SportsAid to give brand emotional pull
SportsAid, which provides financial support to young British athletes, is readying a major marketing campaign to showcase the emotional journey sportspeople training to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2016 Olympics will go through in a bid to better engage with potential donors.
The campaign will showcase the charity’s revamped branding strategy and introduces the strapline ‘I will be next’ through print, film, digital, experiential and social media marketing initiatives.
SportsAid, which has supported London 2012 gold medal winners Bradley Wiggins and Greg Rutherford, is investing its largest outlay in content to support the long-term strategy that will see it partner with agency Founded to create short films around several of its sponsored athletes preparations for the sport competitions. The videos will be hosted on the brand’s YouTube page and will be supported by social media initiatives on Twitter and Facebook.
It is hoped that social media campaigns will also encourage the athletes to build their own fanbases online.
A spokesman for the company says: “Coming off the back of the Olympics there was a real opportunity for us to do something more exciting and bigger to try and capture that emotion lingering from the athletes achievements at the Games. From a digital perspective we’re looking to give more depth to the backstories of the young athletes through the refresh.
It marks a shift in the charity’s marketing strategy, which it says has been traditionally been “low-key” and more grassroots focused to one that creates a “bolder, warmer, more confident brand persona.”
Tim Lawler, chief executive at SportsAid says: “More than 70% of Team GB’s medal winners at London 2012 have been supported by SportsAid. It is vital that supporters understand our value and impact and now is the time step-up our brand communications. ‘I will be next’ is a clear statement of commitment and ambition – both very strong values that were evident throughout London 2012. We feel this will resonate with our target audiences.“
