As the final whistle blows on the 2017 RBS 6 Nations, Canterbury leverages the related international rugby union fan passion peak to the British & Irish Lions summer tour to New Zealand with a new phase in its ‘Untouchable Jersey’ campaign.
The official Lions kit supplier, Canterbury initially debuted its ongoing campaign back in October at the start of the Northern Hemisphere’s autumn internationals (see case study) and the latest strand of the initiative rolled out on 17 March 24 hours prior to the final round of 6 Nations games.
Fronted by Canterbury ambassador and former Lions prop Adam Jones, this activation phase primarily runs across online video and social media.
Despite the scrum of speculation and debate, the Lions squad won’t finally be announced until 19 April and the campaign plays on the theme that until then the famous jersey remains untouchable to those who wish to join the tour.
The idea is that no player will touch the jersey until actually selected as a Lion and Canterbury are challenging fans to commit to waiting too.
Former Wales forward Jones plays the role of ‘The Enforcer’ as he roams digital and social media (particularly Twitter) seeking out fans who have been unable to resist and wait and have pulled on the iconic red jersey already.
As a warning to fans tempting to wear their top, which actually went on sale back in X, Jones fronts a core online film, called ‘The Enforcer’, in which he takes no prisoners in his efforts to watch and protect the British & Irish Lions untouchable jersey.
As well as being posted on the Canterbury YouTube channel, the initiative is also running across its other social sites such as Facebook.
It is also being amplified on Jones’ personal social platforms such as Twitter
I will protect the @lionsofficial jersey at all costs. Don't you dare post a photo wearing the jersey! #CommittedToTheGame pic.twitter.com/XtHKnQ5uSU
— Adam Jones (@adamjones3) March 20, 2017
as it spans social media with assets carrying the #UntouchableJersey campaign hashtag as well as the brand’s ongoing #CommittedToTheGame tagline and driving viewers to The Untouchable Jersey digital hub https://goo.gl/IQtwy0.
Activative Comment:
A fun little clip and a sensible tactic as Canterbury leverages the sport’s interest spike around the end of the year’s top tournament and links it to the next big international rugby union event for Northern Hemisphere fans.
There is though, a chance that the focus on the Lions jersey could slightly draw Canterbury’s firepower from its other 6 Nations kit partnerships – particularly its position as the official jersey part of England Rugby with which it began running a 6 Nations 2017 focused kit campaign in January (see case study).
Other Lions sponsors and partners to have leveraged this year’s 6 Nations tournament to launch campaigns linking to the summer’s upcoming New Zealand Tour include Gillette (see case study), land Rover (see case study) and Whyte & Mackay (see case study).
Links:
Canterbury
https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialCanterbury
https://twitter.com/canterburyNZ
https://www.instagram.com/canterburynz/
https://www.facebook.com/canterbury
British & Irish Lions
https://www.facebook.com/BritishandIrishLions
https://twitter.com/lionsofficial
Adam Jones
