Creating Usable Promotional Materials for Building Brand Awareness and Growing the Sport of Rugby in Finland for Junior Players
Gregory, Jared (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023111129158
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023111129158
Tiivistelmä
The topic of this thesis is the promotion of the sport of Rugby Union in Finland. The motivations for this thesis stemmed from the author´s positive experiences and background in youth rugby. It is the author´s strong belief that playing junior sports have many positive effects on children. Supporting the growth of an option like rugby that caters to a diverse range of body types and athletic abilities is a worthwhile pursuit.
The sport of Rugby Union is a contact ball game that has an extensive set of laws that will be learned through participation. However, the basic idea of the gameplay is to run with the ball past the opposing opposition to score points.
The goal of the thesis was to attract more junior level players to play the game. The aim was to promote and brand rugby to reach more customers and to do so the intention was to present rugby as an attractive sporting choice.
The theoretical framework of the thesis first introduces rugby as a sport. The history, gameplay, and distribution of rugby worldwide and in Finland are studied. Expenses and incidents of injury are also introduced. After the introduction of rugby, the theoretical framework moves into exploring sports marketing and branding, exploring ways to market and brand a niche sport.
To develop an approach to promote rugby the author engaged in numerous discussions with Finnish Rugby Club participants who had experience with junior training sessions. Additionally, a questionnaire (Webropol) for parents/guardians of children within the target age range was conducted. The Webropol and discussion sessions aimed to identify key takeaways that could be used to promote the sport to junior players effectively.
As a product and result of this thesis promotional materials were designed for the use of rugby clubs in Finland. These promotional materials were designed to give rugby clubs tools when recruiting new players into their ranks. These promotional materials included a general information-al booklet aimed at familiarizing both parents and potential players with the basic requirements of the game before playing rugby, and a PowerPoint Presentation “pitch” intended to be used by rugby club members as a tool to help inform the customer about the sport.
The project started in the early months of 2023 by conducting a literature search and a review of the literature. This was followed by the creation and distribution of the questionnaire during March and the analysis of the results a month later in April. The creation of the promotional materials took place throughout May and June. The finalization of the thesis occurred during the fall of 2023.
The sport of Rugby Union is a contact ball game that has an extensive set of laws that will be learned through participation. However, the basic idea of the gameplay is to run with the ball past the opposing opposition to score points.
The goal of the thesis was to attract more junior level players to play the game. The aim was to promote and brand rugby to reach more customers and to do so the intention was to present rugby as an attractive sporting choice.
The theoretical framework of the thesis first introduces rugby as a sport. The history, gameplay, and distribution of rugby worldwide and in Finland are studied. Expenses and incidents of injury are also introduced. After the introduction of rugby, the theoretical framework moves into exploring sports marketing and branding, exploring ways to market and brand a niche sport.
To develop an approach to promote rugby the author engaged in numerous discussions with Finnish Rugby Club participants who had experience with junior training sessions. Additionally, a questionnaire (Webropol) for parents/guardians of children within the target age range was conducted. The Webropol and discussion sessions aimed to identify key takeaways that could be used to promote the sport to junior players effectively.
As a product and result of this thesis promotional materials were designed for the use of rugby clubs in Finland. These promotional materials were designed to give rugby clubs tools when recruiting new players into their ranks. These promotional materials included a general information-al booklet aimed at familiarizing both parents and potential players with the basic requirements of the game before playing rugby, and a PowerPoint Presentation “pitch” intended to be used by rugby club members as a tool to help inform the customer about the sport.
The project started in the early months of 2023 by conducting a literature search and a review of the literature. This was followed by the creation and distribution of the questionnaire during March and the analysis of the results a month later in April. The creation of the promotional materials took place throughout May and June. The finalization of the thesis occurred during the fall of 2023.