Rugby needs more razzamatazz and rigor.

Over the last few weeks, two sporting cousins have undertaken market expansion activities on respective sides of the Atlantic. Rugby Union hosted an English Premiership match in Philadelphia and the NFL spectacular came to London.

The NFL is progressing with a structured long-term program to activate audience and commercial opportunities by establishing a permanent team in the world city that is London. This makes sense. Where taking a franchise from a place like Baltimore a relatively minor US city, close to other major sports markets of Washington, Philadelphia and the hub of New York, will not dent US-based commercial value, moving such a franchise to London opens the way to activate European-based commercial partnerships, drive content rights values and open up another consumer market. Smart structured thinking from the world leaders in commercial sports activation.

Rugby Union, by comparison, is far from being in good health, only Exeter Chiefs amongst the elite premiership teams in England were profitable last year, collectively they lost twenty million pounds and fifteen million the year before. While in the challenging market conditions, the Premiership league rights holders are struggling to secure a long-term title partner, with Aviva being kept on this year albeit at a reduced value and increasing tension between players and clubs as one proposed solution to strengthen the league is a move to extend the season over almost 11 months is debated.

A solution to this challenge is seen in a golden dollar waiting stateside, with several commercial streams attempting to host matches, establish franchises or connect to established UK and Irish based clubs. There is sense in tapping this sports loving consumer audience, but it will be incredibly challenging and require far more radical enterprise than has been seen so far. The challenge of gaining any presence is immense against 4 world leading major sports leagues, collegiate sports, huge growth following for soccer and a multitude of entertainment sports franchises. Rugby, in its relative commercial infancy, is looking at going up against the masters in sports entertainment and commercial activation in their own backyard.

So far, the American experiment has not been great. Alongside other senior commercial people, I attended the first overseas match in New Jersey last year, trekked out with a host of other expats and local rugby fanatics to watch the game in a half-empty stadium, with no visible investment in fan engagement and storytelling of the worlds elite club competition, little merchandise and enrichment, before trekking back into a city which had no idea the event was going on. It felt almost like a cult gathering. This year the event was moved to Philadelphia, with even less impact, a smaller crowd in a bigger stadium and even the local fanatics not attending due to illogical scheduling at the start of the local playing season. It is possible not a single new fan was created by the event.  Rugby needs to certainly engage with the North American market, but at this stage it should be doing so to learn and develop it’s own domestic product narrative and growth.

So what can Rugby learn from the NFL as it seeks to strengthen it’s commercial proposition and grow the following for the game at home and abroad?

It's Showtime!

The English Premiership launch is the same every season, the team captains and coaches turn up at an empty Twickenham stadium, have a group photo and then chat to the assembled rugby writers, who fill a few pages of copy through that week.

Not exactly groundbreaking, or grabbing the attention of the wider consumer audience. If I was CEO or CMO of their major commercial partners, I would be asking some pretty sharp questions about getting true audience activation and value. (I would also be directing the rights holder to the activation I want for my brand to maximise my impact)

What can rugby learn from the NFL? Well simply that every announcement in the build-up to the season is an event and forms a chapter in the narrative for a year-round story, enabling progressive audience engagement and commercial activation. Just look at how the NFL activates through combine trials selection, player draft, free agency, training, squad announcements, pre-season, season launch and so on all the way to Super Bowl weekend.

So next year, no season launch event an empty Twickenham stadium.

Build a stage in Trafalgar Square, host an event late Friday afternoon, music entertainment, free drinks, food, interactive contests and giveaways courtesy of the league and club title sponsors, mini tag rugby and so on. Sure have the rugby media, but also lifestyle feature writers, vloggers and get the superstar players and club mascots engaging with existing and new fans.

Then repeat the event in every major city, through the first month of the season.

Create rivalry rounds with weekend-long activation and charity events.

And for Grand Final weekend takeover London, deliver an event in the city for corporate activation on Friday, a road-show of events at schools across the capital all week, another consumer event in Trafalgar or Hyde Park like the season launch. (As an aside also take a look at how the Australians commercialise the AFL and NRL Grand Finals)

A structured event schedule delivers a pathway for consumers to join in with the sport, and broadening commercial activation.

Build the Brands.

The NFL understands brand value and activation and does so by being big on brand alignment and power of the collective.

All 32 franchises have unique identities of logo, colourway and personality, all though connected into a cohesive singular narrative. Linked to this is a strong broad-based collective commercial platform and fan engagement. As an example in London while the Ravens played the Jaguars, Regent Street hosted NFL events, the Nike store was rammed with merchandise as was the enormous retail space at the stadium selling all 32 teams gear.

Rugby needs to drop the old location based names from top-line marketing and the individual club marketing based approach. Focus on the franchise identities such as Wasps, Saracens, Falcons, Tigers, Sharks that can be more readily be activated to emerging audiences and attract people to support teams who do not have geographic associations.

Sign a collective apparel partner, aligning playing kit, colourways, brand identity structure and use of technology for both high performance and digital/content opportunities.

Establish a collective digital eco-system in partnership with the major digital platform and media companies. The collective approach will create the opportunity for digital assets to be at the leading edge of multiscreen content, data capture, and utilization. This would deliver a greater commercial appeal for companies to leverage “global” hubs and broader consumer/fan community engagement, driving higher value commercial channels.

Take the circus consistently to the same new places.

Do as the NFL are doing in London, steadily building a presence by the year towards a permanently assigned team. Each English Premiership rugby team should adopt a second home, either a bigger venue in the same city especially the teams in London, or in a major untapped market including those abroad such as Spain, or Germany. And yes in time one or two could fix in a North American home.

Design a standardised activation program in those second home locations to engage fans all year round, including club brand lead adoption of local schools and clubs, player appearances, training camps and so on.

Focus on audience engagement periods.

The NFL is the highest grossing sporting league in the world, yet they only play competitive matches for 5 months each year.

The English Premiership is presently proposing to stretch its season to 10/11 months. This makes no sense. The product is not going to change, it is simply stretching the elastic band towards breaking point, no more substance just greater strain for all concerned. You will create a huge challenge to build continuous audience participation, have an inevitable increase in marketing costs without uplifiting mindshare at given points in time, while a year-round competition will create an inevitable brand fatigue.

Keep the season tight and structured to enable the story to flow and peak points critical for commercial appeal to be placed away from conflicting sports. Start in September, take the matches to alternative host cities during the international windows creating appealing travel for fans not going to Twickenham and connect with new audiences in new places, move rivalry matches at bigger stadiums during school winter holiday periods to tap the desperate parents looking for entertainment and position the Grand Final in late April before football finals, cricket and golf’s big events roll and the multitude of summertime activities kicks in.

Rugby Union has grown magnificently as a professional sport and commercial enterprise in only twenty years. It now faces the classical business challenge of step change growth, which requires significant shifts in thinking and action to capture new audience, commercial opportunity and growth.

Finally, if you must... Build the American Dream

If English Premiership rugby wants to break the US market, play to a unique local opportunity. There are 16,000 elite athletes coming out of university each year in America who do not move on to the major league sports. Go after the top 1% each year, 160 athletes to participate in a combine with say 2 spots available at each Premiership club. The lure of a professional sports career, national representation, the Olympics and international life experience will appeal.

You have a recruiting tool for some incredible talent, that can be commercialised with ready made TV/Video content, life stories to build emotional fan engagement and a pathway to connect with US audiences in being educated in the sport and building an interest in following the adventures of their American boys. Plus you will uncover some incredible athletes to showcase the sport of rugby.