Alison Head of Projects
Football fever is upon us. In just a few days time, it all kicks off in Brazil and millions of people across the globe will tune in. As a food business, this gives you the perfect opportunity to promote your product with a themed campaign that ties into the football madness – and show support for your team too! If you need some inspiration, take a look at our five football favourites from some top names…
Budweiser
Budweiser is off to a winning start. They have created a limited edition gold Budweiser bottle and a unique message that calls on people all over the world to ‘Rise as One’ and come together to celebrate football moments that unite and inspire fans. Their TV ad has cinematic shots of people celebrating football moments, crosscut with images of a gleaming gold Budweiser bottle, dripping with ice-cold condensation, evoking emotion and thirst at the same time. There is also outdoor advertising as well as print and online activity such as Facebook, Twitter and You Tube. Budweiser lovers can even download a mobile app that allows them to locate the nearest bar that sells Budweiser!
By utilising all the available promotional assets available to them, Budweiser are making the most of their role as official beer for the event.
Coca cola
Coca Cola’s campaign focuses on ‘inspiring’ people to get active by offering consumers the chance to win a limited edition football when they purchase a special edition Coca Cola drink. Coca Cola are also an official partner, which means the footballs are branded with the Coca Cola logo and the official Brazil logo. For the chance to win, consumers simply need to log on to the specially created Win a Ball website and enter the unique code found on the Coca Cola promotional packs. Their campaign goes even further with the ‘get active’ message by pledging that 10p from each valid entry will go to the UK charity Street Games, which helps disadvantaged people get into sports.
Consumers love a freebie, especially when it marks iconic events that they’ll be watching every day on TV!
McCoys crisps
McCoys has a strong association with pubs here in the UK and they have created a winning formula by using this link for their 2014 football based campaign. The fictional character of the Pub Landlord (a.k.a. Al Murray), fronts the campaign that focuses on giving one lucky winner the chance to recreate their favourite pub in Rio de Janeiro. The winner, along with their pub mates and their pub landlord, will fly to Brazil to watch a game and they’ll feel right at home as they’ll be able to make it just like their local! Pubs up and down the country will feature the campaign by promoting it on pint glasses, t-shirts, posters, tent cards, beer and drip mats. There is also a media partnership with The Sun newspaper, which will ensure widespread coverage – and the sales of even more crisps!
This is a fun, friendly campaign that brings people together, and it offers a fantastic prize that the winner can share with friends and family.
McDonalds
McDonalds is going all out. In May, they introduced a new and redesigned fries box packaging which they are using worldwide. They commissioned 12 street artists to create the designs, which also act as an activation point for the company’s new augmented reality app entitled GOL! This interactive mobile experience enables the user to turn the box into a football game, simply by using a smartphone. Users need to hold their smartphone up to the front of their fries box so that their phone ‘recognises’ the artwork and a football pitch will then appear on the screen. The box appears as the goal and there are obstacles too – users need to ‘kick’ or flick their finger to play this fun and unique game.
This campaign uses modern technology to entice and connect with people, which keeps it fresh, different and interactive.
Powerade
Powerade is a respected and well-known sports drink. Their football campaign includes TV commercials/documentaries featuring professional footballers and amateurs playing the beautiful game. The documentary style films, shown via first time global digital activation, celebrate the hard work it takes to be a top player. The inspirational stories include the face of the campaign, Spanish footballer Andres Iniesta, whose success is shown to the audience alongside five amateur athletes, with footage of their crucial sporting moments. The American athlete Nicolai Calbria who was born with one leg is one of the inspirational athletes portrayed.
We all love inspirational stories, and campaigns like these pull our heartstrings and make us sit up and take notice.
We hope our top five football campaigns for 2014 have inspired you to think about your own food brand and how you can maximise the opportunities a big sporting event can bring.
