Wimbledon scores more online media mentions in June than Glastonbury

In June, two events dominated the news: Wimbledon and Glastonbury. But according to research commissioned by PRmoment, Wimbledon won the online media game, with a 57 per cent of share of voice compared to 43 per cent for Glastonbury.

Daily trend of coverage: Glastonbury vs Wimbledon

Supplied by Echo Sonar

There was a large spike in coverage on 27 June for both Glastonbury and Wimbledon due to two high-profile stories. At Glastonbury there was news of the death of David Cameron's constituency party chairman, Christopher Shale. At Wimbledon, there was a large amount of coverage commenting on royal newlyweds William and Kate being in the Royal Box.

Other main stories surrounding the events included:

Wimbledon

• Comments on performance of players.
• Comments on atmosphere on the courts/appearance of celebrities.
• Weather during tournament (and the use of covers to protect the courts).
• Predictions that Wimbledon will generate a large profit this year.
• Discussion over the BBC filming the final in 3D.
• Use of a hawk to keep the courts pigeon-free.

Glastonbury

• Reviews/comments on the artists’ performances (this was the main contributor towards overall coverage while the event was on).
• Weather at the start of the festival, when it was still muddy.
• People protesting against U2 moving its operating company to reduce taxes.
• Speculation on how the artists will perform/mentions of artists line up.

The fact that coverage of Glastonbury competed so well against such a prestigious tennis event is a credit to the PR efforts of the festival team. Vicky Beaney, director of media and entertainment at PR agency Eulogy! Says: “I’m always incredibly impressed with the PR around Glastonbury and how it has managed to garner so much media attention.”

Tonality of coverage: Glastonbury vs Wimbledon

Supplied by Echo Sonar

Discussing the topics that attracted media coverage at the start of the festival, Eulogy’s Beaney says that being British, the weather is always a huge focus, “and as usual photographs of attractive young women and celebrities sloshing about in the mud provided the picture stories.”

Beaney found it particularly interesting how chatter on social media led to stories appearing in traditional media: “Conversation online provided a huge source of inspiration for the media, as well as real-time ‘reporting’ for those not watching. Music and social media are natural bedfellows and Twitter in particular provides a platform for anyone to critique and share their opinions on performances as they are happening, whether people are on the ground at the festival or watching on TV at home. The chatter on Twitter around the U2 and Beyonce performances in particular provided the media with an almost immediate snapshot of festival goers reaction to their sets as well as (hilarious) public opinion on everything from song choices to outfits.”

Methodology:PRmoment asked Echo Sonar to analyse UK media coverage of Wimbledon and Glastonbury from 1 June to 28 June. Metrics included share of voice, daily trend and tonality.