SCOTTISH RUGBY LAUNCHES WOMEN'S CAMPAIGN
Scottish Rugby has launched a new campaign entitled ‘#BeTheBestYou’ aimed at highlighting the positive benefits of playing rugby to women and girls.
According to Scottish Rugby, the initiative is designed to help change perceptions about women’s rugby and capitalise on its growing popularity in Scotland as a participation sport, at all levels, as part of a wider strategic objective to grow rugby in Scotland, known as Everyone’s Game.
#BeTheBestYou will be promoted throughout Scotland, initially as a digitally led activation using video, digital creatives and social media interaction from players across the women’s game, encouraging women and girls to visit www.scottishrugby.org/bestyou to register for ‘come and try’ events across the country.
The advertisements showcase the friendship, enjoyment and personal development rugby provides and features players from clubs across the country as well as players from the Scotland Women national team.
The campaign uses existing players to act as positive role models for other women and girls to reach out to over-18s in the first phase of the campaign this spring. A subsequent campaign will follow in the summer to target players aged between 12-18 years old.
The ads were shot at the home of Scottish Rugby, BT Murrayfield, and feature players from the Greenock Wanderers, Hillhead Jordanhill, Cartha Ladies Rugby, Watsonians, Edinburgh University and Murrayfield Wanderers clubs and developed by Scottish Rugby’s in-house designers.
They will be seen on social media in a mix of promoted posts across Facebook and Instagram, on Scottish Rugby’s online channels as well as digital advertising sites across Scotland, including the St. Enoch Centre in Glasgow city centre.
A campaign film will debut as part of Scottish Rugby TV’s live stream of Scotland Women v Italy Women on Friday 17th March, followed by a screening to the 67,000 sell-out crowd at BT Murrayfield the following day when Scotland play Italy in the 2017 RBS 6 Nations.
A number of rugby clubs across the country, with existing women’s teams, will act as hubs for the campaign and a microsite will enable new players to find a club near them and how to get involved.
Sheila Begbie, head of women’s and girl’s rugby at Scottish Rugby said: “We are very excited about the possibilities #BeTheBestYou can have for female rugby this year.
There are many reasons why people take up a particular sport, to keep fit and test themselves physically, however with this campaign we wanted to show there is a lot more to women’s rugby than simply the physical benefits of being active and want it to really help raise its profile and get people talking about the game and how enjoyable it is on many different levels.”
Scotland Women international Emma Wassell said: “It is a sport that welcomes everyone and you very quickly make friends and create bonds that last. The physical side of the game is fun, it gives you a goal to train for and there is no better feeling than winning a match with your friends.
“The values of rugby make the game what it is and for me it creates a very respectful and positive environment for young players to develop in. I hope this campaign gets people talking about women’s rugby and our sport continues to grow.”