Digital engagement experts and sports content creation specialists, Snack Media, today revealed that only 26% of avid international Rugby Fans are able to correctly name all five official Rugby World Cup sponsors, making painful reading for big brands looking to tie-in with the event.

The findings – announced exactly six months before the start of the tournament – were part of a survey into the behavioural and online consumption habits of rugby fans looking to follow the Rugby World Cup 2019. Snack polled their 2.5million rugby Network – the largest independent online rugby audience in the world – 93% of whom consider themselves to been ‘keen or fanatical’ supporters.

The standout statistics also highlight that 16% of these fans will be joining their team over in Japan, whilst almost 70% will not be deterred by the early starts (with some matches starting at 5:45am GMT) and three out of four people will follow it on social media.

Snack Media also discovered what kind of digital content fans want to engage with. These include a large number who want to play a Fantasy World Cup Game (85%) such as a predictor or fantasy team selector, and that, surprisingly, ‘humour’ outdoes more traditional ‘behind-the-scenes’ footage when it comes to capturing (and retaining) supporters’ attention.

There was even less of an appetite for ‘fan diaries’ – something which an online football audience traditionally thrives upon.

Other findings include:

• 97% of the Snack Network will be watching the showpiece
• Whilst 93% of those consider themselves to be a ‘keen’ or ‘fanatical’ rugby fan.
• 53% believe there is not enough coverage of rugby across Social Media.
• 64% are more likely to enter a rugby competition if it was held by an official 2019 RWC sponsor.
• But only 26% were able to correctly name all five official RWC sponsors.

There are also numerous findings around fans’ betting habits, viewing behaviour, live streaming, second screening habits and what kind of content they want to see during the tournament. All have these have been collated by Snack and have been made available as a white paper.

Calum Hopkins, Senior Commercial Manager at Snack Media, said, “With the Six Nations now officially over, all attentions turn to the biggest rugby competition of the year. We put together this research for two main reasons – firstly, to understand what rugby fans will be doing around the World Cup in order to best cater to them; and secondly, to provide brands and rightsholders this data so they can also engage with them.

“By owning a clearly-fanatical rugby audience this size, we are in a unique position to get into the minds of millions of sports fans around the world and seeing what piques their interest. We also create all the tools necessary to reach and interact with these supporters. It is clear from the research that rugby fans want more than what a traditional football audience would consume. It’s really pleasing that Snack Media can actually offer a lot of what they’re asking for [fantasy gaming, video analysis, content creation] but we’re also excited to be able to offer this info to potential partners & clients who are keen to engage these fans too.”