Who did we work with?
Rugby is a growing sport in the U.S., and Major League Rugby has played a crucial role in advancing the game in North America since its inaugural season in 2018. The league, made up of 12 teams, has nationally televised matches on Fox Sports as well as its OTT platform, The Rugby Network.
What was the challenge?
As MLR sought to raise its profile in the U.S., they needed a way to expand their reach to attract new fans and deepen their connection to existing ones. Trestle Collective was challenged to raise their national profile through strategic media relations support for the league and its 12 teams.
What was our strategy?
Our team utilized meetings with key stakeholders at MLR to identify specific motivations for growth and zone in on audiences to reach. Our research in comparable sports leagues and relevant media trends delivered insights which enabled us to identify which media channels and activations brought MLR’s competition to the masses best.
Communications Strategy -
Storytelling Development -
Media Relations -
Communications Strategy - Storytelling Development - Media Relations -
It’s good to have good partners, and we’ve been fortunate enough to work with the team at MLR and land the league in Tier 1 media, including FOX Sports, ESPN, Sports Business Journal, Sportico and Axios.
We also devote time to work with individual teams in order to tap into local markets. We’ve collaborated with local teams to support their efforts and help raise the profiles of teams in Miami, Dallas, Charlotte, New Orleans and Los Angeles through this support. Our media relations support also elevated new partnerships with brands like Kappa, Sportable, Globant and Gilbert in U.S. media.
How’d we do?
Our Results
Media reach and ad equivalency value for the 14 days around opening weekend increased 97% from 2023 to 2024.
Media reach grew from 1.08 billion to 2.13 billion, while ad value jumped from $10 million to $19.7 million.
Coverage for MLR through the first four weeks of the regular season is +49% YoY.
Media reach increased from 2.6 billion to 3.8 billion, and ad equivalency value jumped from $24 million to $31.8 million.
“When I start a partnership on behalf of Major League Rugby, I have a very transparent approach to what I need, and the Trestle Collective has always over-delivered. I ask that they engage with me, our league, our teams, not only prioritizing support and service, but to fully immerse themselves in our business allowing a cohesive storytelling approach to our growth. Working with them has significantly raised the bar of what press and media can expect from us, and a level of creativity to our PR approach that didn't exist prior. I'm thankful for their partnership and can-do attitude as we continue to tell the MLR story of growing a challenger league in the U.S.”
— Jericho Groenland, VP of Marketing
Want to connect?
We’re passionate about telling the stories of our client partners, reaching larger audiences and creating lasting impact. We’d love to have a conversation about what that looks like for you.