For sport brands, famous and infamous for their passionate followings, the human interaction offered by social media platforms is invaluable, putting traditional media at a disadvantage.

Glasgow Warriors, one of the two professional rugby union sides from Scotland, has teamed up with GumGum, an artificial intelligence company with expertise in computer vision, to document and showcase the full sponsorship value of its partners across traditional and social media.

Nathan Bombrys, managing director of Glasgow Warriors, says, “We are always looking to innovate and we believe this exciting partnership with GumGum Sports will help us to better understand how to deliver even more value to our commercial partners through their association with Glasgow Warriors.”

The partnership aims to reveal the true value of the sponsorships the team offers across a 12-month period, leading to a better understanding of the digital impact of their resources. The year-long period will include both the Guinness PRO14 and Heineken Champions Cup.

GumGum Sports will be responsible for noting the reaction of broadcast and social media, as well as broadcasted games to conclude to a media value based on comparable costs for advertising. The results will come from the evaluation of exposure produced by all content creator and not only those owned by Glasgow Warriors, taking into consideration every single post that has been published in relation to the rugby union.

“We believe the insights provided by GumGum Sports will put us in an even better position to meet the business objectives of our sponsors and partners, and therefore help us to continue to grow our club,” Bombrys says.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube will be valued to determine their reach, using a proprietary media value percentage methodology. The reach will be valued regarding its clarity, prominence and share of voice. The results will then be compared to the required cost the union would have to pay to buy the same amount of reach on traditional media.

Sam Grimley, commercial director of GumGum Sports, says, “The way in which fans consume Rugby is rapidly changing, meaning the way in which clubs measure and monetise their sponsorship offering requires a new approach. It’s an exciting time for the sport and we’re looking forward to helping Glasgow Warriors better understand the full value and digital impact of their content.”

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