RLWC2021 Hospitality Report

Page 1


RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2021 HOSPITALITY REPORT

15th October - 19th November 2022

Executive Summary

• Key Outcomes

• Key Objectives

Experiences

• Strategy

• Positioning

• Range

RLWC2021 Hospitality Report - Appendix CONFIDENTIAL AND AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

• Packaging & Pricing

• Financial Report

• Recommendations

• Strategy

• Brand

• Website

• Collateral

• Sales Information Sales

• Targets

• Patterns

• Phases

• Channels

Operations

• Pre-Event Planning

• Resource

• Delivery

• Client Satisfaction

Covid Impact

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Key Outcomes

EXPERIENCES SOLD 10,000 Budget

18,688 DELIVERED Post Covid Cancellations 16,017

PROFIT & TICKET SALES £1M Budget £1,426,529

The hospitality programme delivered and exceeded the objectives and targets despite the challenges and impact of Covid. The outcomes surpassed the previous RLWC and the targets set for this edition.

RLWC2021 set four key objectives from the hospitality programme:

Outcome

Present RLWC2021 Hospitality as high quality and befitting a major international event to promote and support the RLWC2021 brand and tournament.

Maximise sales and target the sales and delivery of 10,000 hospitality experiences.

Contribute £1m from ticket sales and hospitality profit.

The RLWC2021 Hospitality name and brand assets were developed for use throughout the customer journey on all touchpoints from initial marketing, client servicing and on day delivery. Brand guidelines were prepared for all suppliers, providers and sales channels and widely utilised.

Deliver high quality experiences for hospitality and tournament guests.

Sales exceeded targets with 18,688 places being sold (reducing to 16,017 after covid cancelations).

Direct sales channels (our sales team and website) were the most effective.

Indirect channels that engaged with the programme also delivered significant sales.

Combined profit and ticket sales achieved £1.425m (after £381,542 net cost of Covid cancellations, refunds, cost increases and rebates).

Ticket revenue was £845,644. (Commercial sales £718,842, In-Kind £126,802 to sponsors & commercial partners.)

Net profit was £580,885.

The range of experiences were structured to provide premium experiences for tournament guests, premium hospitality buyers and traditional rugby league hospitality buyers.The range attracted new buyers from local, national and international markets. Customer satisfaction was reported as high throughout from new and traditional rugby league hospitality buyers.

Covid. The measurable cost of tournament postponement was £881,542 (@31% of sales revenue) in refunded sales and increased delivery and running costs.

*Ticket sales are reported inc VAT, all other figures are reported ex VAT

EXPERIENCES

Strategy

The product and pricing strategy was structured to achieve:

• accessibility for a range of buyers

• high volume of attendees

• financial profit

Hospitality Experiences ranged from all inclusive luxury experiences commensurate with other prestigious international events, through to entry level premium seats with access to private lounges, exclusive bars and food outlets.

Prices ranged from £40 - £995 plus VAT per guest. Top end prices were significantly higher (over 3 times) than other UK rugby league experiences and were benchmarked against similar high quality prestigious sporting events within the UK.

Product style, inclusions and facility names were consistent across all tournament venues to present a World Cup brand and style rather than experiences differing by location. This was in line with the Brand and Experiences objectives.

Key matches identified were England Men’s matches and expected quarter final, both semi finals, and the Final. Luxury and high-end experiences were offered at these matches, and consequently, not all experiences were offered at all stadia and matches to reflect expected market demand, match significance, and stadium configurations.

New experiences were released during the sales cycle to create additional and different options following stadia visits, agreements with stadia, sales uptake and market demand. Similarly, selected products were withdrawn at some stadia to streamline offerings and accommodate other tournament requirements.

Positioning

The Hospitality Experiences and price points, aimed at particular audiences and buyer profiles, fell into four categories:

/ Boardroom

Highest standard of room/private box, facilities, location, seating and inclusions. Exclusive premium lounge, private table or box. Limited availability/low volume.

Audiences – Chairmen/women, directors and high net worth individuals.

Experiences

Private Boxes – Halfway, Champions Lounge

Business class standard, high quality locations and inclusions. Corporate and more traditional seated functions with guest speakers.

Audiences – Senior/middle management.

Experiences

Private Boxes – Side On, World Cup Lounge, Legends Dining

Informal with minimal hospitality inclusions. Non reserved bar/clubhouse access.

Audiences – Corporate, inhouse/clubs, groups and special occasion individuals.

Experiences

Private Boxes – End On, Club 21, 1954 Club

Premium/executive seats with access to sports bars / private bars/food outlets. Bar/lounge access and premium seats.

Audiences – Special occasion fans/ premium ticket buyers.

