Rugby League runs deeps in Australia. It’s a sport millions of people - from the press to the public - care deeply about.

With the majority of conversations around the game negative in sentiment, we needed an idea and approach that gave them new ways to talk about the game.

The core creative idea was simple: to use league not as a noun, but as a verb. And with this, the campaign line ‘this is how we league’, along with the campaign hashtag #HowWeLeague, were born.

This simple twist gave the word league new meaning, giving people new ways to talk about the game.

Most importantly, no longer did ‘league’ represent scandal and division, it stood for unity and pride.

Across Sydney, a series of murals engaged fans at a grassroots level, each tapping into club stories that mattered most to fans. They drove pride and optimism for the season ahead. One even became the backdrop for a weeding photo.

A social activation allowed fans to share their own league story, fueling further club pride just before season launch, seeding the campaign hashtag #HowWeLeague.

A week before kick-off, an event introducing the line ‘this is how we league’ and featuring all 16 club captains sent a message of unity, becoming the basis for CEO Todd Greenburg’s season launch speech, extending to commentary via major broadcast coverage.

The same day, our hero film focused on the seasons biggest story - the defection of player James Tedesco from Wests Tigers to the Sydney Roosters - reminding viewers of the first-round match up where he’d face his old club in new colors.

As relationship-rebuilding campaign, conceived in response to the deteriorating connection between a beloved national sport and its fans, This Is How We League has been a resounding success.

The campaign captured Australian media attention, becoming a talking point across on every major free-to-air TV channel - no mean feat given broadcasting rights are tied to one network. On talkback radio - the medium most critical of league - the commentary turned into a two-way conversation as listeners weighed in on the work in overwhelmingly positive ways. This Is How We League even made it into the halls of Australian politics, with a Minister using his parliamentary floor time to talk about the campaign.

The hearts and minds of fans have also been won back by addressing their disenfranchisement at a grass-roots level, unlocking pride in the game, and helping them claim it back

Over 20,000 fans used the image generator to show us how they league within the first few weeks. The film has been viewed over 1,000,000 times on social channels, generating a positive reaction rate of 99.9%, while shares consistently incorporated #HowWeLeague. Fans also rallied around the murals, actively sharing images.

For the NRL, business outcomes are already trending upwards. Round 1 attendance increased by 41,709 YoY (a 41.3% increase YoY), making it the biggest attendance since 2011. Round 1 TV viewership increased by 73,414 YoY (0.9% increase YoY), and club membership numbers increased by 11,371 YoY (4.2% increase YoY).