TORONTO WOLFPACK R.L.F.C.

Social Media Plan

Table of Contents

Introduction ...... 1 Social Media Assessment ...... 2 Audience Analysis ...... 2 Social Media Platforms ...... 2 Competitors ...... 3 Business Objectives ...... 4 Business Strategies ...... 4 Key Audiences ...... 5 Young Male Urbanites ...... 5 Dog Lovers ...... 6 Corporate Partnerships ...... 7 TekSavvy ...... 7 Craft Breweries ...... 10 Petcurean ...... 12 Summary...... 14 Evaluating Success ...... 14 Conclusion ...... 15

INTRODUCTION The Wolfpack is a Canadian professional club based in Toronto, . It competes in the United Kingdom-based League system. The Wolfpack went undefeated in its inaugural season and was promoted from the third-tier, League 1, to the second-tier, Championship. The competitive season starts in February with games played both abroad in the UK and France, as well as in Toronto at in .

As a sports team, the Wolfpack offers its audience sports entertainment. The team has had great success on the field and has a small, dedicated group of fans in Toronto. However, the team still remains completely unknown to many Torontonians. They do not know that they have a successful professional sports team playing in their city. The biggest goal for the Wolfpack right now is building its brand.

Rugby is a popular sport in many nations around the world, but struggles in Canada and the USA behind hockey, soccer, basketball, , and even baseball. These sports have far more dominant professional leagues and much greater exposure in North American society as a whole.

As the first trans-Atlantic team to play in the system, the is well-positioned to grow this exciting sport’s popularity in Canada. However, the club faces tough competition from established local teams, especially given the general public’s lack of familiarity with the sport of rugby in the first place.

1 SOCIAL MEDIA ASSESSMENT

Audience Analysis The Toronto Wolfpack’s audience is predominantly males between the ages of 25-50 living in Ontario and the GTA. Many of their followers are already fans of rugby and follow professional leagues. Others might be amateur athletes themselves, or former rugby players who do not want to lose touch with the game.

In order to grow the brand and gain wider recognition, the Wolfpack needs to expand its reach and target younger Ontarians. The team will do this by targeting Torontonians between 23-40 years of age. This is a large, local demographic who have disposable income, seek out new activities, and like to share their experiences on social media.

Social Media Platforms The Toronto Wolfpack is active on social media. The club primarily uses the following platforms:

• Facebook • Instagram • Twitter • YouTube

The Wolfpack is most active on Facebook and Twitter. The content that gets the most engagement are contests, polls, and videos.

Additionally, the team has a behind-the-scenes show called LastTackle.tv, which is also where its blog is hosted. LastTackle.tv has its own social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube), and the team’s flagship retail shop also has a separate Instagram account.

The main problem with the Wolfpack’s social media strategy is that it is too spread out and unfocused. Like many new businesses or organizations trying to establish themselves on social media, the Wolfpack has started doing as much as it can on every channel. The result is a social media presence that lacks cohesion and vision.

2 Competitors Despite the general lack of direction, the Toronto Wolfpack has successfully amassed a relatively large number of followers on social media, especially compared to other rugby league teams. is another team in the Wolfpack’s league – the only team based in France, and as such have the same “outsider” status. When compared to the Wolfpack, Olympique’s following on social media is noticeably smaller.

However, when compared to teams in major North American sports leagues, both teams’ numbers are very small. This makes sense due to the respective sizes of the leagues’ audiences, as well as the relative popularity of rugby compared to sports like basketball.

Since the Toronto Wolfpack wants to take that next step and gain widespread exposure in North America, it may be instructive to look at what another franchise based in Toronto is doing. The best team to use as an example is the .

The two teams share some similarities: they are the only Canadian team in their leagues and have a similar target demographic: young urban Millennials.

Platform Toulouse Olympique Toronto Wolfpack Toronto Raptors

Facebook 8.5k likes 22.7k likes 2.2m likes 4.5k followers 20.7k followers 1.59m followers Twitter 13.3k tweets 7.4k tweets 53.8k tweets 1.7k followers 18.9k followers 1.1m followers Instagram 689 posts 820 posts 5.3k posts 690 subscribers 1.5k subscribers 61k subscribers YouTube 230k views 120k views 31m views

The table above illustrates that, relative to other Rugby Football League teams, the Wolfpack has a sizeable social media following. When compared to other sports franchises in North America, the Wolfpack still have a way to go.

Now, comparing the Wolfpack to the Raptors is not fair, nor is it meant to be. However, the Raptors have proven to be very successful on social media. They have a focused social media strategy built around a specific vision and brand identity. This can function as an example from which the Wolfpack can draw inspiration.

