Castle RWC Work Aims To Give Springboks #HomeGroundAdvantage

Springbok sponsor Castle Lager’s leverage campaign around the 2015 Rugby World Cup is an integrated, six-month initiative called #HomeGroundAdvantage.

This campaign has several strands – from fan selfies on jerseys to South African turf – and it began back in May with an emotional launch film focusing on serious themes of unity and colour (and the 1995 RWC hosted and won by South Africa).

This film went viral – clocking more than 50,000 digital views in its first three days. Initially released released across the South African Rugby Union’s social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) it achieved 20 000 views on its first day.

This was followed in June when castle introduced the campaign’s core ‘mechanic’ – offering fans a chance to have their own photograph (and that of two friends) embedded/imprinted onto the number on the back of a Bok jersey worn at England 2015.

This strand of the campaign opened with a further TV ad and online film (adopting a matching creative approach and voiceover to the launch spot).

Further awareness-driving June spots supporting this activation strand featured current Boks star Schalke Burger (who nominated his friend Justin and brother Tiaan to have their photos on his shirt),

and former player Corne Krige,

plus well-known rugby broadcaster Matthew Pearce.

This phase also includes an inclusive ‘famous faces and fans faces’ ‘selfie mosaic’ national anthem spot,

and social media work support using the #HomeGroundAdvantage hashtag too (even amplified by other Springbok sponsors such as ABSA).

@Absa Thanks for fueling our #HomeGroundAdvantage http://t.co/YxfpQiDVHo pic.twitter.com/wXPQcbKdFP

— HomeGroundAdvantage (@hgatweet) September 19, 2015

All these elements encouraged fans to enter the competition at the brand’s website – www.castlelager.co.za
As the initiative evolved, successful winners also began to amplify the campaign by sharing their success and delight at having their photos printed onto the shirt numbers across their own social media channels.

Won 3 Rugby World Cup Springbok t-shirts with my photo on it 😀 #Go Bokke @CastleLagerSA pic.twitter.com/0EGpOR9LRJ

— bikashbrijlal (@bikashbrijlal) September 18, 2015

The beer brand combined this core ‘Shirt Photo’ initiative with a set of ‘Super Fan’ experiences and pranks.

.@CastleLagerSA thank you for our jerseys! #HomeGroundAdvantage pic.twitter.com/gQsAK1tIKH

— Reese Withoutaspoon (@Reesiebabygirl) September 20, 2015

Then, as the tournament kicked-off in September, the focus turned to Boks fans in England and to specific matches.

A further film features Super Fans arriving in the host nation, settling in and setting out their stalls to give the Boks ‘home ground advantage’.

The campaign was further supported by on-the-ground world cup Super Fan experiences and surprises – such as Bakkies Botha takes over a ‘fan braai’ (barbecue).

Castle, in harness with Spitfire Films shot in both Johannesburg and London (from a bus at Montecasino to London’s Olympic Stadium) for campaign film footage.

The campaign will continue to evolve both in the host nation, back in South Africa, through advertising and across digital and social platforms wwith event-related content as the tournament progresses through September and October.

Boks with a slender lead at half time and we know they are better than this. Where can they improve in the second half to secure this win?

— Castle Lager SA (@CastleLagerSA) September 19, 2015

.@CastleLagerSA thanks for sending us some coldies with @Heart1049FM yesterday! It was a great day despite the result pic.twitter.com/Z9l3SxFu7z

— Reese Withoutaspoon (@Reesiebabygirl) September 20, 2015

Another, more literal, #HomeGroundAdvantage campaign strand is ‘The Turf Of A Nation’ – which sees the squad carry a special piece of South African turf with them to England.

Soil planted with seedlings and watered by local personalities produced a block of turf from each of South Africa’s 14 rugby provinces which travelled with the Springboks to England for the Rugby World Cup to give them #HomeFieldAdvantage.

South African celebrities – from former Springboks like Corne Krige and Breton Paulse to musicians and even Miss South Africa – christened this ‘home turf’ at the Springbok Experience Rugby Museum in Cape Town in early September.

‘They’ve all come together to fuel #HomeGroundAdvantage,’ says SA Rugby’s GM corporate affairs Andy Colquhoun.

‘The idea is to make it tangible to the team that South Africa is right behind them wherever they play.’

‘The home turf is a positive psychological thing,’ adds former Springbok star Corne Krige.

‘It’s a feeling of relief knowing that a piece of home is just outside the locker room.’

Comment

There is much to admire about this integrated team support initiative.

But while it certainly ticks a set of key activation boxes (eg interactive, participatory, connecting fans to the team, creating emotional responses and generating support) we feel there is a lack of consistency tying the various campaign strands to the core title idea of #HomeGroundAdvantage.

There are clearly echoes of previous campaigns revolving around etching fan photos and names onto shirts worn on the pitch or on other sports equipment and apparel.

These date back to Adidas’ ground-breaking #AllBlacks AdiThread ‘This Is Not A Jersey’ initiative in 2008,

to the Team Sky Jaguar support car campaign from the 2014 Tour de France (see case study) and this year’s UPS Ferrari campaign with fan photos on the sponsor logo shield on the side off the F1 car and which highlights the pitfalls of these campaigns if not monitored correctly (see case study).

Castle has been a major sponsor of the Springboks since May 2011 when, after a six-year background associate partnership, it signed a five-year deal as the sponsor of home Springbok tests and overseas tours, plus as the title sponsor of the Tri-Nations series.

This deal, whilst officially undisclosed, has been reported to be valued at around R20m ($1.5m) a year.

A statement accompanying the deal announcement said that : ‘Castle Lager and the Springboks are integral to the fabric of South African society. The further coming together of these two brands today is very special and the partnership forged will be significant for South African sport – both now and in the future.’

That deal added to Castle’s existing major ssports sponsorship portfolio that also includes being a premier sponsor of the South African Football Team (Bafana Bafana), a team sponsor of the South African Cricket Team (Castle Lager Proteas), an associate sponsor of the South African Rugby Team (Springboks), the official beer supplier to the HSBC Sevens World Series Leg in South Africa, the official beer supplier to the Vodacom Super Rugby Tournament and the official beer supplier to the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Links

Castle Lager YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/officialcastlelager

Castle Lager Website:

http://www.castlelager.co.za/

Castle Lager Twitter:

https://twitter.com/castlelagersa

#BraaiwithBoks

#HomeGroundAdvantage

#CastleSuperFans

Castle Lager Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/castle.corner