McDonald’s to push football credentials on Absolute Radio

mcdonaldsMcDonald’s has signed a deal with Absolute Radio to run a campaign on the station that will promote the fast-food chain’s involvement in grassroots football.

The eight-week campaign will focus on Absolute’s Rock’n’Roll Football show. It will include features on McDonald’s football ambassadors Sir Geoff Hurst and Ian Rush, talking about the coaches they played under and encouraging listeners to become involved in coaching in their communities.

Trails for the campaign will run across some of the station’s highest profile shows, including the Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show and the Geoff Lloyd Hometime Show, directing listeners to a dedicated branded microsite that includes information about the campaign and downloadable interviews with Rush and Hurst.

The campaign comes a month after the fast-food chain launched a programme of football open days aimed at encouraging children to take up the sport.

The events, handled by experiential agency Lime, are intended to recruit youngsters, coaches and volunteers, and will be run in collaboration with local football clubs and McDonald’s.

McDonald’s has been involved in football since 2002 when it signed as a sponsor of The Football Association. It is also a partner of the English Premier League and Football League clubs and has a long-standing relationship with the Scottish Premier League and FIFA. It sponsored the World Cup in 2002.

Absolute Radio will be aiming for an improvement on its listenership numbers when second-quarter Rajar figures are revealed on May 7.

Its first-quarter figure, the station’s first since rebranding from Virgin Radio last September, showed a 23.6% slump year on year to 1.9 million.

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