3 BUSINESS OBJECTIVES The Toronto Wolfpack has successfully established a social media following and has seen great success on the field. Now, the team needs to focus on maintaining that success in the next competitive tier while growing its fanbase and gaining more recognition at home.

The Wolfpack’s business objectives are:

1. Build brand recognition. The major problem that the Wolfpack needs to overcome is its lack of recognition in the Toronto sports market. The team needs to establish itself as a recognizable name that offers a quality product. 2. Increase ticket sales. Attendance at home games could always be improved, especially when the cost of tickets is not very high to begin with. There are only 10 home games per season. The goal is to maximize profits from those games. 3. Strengthen relationship with existing fanbase and community. The Wolfpack plays games in England and France, sometimes for weeks at a time. It is important to have a strong relationship with the fanbase in Canada in order to maintain interest during these long stretches abroad.

BUSINESS STRATEGIES

1. Promote the team. The message is simple: “we exist”. The Wolfpack needs to simply have its name out there to inform people that it is a sports team in their community. 2. Entice people to attend home games. Not only are tickets relatively inexpensive, but there is more to do than simply sitting and watching a game. By promoting this aspect of home games, the Wolfpack will be able to attract more people, even non- fans, to attend games at Lamport Stadium. 3. Increase social media engagement with fans. The Wolfpack will be unable to interact with the community face-to-face while they are travelling for road games. This means that the team must take advantage of social media to maintain its relationship to its fanbase. This can be done by posting engaging content and by interacting with the fans through its social media.

4 KEY AUDIENCES There are multiple key audiences for this social media plan. The general audience is people living in the GTA, between the ages of 16-60. Also, sports fans generally tend to be male. This social media plan will focus on a couple specific subcategories of this audience.

Young Male Urbanites One of the key audiences are young male urbanites living in Toronto. They enjoy an urban lifestyle that includes exploring the city and sharing their new experiences on social media. They also want to feel well-connected and to show off their social capital. They like finding cool underground events to attend and post about on their social media accounts, often through Instagram posts and stories.

They primarily use Instagram and are also found on Twitter. They enjoy watching videos on YouTube. The older end of this audience is active on Facebook.

To summarize, this key audience is:

• Male • 23-37 years of age • Lives in Toronto • Enjoys feeling like part of a community • Enjoys trying new things • Enjoys drinking beverage alcohol, especially craft beer • Is well connected, with broad and diverse social circles • Is active on social media, especially Instagram

5 Dog Lovers The city of Toronto is home to an estimated 230,000 dogs. That number is rising as more condos are erected in downtown neighbourhoods. Dog lovers are very prominent on social media. Alongside cat videos, photos and videos of dogs are prevalent on the internet. The dog lover’s dog might even have its own Instagram account.

The dog lover’s life revolves around their dog. It is considered a part of their family. Half of the photos on their phone are of their pet, including many selfies. Often, they sleep with their pets. They spend more on their dog’s health than on their own.

The Toronto Wolfpack has some obvious synergy with this audience given the team name. A large portion of their fanbase already likely fall under this category. Targeting this audience will allow the Wolfpack to both attract new customers while also strengthen its connection to its existing fanbase.

The dog lover that the Wolfpack is targeting is between 25-50, male or female, and resides in the Greater Toronto Area. The best way to reach this audience is through Facebook and Instagram.

To summarize, this key audience is:

• A resident of the GTA • 25-50 years of age • Loves dogs • Has a pet dog • Is active on social media (usually posting about their dog) • Frequently buys new toys and treats for their dog

6 CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS The Toronto Wolfpack can expand its reach and increase awareness of the brand by taking advantage of corporate partnerships. The team’s major sponsors are AirTransat and TekSavvy.

This creates many opportunities for cross promotion. For example, the Wolfpack already hosts a competition where fan can win tickets and a flight to a game in the UK, courtesy of AirTransat. The airline also creates special packages for Wolfpack fans who are travelling specifically to watch the team play abroad.

TekSavvy TekSavvy is an independent telecommunications company in based in Ontario. It provides internet services at competitive rates and has a very customer-focused approach to its business. TekSavvy positions itself as “the people’s” telecommunications company and as an underdog in the Canadian telecommunications oligarchy.

TekSavvy wants to be accessible to the people. So does the Wolfpack. This partnership is a natural fit for the two Canadian-based organizations.

The Wolfpack will team up with TekSavvy to create a series of web videos that will more or less serve as commercials for the two organizations. These ads will be hosted on YouTube and shared on both organization’s social media platforms with the hashtag “#PackSavvy”. The audience will be asked to visit a link to the YouTube video. These posts will have an accompanying photo or video clip, and shorter ads can even be played in their entirety on Instagram or Twitter.

