eric wins CMA Award for social media

eric’s Rhino Prop Star campaign took home a Gold Award for Best Use of Social Media at the 2018 International Content Marketing Awards.

Shortlisted alongside a field of global agencies, representing brands such as Credit Suisse, Volvo, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland, eric won the top prize for its Rhino Prop Star campaign, which celebrates grassroot rugby players and, in doing so, engaged Rhino’s core market of rugby clubs across the UK.

This was the first CMA Awards eric has been eligible to enter since it launched in 2016 with Alex Mead, Jane Ditcham (both ex-Publicis) and Simon Campbell (formerly SevenC3) as co-founders. “To win gold at the first CMA we’ve ever been up for is incredible,” says Alex, eric’s content director. “Prop Star is about celebrating the most lovable of all rugby players, the prop. This campaign really captured the rugby public’s imagination, which has strengthened further the bond between Rhino and grassroots sport.”

Rhino Prop Star was devised after eric’s research found that props were generally the most well-thought of players in any rugby club. The competition launched in 2017 with players asked to nominate the front row players they felt went above and beyond. These nominations, together with a picture of the prop, were then posted on Rhino’s social media channels, before guest judges – international legends Jason Leonard, Adam Jones, Rocky Clark and Joe Marler – whittled down a shortlist of three that went to a public vote. The winner was then announced at half-time of The Varsity Match at Twickenham between Cambridge University and Oxford University.

“Prop Star is a brilliant campaign and has not only been great for Rhino but it’s also really added something unique to The Varsity Match,” says Reg Clark, CEO of Rhino. “More than 200 nominations were received this year for props right across the UK and this year’s finalists include a transgender prop fighting for equality; a prop who started a mixed ability rugby club; and a young lad who has battled incredible odds just to play the game – Prop Star has allowed us to celebrate these remarkable people.”

“We loved the whole campaign,” said the CMA judges. “It was inventive, creative and ambitious, with great integration of on- and offline content.”

Together with GolfTraveller, Rhino was one of eric’s two founding clients and have since been joined on the agency’s roster by Cigna, Crabtree & Evelyn, The North Face, New Zealand Rugby, Aropec and Golf Travel Solutions.

As well as providing creative marketing solutions for brands, eric also launched a standalone print quarterly, Rugby, which is now on its fourth issue.

For more information on eric, please call Jane Ditcham on 07769 886222