Manchester United players were out on the town in Manchester, UK on Monday night celebrating their English Premier League title. Defenders Nemanja Vidic, Rio Feridnand and other United players were photographed jumping into a sky blue, City-sponsored taxi.
Etihad were quick off the mark and offered their congratulations with a topical ad placed in the Manchester Evening News. It’s a cheeky, brilliant example of Newsjacking and pure opportunism.
Via The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2315156/Manchester-City-sponsors-Etihad-congratulate-Manchester-United-players-taxi.html#ixzz2RchRTMHe
Michael Owen announced his retirement from football this week. He also said that he hadn’t been fully fit since he was 19. Injury prone Owen still managed to have an amazing career and is one of England’s all-time great goalscorers. Our London Office created this Facebook post to wish him well.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I can channel Urgent Genius into my own personal passions. I left university to go work at the only company in America that required you to play soccer at lunchtime – the United States Soccer Federation. So how can I help football-related entertainment brands create real-time topical content that connects better with brands?
Well, first I can take notes from ESPN. They’ve executed what we call “Planned Spontaneity” perfectly. They looked at their content calendar and realised that January is all about the transfer window.
So they built TransferCenter. They describe it as “a responsively-built digital destination designed to offer fans a real-time catalogue and multi-media connection to the stories, rumours, updates and player transfer news in leagues worldwide during the run-up to, and throughout, the winter transfer window.”
Now, here’s the Genius bit: Their partnership with EA SPORTS. As players complete transfers, the app will produce images and simulations of that player in their new club kit, based on FIFA ’13 game engine and graphics.
I’ve helped brands capitalise on the transfer window before, but this impresses upon me the urgent need for creative partnerships to surprise and delight. I hate it when my Panini sticker collections have players in the wrong kit due to a last-minute transfer. Well done, ESPN and EA for solving this problem in real-time for fans. If you’re into football, you’ll realise that this is a simple but very nice touch that makes you feel like ESPN and EA are walking in the same world of “I want it right here, right now” as their millions of fans globally.
What other football-related bits of Urgent Genius have you seen?
Source: Reading 7 Dec issue of Broadcast magazine (yep, a totally analogue paper copy) as well as a link from Mobile Entertainment
Our guys in Atlanta have picked up on America’s confusion with soccer and the upcoming Euro2012 championship. This little site gives Yanks a suggested second team to support based on their personal POV on life. As the site says the sport will be all over ESPN but the U.S. wont be there.
http://worldcupwithoutus.com/
To launch the newest Scottish kit, Adidas have utilised Augmented Reality in a way that will really capture the hearts and minds of football fans by allowing them to stand alongside their heroes. It works by recording willing participants on a big screen and adding computer generated sensory input to give the impression that they have been joined by Scottish players.
Although Scotland has failed to qualify for the Euro 2012 football tournament, this could be a great way to generate some interest in what would otherwise be a mostly forgotten kit. Most of the media in the coming month will be saturated with all manner of deals and product/clothing launches but what sets this stunt apart is that it will get valuable column inches in the print media and discussion online, hopefully securing more sales for Adidas. The fact they are approaching their fans directly during this busy time of year in a shopping centre to me suggests Urgent Genius. It keeps Football shirts on their mind as they shop, I wonder what they might buy?
A big part of Football’s appeal particularly to the younger generations is wish fulfilment. By allowing them to stand should to shoulder with their favourite footballers, it will make them feel a bit closer to the club they love.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=61W_D-ipBUI#!
-Guest post by Joe Jacobs
