Euro 2012 sponsors ready tactical marketing drives
UEFA global partners Adidas, Orange and McDonald’s are bolstering their Euro 2012 sponsorship activity with a flurry of tactical advertising campaigns in a bid to tap into the growing excitement around the tournament.
Adidas, is launching a new portal on the photo blogging site Tumblr that lets fans listen to podcasts as well as view pictures and videos that feature Adidas sponsored teams and players such as Leo Messi, Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas and David Beckham.
The sports brand believes the social network will play a key part in its future social media strategy.
Tom Ramsden, global brand marketing director of football at Adidas, says the tie-up is a “significant” step for the brand’s efforts to appeal to 14-19 year olds using platforms “beyond typical football communications channels.”
After the Euros, the brand will continue to use the site house football content from Champions League and the US football league MLS features. The move comes as other sponsors such as Carlsberg and Castrol ramp up their social media activity around the tournament to avoid be overshadowed by their Olympic counterparts.
Meanwhile, Orange is launching two free apps to tap into the expected surge in dual-screen viewing around matches.
The UEFA Euro 2012 app lets users find their friends nearby as well as locate venues where they can watch the games across Europe. The Supporters Cup Shake & Shout app is a competition to see which fans can record the loudest cheer. The telecoms firm is using the tournament to launch its first pan-European sponsorship across markets including Spain, Poland, France, the UK, Slovakia.
McDonald’s is using the start of the tournament to launch its new football-themed Championship Menu, which includes the Cheese & Bacon Striker and the Chicken Maestro burgers.
The menu launched this month and is being supported by a Leo Burnett created TV campaign (see below).
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The promotion will run alongside a European digital campaign that asks fans to demonstrate their passion for the game.
It is hoped the tactical campaigns will allow the brands to tap into the worldwide coverage of the championship, which UEFA predicts will rival FIFA’s World Cup and draw an average of 150 million fans per match.
