Rugby World Cup Fans
Here’s a glimpse at the nervous excitement shared by both the All Black fans and France fans. (If this video doesn’t give you chills as well….check your pulse! This is what makes sport so amazing!)
Our World Champion All Blacks! from Jared Brandon Productions on Vimeo.
2011 Rugby World Cup Social Media
Needless to say, the 2011 Rugby World Cup was a tremendous success, not only in displaying the sport and connecting fans rugby around the world, it has also set the precedent that all major sporting events will have to live up to in the future. And, one of the major reasons for this is the way that they integrated social media into their communication strategy.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup social media efforts was spearheaded by Shane Harmon, General Manager Marketing and Communications and Clare Wolfensohn, Online & Communications Projects Manager, Rugby New Zealand 2011. Our very own Lewis Howes had the opportunity to meet and interview Shane while traveling in New Zealand. Check out the interview here: 2011 Rugby World Cup Social Media Strategies
Here are just some of the social media stats from the 2011 Rugby World Cup
- Over the finals weekend more than 300,000 tweets were posted
- More than 150,000 tweets mentioned “RWC 2011″ or “RWCFinals” during the final
- On Facebook the RWC 2011 page was receiving on average 2,700 comments or likes per post
- Since 1 September the #RWC2011 and the teams have gained more than 185,000 new followers on Twitter, more than 621,000 new Facebook Fans, 1.1 Million Facebook Likes, 331,000 Comments and over 4.1 Million mentions on Twitter.
Great post. As an avid rugby fan, it was great to see the exposure that the RWC marketing folks were able to generate for the tournament. Each team in the competition also benefited greatly from this strategy. Utilizing social media in such an effective way will help grow the sport of rugby, especially in the United States.
Great post. As an avid rugby fan, it was great to see the exposure that the RWC marketing folks were able to generate for the tournament. Each team in the competition also benefited greatly from this strategy. Utilizing social media in such an effective way will help grow the sport of rugby, especially in the United States.
Nice one Trevor and Lewis
Did you know the French team, having won the toss, allowed the All Blacks to wear their treasured all black kit? More http://www.facebook.com/greatsportsmanship
Also the French refused to play in the 1995 RWC Final if their semis finals against the All Blacks was abandoened because of bad weather (French would automatically go through because of their better disiplinary record). They insisted on playing the All Blacks (and narrowly lost).
Lastly, the comment of the RWC 2011 has to be from the Romanian captain, Cristian Petre, who after suffering a 67-3 loss to England was asked by a reporter what he felt about the game and replied “I play rugby for happiness.” full stories http://tinyurl.com/64fkhlc
Congratulations to Shane and Clare for there effort on RWC 2011.
@jhhallas thanks for the love James