Late February saw Manchester United and new sponsor Cadbury team up with Age UK to promote the confectionary brand’s ongoing ‘Donate Your Words’ campaign through a cause initiative which highlights the issue of old age loneliness in Britain.
The idea is to boost awareness of the issue of loneliness which affects hundreds of thousands of older people living in the UK and which aims to inspire people to ‘donate your words’ to those who need them most by having a conversation with an older person.
The centrepiece of the initiative took place on the pitch ahead of the Red Devils’ Premier League match against Watford at Old Trafford which saw the home team switch the usual young player escort mascots for older ‘Guests of Honour’ in order to bring attention to the issue of loneliness amongst Britain’s older generation and to reward some of its older fans with a unique match day experience.
A group of 11 local people – all dedicated United fans – aged 65 or older was invited to stand on the Old Trafford pitch and shake the hands with the first team players prior to the game.
Each ‘Guest of Honour’ had experienced loneliness in recent times but on the day they were anything but alone and were warmly greeted by the roar of 73,000 fellow supporters as they stepped out onto the Old Trafford pitch.
We're so pleased some of our clients had such a wonderful day at yesterday's @ManUtd match, where they went on the pitch as special guests to raise awareness of loneliness & @CadburyUK #donateyourwords Campaign. Thank you @ManUtd & @CadburyUK https://t.co/0LyqWXtdIf
— AgeUKManchester (@AgeUKManchester) February 24, 2020
The on-pitch strand of the campaign was supported on the brand’s social channels with videos and images of meetings between Utd stars – including former skipper Brian Robson, current club captain Harry McGuire and young defender Brandon Williams, plus women’s team stars Millie Turner and Martha Harris – and a group of elderly local fans which brings to life the idea that Utd players are donating their words to local fans aged 65-plus who have experienced loneliness.
“We’re proud to announce this partnership with Manchester United and to continue supporting Age UK with our ‘Donate your words’ campaign,” said Colin O’Toole, Associate Marketing Director, Cadbury.
“Loneliness is such a huge problem amongst the older generation, and we are encouraging Manchester United fans and the wider nation to engage with this cause by donating their words at every opportunity to lonely, older people in their communities. We are also looking forward to working with Manchester United in the future on further collaborations of this nature.”
Sean Jefferson, Director of Partnerships, Manchester United said: “We’re pleased to start our partnership with Cadbury by supporting their ‘Donate your words’ campaign. The Club is encouraging all fans to give a few moments of their time to speak to older people around them who might welcome a thoughtful conversation. Any small gesture and interaction can play a part in helping to help tackle loneliness amongst our older generation.”
Comment:
Perhaps Utd should pair up with its older fans more often? After all, the game saw the club comfortable beat Watford 3-0.
This match day initiative and linked social campaign, supporting Cadbury’s ongoing ‘Donate Your Words’ project,
marks the start of a multi-year, global partnerships between United and Mondelez International (which owns Cadbury in a portfolio which includes the likes of Oreo, Toblerone and Milka).
The deal, for which financial details were not disclosed, will see Mondelēz seek to engage the club’s worldwide fan and follower base which now stands at 1.1 billion according to market research agency Kantar.
This is one of a string of recent cause campaigns led by Utd stretching from last week’s ‘‘Ignored’ initiative which sought to raise awareness of the vital role of language and of the impact it has on mental health (see case study)
and the club’s 2019 ‘Hatred’ campaign which took aim at racism and discrimination (see case study).
Links:
Manchester United
http://www.facebook.com/manchesterunited
http://www.instagram.com/manchesterun…
Cadbury
https://www.facebook.com/CadburyUK/
https://www.instagram.com/cadburyuk
Age UK
https://www.youtube.com/user/ageuktv
https://www.instagram.com/age_uk/
https://www.facebook.com/ageuk
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