Experiences

Premium Seats, Sports Bar Seats

Range

PRIVATE BOXES – HALFWAY, PLATINUM, VICTORY

Private viewing suites with premium and standard hospitality inclusions. Location driving prices and inclusions being between 40’s, side on, end on/corners.

WORLD CUP LOUNGE

High level of hospitality across all matches and stadia, allowing small groups and larger parties in premium on site, mostly viewing facilities.

CLUB 21

Complimentary main meal, drinks on account and gifts and programmes included.

SPORTS BAR

Access to purpose built sports bars, with executive seating. Selected stadia.

CHAMPIONS LOUNGE

Highest level of hospitality. Premium facilities, viewing locations, hospitality inclusions and seating. Premium matches only.

LEGENDS DINING

Traditional seated dining function with prime location seats (Cat 1 / 2) and guest speakers. Premium matches only.

1954 CLUB

Informal hospitality with half time pie & pint.

PREMIUM SEATS

Dedicated VIP entry to stadium and access to private lounges to purchase food and drink.

MARKETING

Strategy

The marketing strategy focused on:

• positioning the tournament to existing (Rugby League) and new audiences

• engaging a variety of marketing and sales channels

• providing promotional tools, including a website with live stock display and online transaction

• maximising sales by providing multi booking channels on and offline

To ensure the tournament positioning was supported and well promoted, the RLWC branding was applied consistently across all collateral and touch points with extensive brand packs available to all relevant suppliers and sales channels.

Brand

Hospitality worked with the creative team to develop a premium identity specifically for the hospitality programme. The logo and selection of colourways where variations of ‘Power Purple’ and greys and muted versions of the red, orange and yellow that made up the Tournament logo, representing the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions.

The Official Hospitality branding was implemented throughout all hospitality marketing material, collateral, touchpoints and gifts. Separate guidelines and accompanying assets were developed to ensure correct application and consistency.

Website

The RLWC2021Hospitality.com website used the MatchPoint proprietary structure and some 2017 frameworks and architecture adapted and branded for the 2021 tournament requirements.

Key requirements were to:

1. Inform – about the tournament, schedules and locations

2. Display – product, pricing and enable easy searching of options, feature matches and product promotions

3. Transact – live, simple booking

4. Client Servicing – post booking communication and client servicing

Key features and functionality

• Mobile/tablet/desktop interface

• Online booking, invoicing and ecommerce capabilities

• Live stock availability management

• Capacity multiplier and controls per venue and facility

• Forthcoming matches only displayed. (played matches fall away)

• Filter options by city, venue, date, team

• Competition information pages including product comparison grids

• Downloadable brochure, city specific sales flyers, booking form, itineraries, stadium maps

• Data capture via enquire and subscribe forms

• Coding links to Google Ads campaigns/retargeting/optimisation/ social media presence via Linkedin

• Reporting software for reports and analysis

• Email notifications for enquiries and bookings

• Service delivery including host names, signage, dietary requirements, special assistance and client login area to add and adjust information prior to match day

The web design and functionality enabled the sharing of essential information between clients and the event, and to transact a high number of bookings, typically smaller number and lower value. 33% of revenue and 39% of places were booked online. The investment into the quality of the website, the user experience, and the digital marketing to drive enquiries and conversions, meant the website was an integral part of the programme success.

Collateral

Online, digital, templates and print collateral were designed for direct sales and sales channels and comprised:

• Brochures

• Master tournament sheet

• Product sheets

• Venue sheets

• Match sheets

• Booking forms

• Tournament grids

The collateral, and collateral types, were downloadable from the website being specific to matches, venues, or product ranges and were effective tools to narrow focused sales via direct and indirect channels.

Each approved/licensed sales channel was provided with a personalized sales tool kit which included promotional items, hard and digital assets, and imagery for their own sales and marketing use.

Sales Information

A master sales sheet provided a snapshot of the range of hospitality options. A tournament grid listing all matches, venues, Experiences and pricing, allowed for easy display of the multiple hospitality offerings.

Venue, product and match specific sales sheets and flyers

A range of one-page sales sheets were developed as a sales tool to use when promoting specific matches, venues or Experiences.

Advertising & Promotion

The digital campaign comprised SEO, Google Ads, retargeting, banner ads, eDM activity and a dedicated Linkedin page.

Effective planning prior to going live focused on marketing and remarketing at launch and in the pre tournament period. Both generated tournament milestones and were used to improve effectiveness and create additional engagement from trade and direct customers.

The most effective advertising and promotions were narrow campaigns at targeted audiences in select locations using concurrently a range of channels and medium.

The initial marketing budget was substantial enough however late launch/ tournament go ahead decisions meant short lead times which impacted costs and effectiveness due to short notice.

