Benfica shirt sponsor Emirates activated its new rights with a pre-game, on-pitch live stewardess stunt based around a fun take on an airline safety video.
As 65,000 Benfica fans in the Estádio da Luz eagerly awaited the Lisbon derby kick off against rivals Sporting Lisbon, eight Emirates cabin crew assembled in the centre circle to offer a few tongue-in-cheek tips on keeping safe and sharing their passion for the club.
Following classic cues from traditional airline safety demonstrations, the crew faced the crowd and offered a witty, entertaining and even impassioned demonstration on how to support the club.
It even included the careful placement of a club scarf over the shoulders in a sign of ‘Benfiquism’.
The live, in-event stunt was then posted on the airline’s YouTube channel on 27 October and amplified across Emirates’ social platforms.
Watch Emirates’ crew demonstrate our “safety video” in front of 65,000 @SL_Benfica fans, with a twist… https://t.co/omrhRykdAF #HelloLisbon
— Emirates Airline (@emirates) October 27, 2015
The in stadium activation complemented Emirates’ #HelloLisbon social media competition which invited fans in tthe ground or watching from home to creatively capture their passionate support for the club in order to be in with a chance to win two Economy Class flights from Lisbon to anywhere on the Emirates route network.
‘This activation is a perfect example of the way we like to connect with our customers through sponsorship. It was light-hearted, fun and combined our passion for football with Benfica supporters’ passion for their club,’ outlines , Emirates’ Divisional SVP of corporate communications, marketing and brand Boutros Boutros.
‘We wanted to take the opportunity to do something that the fans in the stadium would remember and we think this worked. We may even try an adaption of this on one of our flights and see how the passengers react.’
The campaign follows on from the May 2015 deal between Emirates and Benfica for a three-year shirt sponsorship.
The sponsorship sees the familiar ‘Fly Emirates’ logo on Benfica’s shirts until the end of the 2017/18 season.
The partnership, which was signed the week Benfica won its 34th Primeira Liga trophy, supports the airline’s introduction of a second daily flight to Lisbon.
‘This announcement is not just about sport, it is also an Emirates investment in Portugal,’ said the ariline’s president Tim Clark at the sponsorship signing event.
‘Since we started flying from Dubai to Lisbon in 2012, we have experienced a sturdy demand for our daily flight and now we look to 2016 and doubling the ways to increase the mutually beneficial trade and tourism our flights bring to the country.’
It also marks yet another expansion of Emirates’ expansive football sponsorship portfolio that also recently added a partnership with the English Football Association and its flagship FA Cup competition, to go along with its existing sponsorship deals with a set of top European clubs such as Arsenal (in the English Premier League), AC Milan (in Italy’s Serie A), Real Madrid (in Spain’s La Liga) and Paris Saint-Germain (in France’s Ligue 1).
Comment:
More stunt than safety video, this initiative offers a fun take on a serious topic.
It certainly injects more life and fan interaction than most of the airlines’ previous on-pitch cabin crew sponsor appearances – which have been typically been limited to medal carrying).
The spot has already racked up 689,747 YouTube in its first three days.
The viewing numbers are particularly impressive considering that Emirates has something of a sponsorship industry reputation for under-activation.
Perhaps this initiative might start to change a few opinions among Benfica fans, consumers and the sponsorship industry?
Links:
Emirates YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/EMIRATES
Emirates Website:
Emirates Twitter:
Emirates Instagram:
https://instagram.com/emirates/
Emirates Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Emirates
Emirates Google+:
https://plus.google.com/+emirates
Emirates LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/emirates
Sports Lisboa Benfica:
