Premiership Women’s Rugby taps IMG to drive digital and content strategy

English Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) has appointed rights management agency IMG to drive the development of its new digital and content channels strategy. 

According to PWR, the partnership will focus on growing the digital audience for the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby competition and the Allianz Cup and deepening the engagement of both Premiership Women’s Rugby and its 10 clubs with fans in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup 2025 in England.

IMG’s digital team, formerly known as Seven League, will analyse Premiership Women Rugby’s existing social media platforms to create a full-service digital strategy across its owned channels, including recommendations on channel identity, content creation and distribution, and community management.

IMG’s digital team was officially integrated into the company when its parent company, Endeavor, acquired Mailman and Seven League in 2021.

The team will also advise and guide Premiership Women’s Rugby on integrating next-generation data and analytics tools to measure campaign success.

Launched in July this year, Premiership Women’s Rugby was established to deliver a 10-year strategy for women’s rugby in England as a partnership between the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the 10 clubs participating in the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby competition and Allianz Cup.

Premiership Women’s Rugby chief executive, Belinda Moore said:  “We have ambitions to grow Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby as we build towards Rugby World Cup 2025, and to achieve this goal we need significant and mutually beneficial partnerships with brands like IMG. Following a competitive process, with some impressive companies, we are delighted to appoint such an experienced team to create a new plan for the Premiership Women’s Rugby digital and social media channels. IMG have a great pedigree in women’s sport and we have full confidence in Stephanie and her team to deliver the platform for significant growth in engagement with our fans.”

Stephanie Bulfin, senior consultant, digital, at IMG said: “Following the record-breaking success of the Red Roses at this year’s Six Nations tournament, it’s evident this is a new era for women’s rugby in England – and the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby league has been the cornerstone for that. Fans on a national level are looking to engage with the sport on a deeper level than ever before and we’re proud to partner with Premiership Women’s Rugby to help drive their digital presence forward. It’s an example of our increasing focus to become a commercial partner for women’s sport.”