US bank boosts football sponsorship and its football credibility by immortalising fans as personalised figurines.
US-based financial brand Capital One is giving fans the chance to win a hand-made figurine, of themselves.
To be in with a chance of winning, users must log into the Superstars Facebook app, upload two passport-style images, and select their eye colour, skin tone and distinguishing facial features (i.e. a beard).
Capital One will then select 1,000 fans at random and create a figurine for each of them.
Last year Capital One became headline sponsors of the League Cup in a four-year deal.
Comment
The Corinthian Prostar football figurines proved to be extraordinarily popular throughout the 1990’s, with football fans up and down the country building up impressive collections of their favourite players.
And for those fans, the chance to win a personalised figurine will surely be worth a couple of minutes on the Facebook app.
From Capital One’s perspective, this campaign also creates an opportunity for the brand to tap into the nostalgia associated with these toys.
As an American bank, there’s always going to be a question of validity surrounding its partnership with the League Cup – a popular English competition steeped in history and tradition.
But the bank will be hoping that these figurines can overcome this issue, or at least contribute towards a more positive association with the Cup.
Budweiser also encountered this validity problem when it became headline sponsor of the FA Cup:
‘The challenge was how this most American of brands should speak with an authentic voice about this most British of sporting properties,’ explained Paul Graham, former partner at Anomaly. And just like Capital One have done, the brand sought to overcome this by tapping into footballing culture – in this case by supporting a non-league club, Wembley F. C.
Of course, the success of Capital One’s four-year sponsorship deal relies on much more than a few personalised figurines. But this campaign should leave a (slightly more) positive impression in people’s minds, and help to persuade football fans that, perhaps, this American bank does understand the interests of supporters.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/capitaloneuk/app_508439032542030
