Early July saw England sponsor Yorkshire Tea give fans an innovative virtual reality cricket experience fronted by the country’s record wicket taker Jimmy Anderson.
Supporters were offered an opportunity to experience what it’s like face the England fast bowler through virtual reality on the Oculus Rift headset.
This collaboration between James Anderson, Yorkshire Tea and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) was called ‘A Proper Ball’ experience to link with the tea brand’s current ‘tea done properly’ core marketing idea.
The Oculus Rift experience is based on specially shot HD footage from a batsman perspective at the crease and during the 120-second experience sees three 80mph balls from Anderson fly down the wicket towards the wearer.
Developed by agency BMB London, the experience is available to spectators attending the Investec Ashes Series throughout the summer at test grounds and is based at the England Cricket hub.
It was also amplified socially.
This is our virtual batting experience with @jimmy9 – any of your lads need a practice, @CricketAus? #Ashes pic.twitter.com/c1e0LweBnY
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) July 29, 2015
This activation strand is part of a wider £3m programme of Yorkshire Tea England Cricket sponsorship activity that began back in 2013.
This programme spans its sponsorship of the elite national team and its commitment to grassroots cricket.
‘To mark our third year as the official brew of the England cricket team, we’ve teamed up with the ECB to provide cricket fans with an unforgettable experience this summer,’ explains Yorkshire Tea brand manager Tom Blair.
‘Our mission was to create a user experience that was as near to the real thing as possible – and after trying it out for myself, and seeing the expressions of others who have tested it, I think we’ve achieved that.
‘It’s normally only unfortunate opposition batsmen who get to take on James Anderson at his most ferocious, but with this new technology, thousands of spectators will be able to do the same, experiencing just what an 80mph yorker from ‘The Burnley Express’ actually feels like.’
James Anderson himself commented on the experience: ‘This is a really fun bit of technology that gives fans a rare chance to get involved in the action. Looking forward to seeing you in the middle this summer!’
BMB’s Richard Wilcock added: ‘BMB is thrilled to be launching such an immersive digital cricket experience on behalf of Yorkshire Tea. It will help cement and build on the brand’s credentials in the world of first-class cricket and help connect it with new audiences.’
As part of its self-described ‘unique activations’ approach, another thread of its Ashes activation sees Yorkshire Tea apply its familiar and light-hearted ‘tongue-in-cheek’ tone across social media to ‘try and make cricket relevant to the trends of a modern social media audience’.
This sees it roll out a mix of quirky match updates to drive fan engagement and to try and ensure Yorkshire Tea becomes the place to go for ‘light-hearted’ online Ashes content.
This ranges from content built around match updates,
This is our Little Urn – now @EnglandCricket have theirs back too! Congratulations lads, you've done us proud. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/mL9T851noY
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) August 8, 2015
to supporting Yorkshire favourite and England Ashes star Joe Root,
Roooooooooooooot! #Ashes pic.twitter.com/TiUwJcdkVw
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) August 6, 2015
and also asking fans to create their favourite songs for the Yorkshire Tea Band to play live during the match ‘tea breaks’.
Our brass band need your help picking a song for the Ashes tea break. Have your say! http://t.co/YeFuvVcfSg pic.twitter.com/WXv9I7Dasa
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) July 25, 2015
Here's the Yorkshire Tea band playing Bruno Mars, Uptown Funk – as chosen by you! Thanks to everyone who voted! pic.twitter.com/7dHHt5flFz
— Yorkshire Tea (@YorkshireTea) August 4, 2015
Comment
In recent months Oculus Rift’s status as the go-to technology for virtual reality activation has been challenged by the more economic Google Cardboard, but Yorkshire Tea’s tech choice ensures a strikingly realistic experience – complete with wicket keeper sledging.
But adding a sharing mechanic to the experience might have extended and amplified the activation thread a little further.
Among the more notable features of Yorkshire Tea’s approach to its cricket activation is the effective manner in which it maintains its own distinct brand personality and light-hearted tone and the way in which its sponsorship work dovetails with its current ‘Proper Brew’ marketing idea.
A #properbrew of @YorkshireTea to start my day watching the #InvestecAshes @TrentBridge pic.twitter.com/Edxvi4f1qC
— Emma Vernon (@em_vernon) August 6, 2015
This summer sees Yorkshire Tea running a £5m campaign led by a TV spot that takes viewers to ‘Brewtopia’ and which is fronted by former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, several other famous faces and 125 Yorkshire Tea employees.
First launched in July to leverage interest in the start of the England v Australia Ashes test series, the theme of the spot is the idea that ‘tea done properly is a thing to be proud of’.
This commercial, created by agency BMB and with buying by Goodstuff, is part of a 12-month campaign highlighting the company’s ‘unwavering passion and uncompromising dedication’ to create the best tea.
The TV work is supported by OOH, PR, digital, experiential, social media and sponsorship activity.
‘Our TV commercials are known for their sense of fun, warmth and quirky Yorkshireness, and this one is certainly no different in capturing everything we stand for,’ explains Yorkshire Tea marketing manager Kevin Sinfield.
‘We’re still very much a nation of tea drinkers and yet, all too often, there is a sense of apathy towards the product. This campaign is about changing that and challenging the nation’s tea drinking habits and brand choice by demonstrating why proper really matters.’
Links
Yorkshire Tea Website:
http://www.yorkshiretea.co.uk/
Yorkshire Tea YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/YorkshireTeaBrewTube
Yorkshire Tea Twitter:
https://twitter.com/yorkshiretea
@YorkshireTea.
Yorkshire Tea Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/yorkshiretea
ECB Website:
