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Grabbing Fans Where They Are

The Vodacom United Rugby Championship has hit a major milestone with over one million fans following its social media channels as it continues to attract new fans and younger audiences.

This impressive growth represents a 29% increase in followers during the season and is in line with the Vodacom URC’s rapid rise in audience metrics having set attendance and viewership records in the past year.

Since it’s rebrand in 2021 it is clear that the Vodacom URC has captured the imagination of rugby fans and breaking through the one million is not only down to the appeal of the sport but also the high engagement of content and sky-rocketing video views.

Vodacom URC is a leader in the rugby space when it comes to TikTok (@urc) which has led the way in terms of growth (110%). Over the past season followers have doubled to stand at 236k and is a key driver for the Vodacom URC to reach new audiences with a younger profile.

By keeping on top of trends and sound content on TikTok, Vodacom URC has been able to tailor the length of content while using a diverse range of content focusing on players, internal user generated content, match-day footage and creative imagery to ensure the algorithm maximizes exposure to the Gen Z audience.

All other channels are also experiencing growth with LinkedIn (+40%) leading the way followed by YouTube (+19%), Facebook (+13%), Instagram (+12%) and Twitter (+5%).

Video views have reached over 189 million across all channels with YouTube driving a staggering 748% increase in this area alone. The league’s YouTube channel has also attracted more followers with an increase of 20% from the beginning of the season.

Instagram (@urc) continues to be the Vodacom URC’s largest platform for followers with 308k, growing by 12% since the start of the season and accounting of 23% of video views across the league’s channels.
The 2023 Vodacom URC Grand Final attracted an overnight television audience of over one million and this interest is backed up by 13 million social media impressions (+14% on 2022) and 400k social engagements (+ 5% on 2022).

This has led to an overall increase in engagement by 40% across the season while the media value from the Vodacom URC channels has also rocketed up by 58%.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “The achievement of hitting one million social media followers shows that we are establishing ourselves as a rising force in an environment where rugby and sport are competing within the wider entertainment landscape.

“The growth we are announcing today is phenomenal and strikes a very encouraging note, not just for Vodacom URC, but for rugby in general. Every tournament in the sport is looking to give younger audiences what they are looking for and I am hugely proud of our social media team for their strategy and execution to reach this milestone.

“The bespoke tactics employed across our spread of social media channels are clearly striking a chord with fans and it is incredibly encouraging to see the success on Tik Tok which is where we need to be relevant to younger audiences in a very competitive space.”

Breakdown Of Platform Following:
Instagram – 308,085
TikTok – 237,300
Facebook – 188,808
Twitter – 179,579
YouTube – 76,200
LinkedIn – 11,146

Total = 1,001,118

Breakdown Of Video Views By Platform
TikTok – 112m video views (59%)
Instagram – 44.5m (23%)
Facebook – 18.1m (10%)
YouTube – 7.5m (4%)
Twitter – 6.1m (3%)

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