Bath Rugby
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Bath Rugby
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The fans are the heart of Bath Rugby. And digital is at the heart of the club’s strategy for engaging them. As Bath’s new digital partner, we focused on user insight to create new websites that boost the brand by putting fans first.
Our brief
Established in 1865, Bath Rugby is one of Rugby Union’s oldest and most successful clubs. In 2010, they set out ambitious long-term plans, with digital and social channels central to their communications strategy. We were chosen from 10 competing agencies to be the club’s digital partner, charged with developing Bath’s core site, an online shop and a mobile site. Our task: to improve revenue and user interaction, as well as reflecting the brand, ambition and vision of the club.
What we did
User engagement was critical. So we began with in-depth research into fans’ and stakeholders’ needs. Interviewing a cross-section of supporters, we established user groups and gained some invaluable insights.
We found that people felt disconnected with the club, and that the previous sites did little to help. Content was hard to find, and often out of date. Fans wanted easy access to match-day information and club news. Hospitality clients wanted more experiential content, to share with their guests.
We also found out why online ticket and merchandise sales were so poor: the fans saw no benefit in either. The online shop had no product reviews, sizing was inconsistent, sign-up was cumbersome, and delivery was expensive. Equally, season ticket holders couldn’t claim their discount online, so they preferred the ticket office or the high street shop.
Our research directly informs the structure of our three new sites, which launched in September 2011. And our strict content strategy balances Bath Rugby’s business objectives with delivering content the fans want, in the editorial format they prefer.
This is the key to a rich, effective user experience: content driven by user insight, coupled with simple design and powerful usability.
One good example is the main home page. Here, instead of pushing promotions at fans, we use the screen space to offer fast access to the things they want, like an overview of recent matches, details of upcoming games, media coverage, travel updates, and even the match-day weather forecast.
With the club’s commercial objectives in mind, we’ve also created genuine incentives for fans to shop online, to drive both traffic and sales through the sites. The new online shop shows the product range at its best, with as simple a user experience as possible. We’ve ditched pagination, created contextual size guides, and removed unnecessary product details, as well as creating logical product categories, and easily scanned product listings.
We’ve also introduced discounts for season ticket holders, free delivery, free returns and multiple payment options — all revealed by our research as critical elements in making the online shop an attractive alternative to the physical version.
The numbers speak for themselves. The first month’s turnover was 45% higher than the same period in the previous year, and Bath now have the tools they need to continue that trend.
Using our experience in smartphone interaction, we made the mobile site equally responsive to users’ needs. More than just a mobile version of the main site, it delivers exactly what fans want on the move. It has a touch-friendly interface, and the most important content ‘bubbles to the top’. We also cut the number of images, for faster page loads.
All three sites are central to our ongoing strategic work with Bath Rugby, and we’re already working on associated social media and email marketing strategies with them.
‘Positive were selected for their all-round professional approach, and relaxed and friendly attitude. We are really excited by the in-depth knowledge and understanding that Positive will bring to our digital strategy over the next few years.’
Jez Curwin, Marketing and Communications Director, Bath Rugby