When Ultras use QR codes to offend the opposition.
At last weekends derby match between Karisyaka and Göztepe, Karisyaka fans unfurled a QR Code banner ‘tifo’ which scanned as text designed to insult Göztepe fans as much as possible and at the same time avoid immediate confiscation by officials.
For my final year Marketing Communications module, I had to write an essay on sponsorship and branding. As a huge football, rugby, tennis, cycling… well, as a huge sports fan, there were plenty of examples to choose from: Aviva has produced one of the most remarkably successful re-brandings of the last few years- helped in no short course by their extensive sponsorship within rugby. And, of course Evian’s involvement in Wimbledon has given them a platform on which to create some wonderfully creative experiential campaigns and headline-grabbing stunts.
Despite those two fine examples, I pitched for Santander and their sponsorship of the McLaren Mercedes team. It was the perfect subject. The message was clear, the use of Jenson, Lewis and the British team perfectly reflected their own brand values of stability and teamwork. (Not to mention establishing the British-ness of the company, in light of their recent takeovers and re-branding of Abbey and Bradford & Bingley).
The further I delved into the subject, the more I realised that even the smallest detail within their adverts, or the smallest semantic in their campaign, was a reflection of their brand values. I could have written my dissertation on the subject, but unfortunately, I was limited to 1,500 words.. and sadly, despite the best of intentions, a week visiting the girlfriend in Limerick got the better of me and I bashed out the essay on the Limerick to Dublin train, sat next to two lovely old ladies from Cork who were trying to feed me with Southern Comfort at the end of each paragraph. I got a 2:1. I am actually quite proud, considering.
But I digress. Massively.
Since then, Santander have, in this author’s humble opinion, gone on to become industry leaders in sports sponsorship, due - simply - to their willingness to actively engage with the public. Their latest campaign, brought to my attention earlier this week, uses Rory McIlroy - and once again fan participation and engagement is at the heart of the campaign, and once again, it’s a winner.
Great use of technology by Adidas for the launch of latest Scotland shirt. Compare that with this week’s digi ‘stunt’ by Bayern Munich where they announced they would present their new signing on facebook… only that the new ‘signing’ turned out to be the fan watching on facebook. Ouch. Unsurprisingly, the fans weren’t happy.
Dropped into Seville the other week to grab a bit of winter sun.. and to see the best mate, of course. It’s a simply incredible city, just brimming with history, culture and stunning architecture. I have been reading a wonderfully poetic book on Don Juan recently, and walking around Seville, you could just sense the passion of the town as the author had so wonderfully conveyed.
What struck me en route to Andalucia though, was how all of my prep for the trip was done digitally.. or to be more precise, on my phone. Instead of grabbing a book or picking up a travel sup, I used the excellent Wikitravel. I downloaded apps for the language and attractions and pinned everything on the phone’s map. I’ve always been a huge advocate of digital within PR, but it struck me on this particular trip, quite how much scope there is for digital within the travel and tourism sector.
In the recent interviews I have been to, the mere mention of digital brings the almost now-standard response of “Ah, digital.. We’re all over Facebook and Twitter.” But the fact is, is that digi has already superseded social media. Facebook and Twitter, whilst continuing to be fantastic conversational tools and now the industry standard (for want of a better phrase - it’s late okay!) We have seen laptop sales drop significantly in the last year as people embrace tablets and mobile internet usage is now more common than ‘traditional’ computer usage - as PR’s we should now be creating content with mobile at the heart of use.
Sure, for this particular trip my location was pre-determined by the availability of free accommodation and the chance to kick a German’s arse at Pro Evo (an activity that never gets old by the way) but my decision on how to spend my free time, where to eat, what to visit etc was determined not by brochures, journalists or travel websites.. but, largely, by UGC - wikitravel, independent apps etc.
Australia have recently focussed their marketing budget on social media but for many European cities, such as Seville, the real value in digital will not be through ‘traditional digital channels’ but by adding the interactive element to their visit.
Giro D’Italia 2012 Viral. Beautiful.
Reminds me of one of the greatest sporting virals I’ve come across,by Fulham FC.
