We hatched a plan to bring legendary sports announcer Michael Buffer to Wigan to promote the first ever Super League fixture to take place in Las Vegas – and to take rugby league into the mainstream. Throw in a pop-up wedding chapel, a host of rugby legend cameos and a few couples keen to tie the knot on Valentine’s Day and you’ve got one hell of a campaign to promote the broadcast on Sky Sports.
The new Super League season kicking off the day before Valentine’s Day provided the perfect time for a love-filled campaign in rugby league heartland.
And, drumming up excitement for big sporting events is Buffer’s bread and butter, so there was no one better to whip up a crowd and bring a slice of Las Vegas to the northwest, before Wigan and Warrington made the trip Stateside two weeks later. Maximising his time and driving home the Vegas theme, we got Buffer to announce the teams live at the season opener, and then help marry a couple (yes, really!) in the Las Wigan Chapel the very next day.
61 pieces of coverage delivered, including 23 national hits across the various campaign stages
340,000 viewers at peak for the Vegas game – the highest ever for a regular season game
13.7 million views of hero content cross-platform, with an above average view-through rate and 90% positive sentiment
137,000 page views on Sky’s rugby league live blog throughout the week of the game (7x higher than average)
7x increase in highlights package viewership compared an average rugby league game
1.1 million rugby league page views on the Sky Sports app over the weekend of the Vegas match
3 happily married couples (yes, really)
