Coca-Cola makes the fans the stars as it kicks off Premier League sponsorship
The drinks giant is celebrating “everyday” people as it looks to grow sales of its low and no-sugar variants through a three-and-a-half-year deal with the Premier League.
Coca-Cola is making “everyday people” the stars of its new multi-million pound campaign designed to celebrate its three-and-a-half-year partnership with the Premier League – the company’s biggest sport sponsorship agreement in the UK.
The partnership is also part of the company’s wider plan to boost growth beyond its core brand and increase sales of its healthier variants – Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar.
The campaign, ‘Where Everyone Plays’, tells the story of football fans – from groundskeepers to general spectators – from all 20 Premier League clubs and how they not only watch the game but make the competition what it is today.
The 90-second spot, created by M&C Saatchi, is soundtracked by Yazoo’s ‘Only You’ and features cameos from Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard, former Premier League player-turned commentator Jermaine Jenas and more than 250 real supporters. It will air first air on TV tomorrow (8 February).
Other activations include a nationwide Premier League Trophy Tour that will take place during March and April, as well as an on-pack promotion offering one fan the chance to be their club’s ‘12th player’.
The ‘Be the 12th’ campaign will run across Coca-Cola original, Coke Zero Sugar and Diet Coke from February. The campaign will also be supported through media partnerships with Talksport and Joe.co.uk and in digital.
Coca-Cola’s new marketing director for the UK and Ireland, Paul Grace, says the company is focused on “celebrating the people who make the Premier League the best in the world, as well as raising awareness of our wide range of drinks”.
When speaking to Marketing Week last September, Jon Woods, general manager of Coca-Cola Great Britain, said the deal is part of Coca-Cola’s strategy to boost growth beyond its core brand and increase sales of its healthier alternatives.
“Our strategy is to become a total drinks company and that means growing beyond Coca-Cola to develop a range of drinks to suit more consumers on more occasions. What this partnership allows us to do is to amplify and talk about all those different brands,” he said.
He added: “We will have some brands lead at different times. Some of the brands we haven’t supported that much historically and it allows us to bring them back in the fold in a way we wouldn’t normally do.”
Woods also indicated that this is just the beginning of more multi-brand campaigns.
Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of the Premier League came after the league shifted its strategy, dropping its title sponsor approach in favour of bringing more brands on board. The drinks giant joins a roster of six other brands, including former title sponsor Barclays, as well as Cadbury, Nike and Carling.
