Turning fan stories into packed clubhouses

The challenge

The Men’s and Women’s Guinness Six Nations are built on rivalry, history and national pride. But their true energy lives beyond the stadium, forged by fans in pubs across the UK.

Greene King challenged us to create a campaign that would turn that shared passion into footfall, making the pub the only place you’d want to watch the Six Nations.

The approach

Six Nations fans may support different teams, but they feel the same things. The silence before the kick. The relief when it goes over. The love of the game.

The best people to tell the Six Nations story were the fans themselves. So, we began with a national call-out to hear their Six Nations experience, uncovering tales of traditions and connection in Greene King pubs.

From this, we created the United by Rugby platform and a fan-led campaign identity to carry the campaign across all channels. POS created a consistent, welcoming matchday experience across the Greene King estate, while tiered toolkits elevated Guinness Clubhouses with dedicated viewing environments.

Three hero scripts were written from the real stories of three home nation fans, alongside a unifying hero script that captured the tournament’s shared spirit. Targeted by location, the campaign spoke to fans across nations on radio, social and TVC.

Production

The stories were brought to life during a two-day shoot with a carefully selected cast that reflected the real people behind each story. The shoot captured both film and photography, producing four hero films and a suite of stills. A photography-led approach used tight, emotive framing to capture fan reactions as they happened.

In post, editing focused on emotional pacing, supported by colour grading, subtle animation and layered sound design to add depth while keeping the focus on the fan experience.

The results

United by Rugby turned real stories into packed clubhouses, driving footfall and increasing sales across Greene King Sport pubs throughout the tournament. As both the men’s and women’s championships came down to England v. France, pubs filled with rival fans watching the deciders together, United by Rugby. The campaign strengthened Greene King’s connection to rugby audiences, cementing its role as the home of Six Nations viewing.