Phillips was appointed to run Wales’ national sport in the Autumn of 2015 and has made three significant changes to his executive staff in that time, with Ryan Jones and Geraint John joining the board as ‘head of participation’ and ‘head of performance’ respectively in the New Year, and this month Mark Killingley joined from the RFU as the new head of digital marketing and communications.
Now in his seventh month at the helm the former B&Q CEO believes Killingley’s role is a vital piece in the jigsaw as he plots his strategy for the Union’s key objective – to engage more people in Wales in rugby, more often and with more enjoyment – and the Welsh rugby brand is an important focus
“One of the things we are looking at is how we can work even more collaboratively with the clubs to give bigger brands a footprint in Wales,” said Mr Phillips.
“If we can get more people engaged in the game and drive attendances up in the regions and the Premiership that would be of huge benefit and one of the things will be around digital where clearly we can and will invest.
“It (the new digital strategy) may not be a direct revenue stream, but the value to clubs is more people watching them with more volunteers, coaches and referees, that is where the real value is for us, so we are trying to engage more people in the game of rugby.”
And the man who will implement the digital strategy, summarises the new approach by saying he wants to get to know Welsh rugby supporters better and react to their needs.
“By centralising data and putting together all the different data sources into one place, we will have the ability to communicate with people ensuring that they strategically matter to the union,” said Mr Killingley, who was previously head of digital and customer relationship management for the RFU and has also been marketing director for the NFL.
“Be that by attending regional games or at Principality Stadium, by knowing who our customers are and having a better view of that customer base, we can do more.
“And it is not just about commercial aspects, we also need to use that information to get more people to play and participate and at grass root levels as well.
“It is a question of putting in place platforms that allow us to be much more efficient and effective as a governing body.”
Phillips’ ambitions to grow the game at every level permeate through all of his current thinking from the appointment of the talismanic former Wales captain Jones to drive participation to asking Killingley to help focus the way the union communicates with its customers.
The effects are already being seen with participation increasing in junior clubs around the country and thousands of girls recently joining up after a new summer initiative was launched.
“Some 2,500 girls have signed up to play rugby in the last month, which is staggering really and without any particular digital push,” said Mr Phillips.
“So, if you can get those girls engaging all day and every day with rugby in some form, and then they go and watch the regions on Saturdays, then there is huge value to that.”
All of this makes Welsh rugby a mouth-watering offering for any businesses who want to reach out to new or existing customers, not just in Wales but world-wide.
“If you are a new company and you want to create market share in Wales the quickest and most effective route to market, by a country mile, is Welsh rugby as you can immediately get onto the consumer wavelength,” he added.
“The bit to easily underestimate here is the power of the brand. There are a lot of companies out there that would give their right arm for the power of Welsh rugby as a brand in Wales.
“And depending on your level of investment you cannot just get brand recognition, but brand engagement relatively quickly, particularly through the clubs.
“One of the things we are looking at is how we can work more collaboratively with the clubs to give bigger brands a footprint in Wales. We have some brilliant partners already, but there is a lot more we could do.”
