Two of sport’s most historic names, The Open and Scottish Rugby, have launched a new marketing partnership ahead of The 147th Open at Carnoustie in July 2018.
The fan-focussed partnership will see The Open and Scottish Rugby work together to provide supporters with unique and engaging content over the coming months, including the upcoming Autumn Test match between Scotland and Australia, the 1872 Cup and next year’s Six Nations Championship.
In addition, Scottish Rugby fans will be given the chance to get up close to the famous Claret Jug as it visits BT Murrayfield over the coming months. There will also be exclusive promotions for Scottish Rugby fans who plan to attend The 147th Open which will bring the world’s best golfers to the world renowned Angus links from 15-22 July 2018.
BT Murrayfield – the home of Scottish Rugby – welcomed the Claret Jug to Scotland’s biggest sporting stadium in Edinburgh alongside the 1872 Cup and Hopetoun Trophy to celebrate the launch of the new partnership.
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said, “We are really excited to have launched a new marketing partnership with Scottish Rugby to promote The 147th Open to fans around the entire country.
“There are great parallels between the two sports, rich in heritage but also with some very exciting times ahead, and we look forward to providing engaging content that will inspire fans to attend one of the world’s greatest sporting events when the Championship returns to Carnoustie next year.”
Scotland’s men’s rugby team will take on Australia in front of a capacity crowd of more than 67,000 fans this Saturday in the third and final Autumn Test following recent matches against Samoa and New Zealand. Scottish Rugby’s two professional teams, Glasgow and Edinburgh, will face off in two 1872 Cup clashes just after Christmas before attention begins to turn to the Six Nations Championship starting in February.
Toni Blackhurst, Scottish Rugby’s Head of Marketing and Sponsorship, added, “We are delighted to have formed this new partnership with The R&A ahead of The 147th Open next year. We are attracting crowds to BT Murrayfield in record numbers and we are always looking at different ways of enhancing our fans experience, whether that be in stadia on a match day or by producing unique content for our digital platforms. It’s great that through the partnership we will be able to reward Scottish Rugby fans with special offers to enjoy this world class sporting event.”
The 147th Open www.theopen.com