As we approach the kick off to UEFA Euro 2016, brands are taking advantage of the highly anticipated event by engaging fans with their latest campaigns.
Unsurprisingly, football has been found to be the UK’s most popular sport. So it also comes as no surprise that brands are looking to capitalise on the opportunities surrounding the tournament.
With all of the home nations qualifying bar Scotland, the Euros are likely to offer a greater draw to brands across the UK than ever before. The largest of the investors are the 10 official sponsors of the European Championships; Adidas, Carlsberg, Continental Tyres, Coca-Cola, Hyundai/Kia, McDonald’s, Orange, Socar, Turkish Airlines and Hisense.
We have been keeping our eye on the latest marketing activity surrounding the event and here are our three favourite Euro campaigns so far:
Carlsberg
The Danish brewer has spent over £30 million to become the sponsor and has invested a further £60 million in marketing.
As part of its marketing, Carlsberg has unveiled the latest instalment of the ‘If Carlsberg did…’ campaign for Euro 2016 – re-imagining the revolution led by French footballing hero Marcel Desailly. The advert shows the unity of passionate football fans who want tickets to the tournament in France.
The brand has performed a number of stunts to give Euro tickets to the public. One included Chris Kamara, dressed as an older gentleman, rewarding unsuspecting tube travellers with tickets for those who offered their seat up for him as part of the ‘If Carlsberg did substitutions’ campaign.
The official beer sponsor of the tournament has also released a ‘Three Lions Ale’ in support of the nation’s pubs.
Coca Cola
Coca-Cola’s campaign revolves around giving away thousands of tickets to the event – the brand stole a march on Orange who also had a similar plan.
The soft drinks company, which is a long-standing sponsor of sporting events, has 504 sets of four tickets up for grabs which can be won via on-pack promotions. A TV ad, digital and out-of-home communications were also launched alongside the ‘Win Tickets’ campaign.
The promotion is an extension of Coke’s Taste the Feeling campaign which launched at the start of the year. The company will be keen to push sales of the low calorie and sugar free variants.
Mars
Mars have launched a ‘#Believe’ campaign in support of the England, Wales and Northern Ireland national teams. The TV ad features England stars Vardy, Kane and Welbeck leading a fleet of fans across The Channel to France.
The brand has also changed the name of the chocolate bar on the packaging to ‘Believe’. The Believe campaign will extend to retailers in the qualified home nations with a range of POS props featuring fan imagery and national colours.
Whilst other brands seem to have forgotten about Scotland, who failed to qualify, Mars haven’t. The brand has provided an exclusive overlay for Scottish stores, continuing the campaign presence on-pack while offering a competition giving Scottish fans the chance to win a kick-about with a Scottish international footballer.
For help improving your company’s event based marketing, call The Ideal Marketing Company today on 01858 374 170.