SALES

Targets

To achieve and exceed the ambitious budget of 10,000 guests buying hospitality and premium experiences the sales strategy had to target:

• a range of buyers from large corporate to entry level casual / personal buyers

• buyers across the range of markets from North East and North West England, to London and in many cities and towns in between

• buyers looking for particular rugby league matches and experiences and buyers looking for major event/general hospitality experiences

Sales activity was aligned to the key buying periods of ‘launch’, ‘pre tournament’ and ‘in tournament’.

Sales channels included:

• direct sales via telesales, face to face meetings and online selling, and

• indirect / trade channels via stadia, clubs, and 3rd party sales agents

Patterns

The team playing / expected and quality of experience were the key drivers for buyers. Premium experiences and premium seats at England matches and the Final were largely sold out.

Champions Lounge saw strongest demand at prestige matches, especially the Final. Support was disproportionately lower at other “target” matches, notably at England matches against lower level teams.

Club level & ticket plus experiences (Club 21 / 1954 Club) delivered volume at more popular matches. The relatively small number of sold-out matches, and the lateness of public demand, didn’t create the usual additional demand for entry level hospitality other than at the Final.

Premium Seat Experiences saw high uptake, particularly during the programme launch whilst Covid restriction were in place. Buyers were attracted by excellent quality seats, access to facilities, with F&B being paid for on match days.

Bespoke Hospitality - available for larger parties and 3rd party sales agents generated little interest. Many large corporate buyers and 3rd party agents were unable to commit whilst Covid restrictions were in place. There was a wide range of product already on offer, and there was easy ticket access via other channels such as RLWC Group Sales.

The programme achieved the objective of being accessible to all, by offering a broad range of styles and price points. The price range, particularly the high priced experiences, provided the foundation to achieve the financial profit objectives. Of the main Experiences offered, the take up by revenue was reasonably spread between Experiences, with the lowest generating 9% by revenue and the highest 24%.

Phases

The sales plan was divided into three phases. Each phase with identified milestones, target markets, sales support tools and sales activity.

The hospitality programme aligned with the “Bold and Brave” mantra of the Tournament. Despite the Covid backdrop and uncertainties, we recognised that the launch of the hospitality programme had to align with the launch of the general tournament, in order to maximise the leverage of the tournament marketing and promotion. Tournament launch was confirmed in August 2020 and the sales and marketing activity commenced immediately in order to be on sale 1 September, and prior to general ticket sales and tournament launch.

The Hospitality launch was extremely successful, generating £639,754 revenue from 4,023 places, which represented 28% and 40% respectively of the original budget. The short lead time slightly compromised the sales and marketing plans, particularly in engaging 3rd party channels including stadia and clubs.

From early February 2021 Covid had a major impact on sales, and other than a few high volume licensed sales, sales didn’t pick up significantly until the tournament and hospitality programme was relaunched in June 2022.

Channels

Sales channels comprised:

• Direct telesales – inbound

• Direct telesales – outbound

• Sales presentations

• Sales to sponsors & commercial partners

• Sales via official 3rd parties (agents / stadia / clubs)

• Website sales – www.RLWC2021Hospitality.com & official

3rd party sites

Official 3rd Party Channels

The sales plan objectives included:

• engaging traditional rugby league buyers by appointing strong commercial clubs as sales and booking channels

• engaging selected agents, to broaden the reach beyond traditional rugby league corporate buyers. Covid restrictions made this difficult.

The agents and clubs that did sign up, engage and commit resource to the project, were successful in achieving significant volumes of sales. Sponsors and commercial partners booked approximately 14% of the total programme.

OPERATIONS

Pre-Event Planning

Initial planning was handled by the Hospitality Programme Lead, handling key areas such as ticketing, stadium inventory, and site visits at host venues. Fortunately, 80% of venue visits took place pre lockdown (March 2020) which was advantageous as further onsite visits were delayed until Spring 2021. Key elements such as packaging, venue options, theming, gifts, resource structure, budgets and reporting were able to be addressed meaning sufficient planning was completed to enable packages to be on sale as scheduled.

Tournament Guest Hospitality (TGS) was initially within the scope of the hospitality programme and latterly separated. This change cost the programme time and money and caused some confusion with stadia and suppliers. The Tournament Guest Services programme does not form part of this report.

Resource

The tournament schedules with daily matches, multiple venues in use each day, many venues only used once, and the longevity of the tournament - demanded a broad resource of high quality to deliver high, consistent standards across all matches.

The Hospitality Programme Lead commenced in Q4 2019. Additional operational resource as required comprised:

• Operations Lead

• Ticketing Lead

• Client Services Lead

• Client Services Assistant

• Venue Managers

• Facility Managers

• Logistics & Transport

The impact of covid at the planning and launch phase is difficult to measure. Few venues took up the opportunity to manage their own venue with many / most not willing or able to deliver to the standards and with the branding, touch points, inclusions and service levels required. The delivery result was not compromised however we would have liked more venues to have embraced the tournament and it’s objectives of which the hospitality programme was a part.

