Brief
When Energia became official sponsor of Irish Rugby in 2019, it also became title sponsor of grassroots domestic rugby now called, Energia All Ireland League (AIL). Domestic rugby had declined in scale and stature in recent times against the growth of the provincial game. Energia was determined to boost the profile of both club rugby and the awards, which traditionally was a small post-season event.
Challenge & Approach
Energia had boosted its digital communications strategy throughout the season through initiatives including a dedicated league app, club podcast, innovative social media promotions and online media partnerships.
While the impact of Covid-19 was devastating and the club season cut short – this digital first strategy gave Energia the opportunity to hero the club game at a national level when all else was silent in the world of sport.
Reacting to Covid-19, Legacy brought an innovate idea to Energia that resulted in the first ever Virtual Energia AIL Awards, a full 40min awards show live-streamed on YouTube, Facebook and media partnership channels.
The awards had a creative twist, with famous sports impressionist Mario Rosenstock hosting the virtual event to provide a perfectly timed tonic in a very difficult time, while heroing the club players on a national scale.
Results
The Virtual Awards was a huge success, with over 30,000 views within 24hrs of going live. Targeted media relations to amplify the virtual awards resulted in a total of 57 online articles and 35 print articles as well as six award winner interviews.
