Cricket season Down Under is now in full swing and this year Cricket Australia top level platinum partner Victoria Bitter (VB) has steered clear of its recent hi-tech gimmick led campaigns (such as its scoreboard and smart watch activation) in favour of a fan-fcoused campaign that offers cricket lovers a chance to have their own names on the national team’s one day jerseys.
The VB initiative is positioned as offering all Australian cricket supporters a unique opportunity to ‘earn a place in the Australian cricket team’.
The opportunity is compelling and the mechanic is fairly simple: fans are invited to nominate a person who has inspired them ‘to work hard and take action’.
These nominations will all appear on the campaign’s digital hub and a brand assembled panel will choose the most inspiring stories which will win their nominee’s name on the shirt worn by one of Australia’s cricketers during the summer’s VB One Day International Series.
To nominate fans were urged to visit http://www.victoriabitter.com.au where the brand outlined details as to how cricket fans could make their nominations either by uploading relevant photos or stories
A 30-second introductory promotional film outlines the initiative.
And, to get the ball rolling, the campaign is led by individual videos by several big name Australian cricket stars who each outline whose name they are wearing on their one-day shirts this summer season and why.
David Warner gives a heartfelt tribute to his friend ‘Wayne’ who has helped him in his career,
while Mitchell Starc nominates his partner Alyssa Healy (a cricketer who plays for New South Wales and the Australian women’s team),
Shane Watson pays tribute to his father Bob Warne
and George Bailey will also wear the name of his dad John Bailey.
‘Often there are people in your life who need more than a thank you and we feel this a very ‘Victoria Bitter’ way of paying homage to the hard work many people do to support others,’ says Carlton & United Breweries’ Louise Thiele – who believes the campaign fits perfectly with the brand’s ethos.
Comment
Putting fan names on the shirt isn’t in itself new.
Indeed, this tactical trend dates back to Adidas’ Adithread ‘This Is Not A Jersey’ All Blacks campaign in 2008
and more recently included South Africa Rugby Union sponsor Castle’s #HomeGroundAdvantage initiative at the 2015 Rugby World Cup (see case study).
But what we particularly like about the latest VB version of the trend is not only the inspiring participatory nature of the nomination process, but also the high visibility of the name on the shirt itself.
Aussie’s love their cricket like few others and thus campaign is like an Australian equivalent of getting on the New Year’s Honours List.
This is yet another great VB cricket activation that adds to the beer brands impressive heritage of work supporting its Australian Cricket sponsorship.
Links
VB Website:
http://www.victoriabitter.com.au/
VB TV YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/vbbeertv
VB Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vic_bitter
Cricket Australia Website
Cricket Australia YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/cricketaustraliatv
Cricket Australia Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CricketAus
Cricket Australia Instagram:
https://instagram.com/cricketcomau/
Cricket Australia Facebook:
