The Brief

Based in Dublin, World Rugby is an international federation spanning more than 500 million fans and 8 million players. Despite rugby's widespread popularity in certain regions, niche versions of the sport like rugby sevens—a compact and fast-paced variant—aren't as well known in some markets. In this campaign, World Rugby wanted to drive ticket sales to live events taking place in Los Angeles and other global cities including Singapore. In addition, they hoped to raise awareness about rugby sevens more generally.

The Solution

Having already teamed up with Spotify on successful ad campaigns for the Six Nations Championship and other tournaments, World Rugby was ready for another shot. Digital audio was well-suited to the campaign’s goal of driving traffic to the HSBC SVNS tournament website, where people could purchase tickets. And advertising via Spotify Ads Manager gave World Rugby the flexibility to run campaigns in multiple markets—stopping, starting, or optimising campaigns as needed.

World Rugby produced two audio assets for the campaign: one to introduce the upcoming HSBC SVNS tournament, and another to promote it. Both ad sets focused on driving sales of general admission tickets, showcasing everything a fan would get with their purchase. Plus, Ads Manager allowed World Rugby to play around with the messaging, pick a local accent for each market, and feature multiple voices.

The Impact

In Los Angeles, the campaign achieved a Clickthrough Rate (CTR) of 0.31%—an impressive lift on the 0.22% benchmark. The Los Angeles ads also saw over 2.7M impressions, accomplishing World Rugby’s secondary goal of increasing awareness among rugby fans and sports enthusiasts.

The Takeaway 

Audio ads can help sports and entertainment brands maximise their reach—even when a campaign is optimised for lower-funnel outcomes like clicks. Spotify Ads Manager gives brands the flexibility to run custom-tailored ads across multiple markets, as well as the ability to stop, start, and adjust campaigns as needed.