The event staff recruitment, formal induction, pre tournament and further ongoing training was essential to successful and mainly autonomus delivery. Training sessions were conducted in the two week buildup to the first weekend focusing on the event, the hospitality programme, the guests experience, and supplier and staff management.

Training was conducted in MatchPoint offices for senior key staff, 2 day session prior to opening weekend at St James’ Park with all of the hospitality team and closer to event days at sporting venues hosting various matches throughout the tournament.

Bespoke tournament kit and uniforms were created for all staff to appear professional when on site visits or MD-1/MD+1. We published and distributed an event day Operations Manual and conducted specific match / venue pre-event briefings to ensure our team was always well presented, knowledgeable and focused.

Delivery

Branding - The theming, signage and other touchpoints at all venues, host packs and guest documentation were consistent with the brand guidelines. Core colours were applied to differentiate between the various hospitality facilities. Tournament-branded way finding, company welcome, and table signage provided consistency across all RLWC2021 Hospitality touchpoints, reinforcing the Rugby League World Cup brand to all corporate attendees.

A souvenir ticket box, including a message from the tournament CEO, was produced to promote the tournament, provide context to company hosts and thank them for their support and to reiterate the tournaments stated objectives.

We experienced minimal pre-event issues (e.g. client lost tickets) and minimal delivery problems.

CEMS Operating Platform – The MatchPoint “CEMS” (Client Entertainment Management System) was used from point of client order through to ticket allocation, distribution, accessibility, catering / dietary requirements, and reservation details such as hosts names, signage, and table allocations.

Ticketing – The ticketing service wasn’t as integrated as expected requiring the hospitality programme to appoint a dedicted ticketing resource to allocate, email & print tickets for all hospitality guests.

Budget – The operational delivery was delivered within budget absorbing some additional costs of management for additional 12 months, additional communication costs with booked clients and cancellations, and inflationary pressures from 12 months delay including abnormal price rises from Covid supply shortages.

Financial Operations - Adopted the same on brand white label solution. RWLC2021 Hospitality was set up as a distinct trading name. Invoices were sent named and carried the RLWC2021Hospitality logo. A RLWC2021 Hospitality bank account handled receipts directly from clients, indirectly for those paying via credit cards. The programme was initially funded by MatchPoint and thereafter the cash management was well handled with minimal late debtors and pre-payments made to key suppliers as required. All suppliers were paid within 7 days of invoice receipt.

Client Satisfaction

The delivery of the hospitality program was a success. We received many positive, unprompted feedback calls and messages and 17 instances of negative client feedback, 9 of which were security and venue staff related issues, and 8 were clients wishing they had selected a different level of experience.

COVID IMPACT

Rather than continuously refer to the impact of Covid throughout this report, the following is a summary of the Covid impact on each area of the programme.

Product & Pricing

The strategy was adapted to address the market at time of launch with “hospitality lite”, i.e. Premium Seats and Club21 offerings being brought to market and promoted early. The lower price sales generated sales and momentum which meant the hospitality programme had significant early success despite the Covid working restrictions.

Marketing

Marketing plans were adapted to accommodate the work from home policies in place and lack of trade marketing channels. The budget was stretched with an extra 12 months of activity to support although at times we benefited from a quiet marketplace, promoting a product which many felt, at least initially, would take place after the crisis had passed.

Sales

It was our desire to be on-sale prior to the tournament launch and general sale in late September. The tournament was debating whether to launch or not, and when the decision was taken to launch in September, irrespective of the Covid backdrop, we also agreed to be “Bold & Brave” and launch the hospitality programme on 1 September. Effectively we doubled down on investment in the programme against a very uncertain backdrop. In hindsight we feel that was the right decision as we generated high levels of sales in the first 3 months during launch, and had we waited the deteriorating Covid situation would have meant a much poorer hospitality programme.

Operations

Covid made the planning and preparation extremely difficult, and the tournament delay meant much work was undone or had to be repeated. Many costs were incurred twice, both overhead costs, and some delivery costs. Many stadium / catering teams were on furlough meaning communication was inefficient. Even during delivery in tournament many people were working from home and document delivery was compromised with uncertainty regarding document and ticket delivery.

Financial Impact

The tournament postponement costs and sales impact were:

• £164,007 additional delivery costs

• £230,000 additional overhead costs

• £487,535 cancellations (2,671 places)

Total Costs: £811,542

Government / Tournament insurance support amounted to £500,000 meaning the net impact / loss was considerable.

Postponement

Tournament postponement did however mean an additional 12 month selling period and with strong focus on marketing and selling throughout, the hospitality programme did exceed targets.

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.