Walkers, leveraging its parent company Lays’ UEFA rights, is running a linked physical/digital activation focused on host city Cardiff’s Queen Street and revolving around an immersive, mass Mexican wave.
#WalkersWave is a two week initiative kicking off on 23 June and which sees the official sponsor of UEFA Champions League Final invites fans to head down to Queen Street, grab some free Walkers crisps and be in with a chance of winning tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final.
Football supporters and locals are challenged to take part in this virtual, interactive recorded stream of a mass Mexican wave alongside a virtual incarnation of long-term Walkers ambassador and soccer star Gary Lineker.
A Queen Street digital booth, open opposite the entrance to the Principality Stadium between 22 May and 4 June (from 10am to 8pm), offers passers-by a chance to be filmed alongside a virtual version of Gary Lineker creating their own personalised #WalkersWave.
Groups of three fans at a time are invited to take a seat in the ‘dug out’ and wait for a countdown from Lineker before rising to celebrate their very own stylised ‘wave’.
Using interactive digital OOH technology combining augmented reality, social media integration and dynamic delivery, the recorded wave features Lineker waving alongside the fans.
Each participants personal ‘wave’ is projected onto a giant digital billboard erected opposite the dug-out style booth, while fans can also instantly share their part in the #WalkersWave across their personal social media channels.
.@walkers_crisps are creating a virtual Mexican wave in #cardiff check it out here > https://t.co/EWyWHGdiDs #Walkerswave #EventProfs pic.twitter.com/LAb2vWY37M
— Experience Engine (@exp_engine) May 22, 2017
By taking part, each consumer will scoop some complimentary Walkers snacks and will be automatically entered into a draw to win a pair of tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final
While crisp lovers and football fans at home can join the action simply by sharing a selfie with the hashtag #WalkersWave to be in with a chance to win tickets to the final.
“At Walkers, we celebrate the fans who love the social occasion around UEFA Champions League match nights as much as the games themselves,” says Adam Warner, Head of UEFA Champions League Sponsorship at PepsiCo.
“This is unique, interactive experience and moments that bring fans together like this are an important part of any football game. With the technical innovation behind the #WalkersWave, we’re not only giving fans in Cardiff and beyond the chance to take part in a unique, interactive experience that they can share socially, but we’re also giving the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final. Good luck to all our Walkers wavers!”
Activative Comment:
This physical/digital activation aims to unite fans and celebrate the world’s most watched annual sporting occasion.
The street activation takes place directly opposite the WRU’s Principality Stadium, but while the ground’s title rights belong to the Principality Building Society, the building has been temporarily renamed the National Stadium of Wales (as per UEFA partnership rules) for the duration of the competition.
But we warned, when you hand the mechanics of a campaign over to the public and to algorithms and bots there is always the potential for abuse and backlash.
And that has happened already in the case of the #WalkersWave.
Some social media mischief makers sent in images of famous criminals – such as Fred West, Harold Shipman and Rolf Harris – and some of these were shared and retweeted hundreds of times by the brand before Walkers got round to deleting the most offensive of these.
#WalkersWave provides yet another valuable reminder to brands on why you should never let the Internet customise anything pic.twitter.com/WwaVdxqLUU
— Andrew Bloch (@AndrewBloch) May 25, 2017
PR disaster incoming for walkers crisps #walkerswave has went disastrously wrong pic.twitter.com/0l5c8eeX0J
— Craig Denholm (@CraigDenholm) May 25, 2017
A potential PR disaster indeed!
The lesson? Never assume the entire public will behave sensibly or appropriately.
Did we learn nothing from Boaty McBoatface?
This campaign follows on from Walkers previous 2017 UEFA Champions League #WalkersUnited campaign (see case study), as well as sister company Lays’ #CheerOfChampions campaign from earlier in the tournament (see case study).
Links:
Walkers
https://www.youtube.com/user/walkerscrisps
https://twitter.com/walkers_crisps
https://www.facebook.com/walkers
UEFA
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/