Fan-favourite is the man with Canadian native Quinn Ngawati will big hair and a big heart – a natural star for appear in an appeal to the audience’s these ads national pride

7 These ads will be humorous in nature and will showcase Wolfpack players working alongside TekSavvy’s customer service. They should be wearing their rugby uniforms. The target of these ads will be Ontarians and residents of the GTA. The goal is simply to alert everybody to the fact that the Wolfpack exist.

One example is:

INT. TEKSAVVY CALL CENTRE – DAY A SKINNY YOUNG MAN WITH GLASSES is sitting at a desk in a call center, wearing a headset. He is wearing a TekSavvy polo. The phone rings. YOUNG MAN TekSavvy Solutions Inc., this is Kevin, how can I be of service? He listens briefly to the customer’s complaint, which we cannot hear. YOUNG MAN Sounds like you need a new modem! We’ll be right over. The YOUNG MAN turns slightly in his chair. The camera zooms out to reveal the Toronto Wolfpack’s FUIFUI MOIMOI standing nearby holding a new modem. He nods at Kevin, smirks confidently, and SPRINTS down the hall. A GENERIC OFFICE WORKER jumps out of his way.

EXT. ADELAIDE STREET – DAY FUIFUI is weaving through the crowds on a busy street, but sees a HOTDOG VENDOR blocking the sidewalk. He deftly PASSES the modem laterally, where it is caught by teammate QUINN NGAWATI, who hurdles the hotdog stand. He continues running until he sees an incoming TTC STREETCAR. He passes it over to yet ANOTHER TEAMMATE, who drop kicks the modem OVER the streetcar. On the other side of the tracks is another WOLFPACK PLAYER, who is being LIFTED by a teammate (an in-game occurrence).

The ad would continue in this way, highlighting other parts of the city and other players, before finally having FuiFui deliver the modem to a satisfied TekSavvy customer. The ad would close with both organizations’ logos and social media icons, as well as with the hashtag #PackSavvy. Upbeat music would play throughout.

8 Another ad will draw parallels between the speed and power of rugby and the speed and power of TekSavvy’s internet service. A customer service rep will receive a call about slow internet speeds. The solution will be to have a member of the Wolfpack running on a treadmill in their home. This ad would be very brief in comparison to the previous one.

One ad will position both the Wolfpack and TekSavvy as “The People’s” organizations. It will emphasize that both organizations offer cost-effective products (telecommunication services, sports entertainment), as well as their consumer focus. It will show players sprinting through Toronto helping people with their tech problems, before finally arriving at a packed stadium where fans are enjoying themselves and the game of rugby.

There may be an opportunity to gain an endorsement from The People’s Champion, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. As a major social influencer, a mention from The Rock would be considered a great success for this campaign. Rugby is very popular in Samoa and other Polynesian countries, and The Rock is partially of Samoan descent. He also has a background in contact sports, so these advertisements would be very appealing to him. The Wolfpack will tag him in a tweet, Facebook, or Instagram post:

9 Craft Breweries The Toronto Wolfpack has a unique partnership with Ontario craft breweries. Each home game hosts a beer garden located in one end of the stadium, where fans can enjoy local craft brews that rotate throughout weekly. Partner breweries include:

• Henderson • Side Launch • Bobcaygeon • Redline Brewhouse • High Park Brewery • Shiny Apple Cider • Lost Craft • Flying Monkey • White Water

This creates a fun environment for fans at the stadium. It will also serve as a way to attract new customers to attend games – it is a sporting event combined with a beer festival.

The positioning will be that you do not have to be a fan of rugby or even know the rules to enjoy the game. The beer garden can be the main attraction. It creates a fun, social environment where you can support local craft brewers, try new drinks, and socialize with other interesting people. After the game, the players usually come by for a drink and to interact with fans, and there is a live music performance as well.

The Toronto Wolfpack will take advantage of these partnerships to showcase the beer garden on social media. In the week leading up to the game, they will promote the hashtag #WolfpackxHenderson. The name of the brewery will change depending on which one is being featured that week (e.g. #WolfpackxRedline, #WolfpackxBobcaygeon). The brewery will also advertise the event with the same hashtag on their social media platforms.

This hashtag will be part of a contest. If you attend the game and post a photo from the beer garden, tagging it #WolfpackxHenderson, you will have a chance to win a prize, such as apparel, tickets to another game, or a tour of the brewery.

10 The key audience of this campaign will be young male urbanites. The majority of craft beer enthusiasts are male. There is a large and growing craft brewery scene in Toronto and Ontario, and these beer drinkers are happy to learn about and support their local microbreweries.

With this partnership, they will have to opportunity to support a local, largely unknown sports team, and also to post about it on social media. It will appease their need to show off that they have discovered something interesting in the local community. Craft brewers, social capital, photo opportunities, and contests will incentivize this audience to attend games and follow the team.

Having the breweries also promote the beer garden and the hashtag will reach a wider audience than just having the Wolfpack and its fans do so. With any luck, this campaign will also lead to word of mouth advertising, which will also increase game attendance.

11 Petcurean Petcurean is a Canadian pet food company. In partnership with the Toronto Wolfpack, it has launched a “Leader of the Pack” contest in which fans submit a photo of their dog in the hopes that it will become the team’s “official canine ambassador”. The winner will win a supply of pet food and other dog accessories, provided by Petcurean.

The response to this contest has been positive. This is an ideal partnership because it connects with dog lovers, a sizeable and passionate demographic, and makes sense given the team’s name.

The best way to maintain this positive relationship with the Wolfpack’s fanbase and the community would be to have ongoing contests throughout the season, particularly during long stretches abroad. The Wolfpack will create a weekly competition inspired by the Nashville Predators’ “Pedigree Dog of the Month” contest from the 2010-2011 NHL season.

In that contest, fans were asked to post photos of their dogs on social media. One lucky winner will get 4 tickets to a game, a month’s supply of dog food, and the pet’s photo would be featured in a Pedigree rink advertisement.

The Wolfpack’s contest will function in a similar manner, but it will be weekly due to the team’s schedule. Fans will be asked to post photos of their dog on social media, tagged with the hashtag #PartofthePack. The winner will receive a gift basket from Petcurean, Wolfpack apparel (e.g. a toque and scarf or a baseball cap and baseball tee) as well as tickets to an upcoming home game. The dog’s photo will also be featured on a sideline advertisement alongside the official canine ambassador.

12 This campaign will serve the purpose of engaging fans on social media throughout the season, and will also help to increase the team’s exposure to the public. Dog lovers already comprise a portion of the Wolfpack’s existing fanbase, so this contest is a natural way to court their engaging on a regular basis throughout the season.

Since the fanbase is active on Facebook, the Wolfpack will announce the contest on that platform. However, Instagram will also be used as it is very convenient for posting photos and many pets already have their own Instagram accounts, managed by their owners.

A sample Facebook post might look like:

13 Summary Below is a summary of the Wolfpack’s corporate partner, how they will incorporate this partnership into their social media plan, and which business objectives this will address.

Corporate Tactic Primary Objective Secondary Objective Partner

Online video Increase brand Strengthen relationship TekSavvy advertisements recognition with fanbase

Craft Breweries Increase brand In-game contests Increase ticket sales (Beer Garden) recognition Strengthen relationship Increase brand Petcurean Online contests with fanbase recognition

EVALUATING SUCCESS The success of the Wolfpack’s social media plan will be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. The Wolfpack will track views of its online ads, shares and likes of its contest promotions, and the use of the hashtags #Wolfpackx[brewery] and #PartofthePack on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

By encouraging fans to tag their friends on Instagram posts, the Wolfpack will have a way to measure shares and engagement on a channel that does not have a built-in sharing feature. The Wolfpack will also track general mentions, across all social media as a general measurement of how well the brand has been promoted.

By using Google Cloud Natural Language API, the team will be able to analyze the sentiment attached to the mentions to ensure that the public’s general impression of the brand is a good one.

The Wolfpack will also use analytics to track views and clicks on its website to see if there is a significant increase in daily and weekly traffic. The organization will also track the number of ticket sales for home games, as well as in-game attendance.

14 CONCLUSION The Toronto Wolfpack are a rising team in the rugby league scene. The team has all the tools for success: an exciting, fast-paced sport, a convenient downtown location, a beer garden, a great logo, and low cost of admission.

The basic problem is that very few people are aware of the team’s existence at all. The organization needs to focus on building its brand and attracting new customers.

Taking advantage of its corporate sponsors will be the primary way to increase their influence. People who are looking for a new internet provider or pet food will inadvertently come across the Wolfpack through their collaborations with TekSavvy and Petcurean. Craft beer drinkers looking for local beer festivals or other beer-related events will discover one that features a rotating cast of brewers and also has an exciting sport being played on the side.

Instead of directly targeting “sports fans”, the Wolfpack will be reaching a new audience, increasing awareness of the brand and attracting fans to attend home games through contests and outreach. The Wolfpack can show Toronto that it is successful, relatable, and accessible – The People’s Team.

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