Asics, the official kit supplier of the Australian rugby team, rolled out an inventive, comic campaign promoting its new 2018 Wallabies Jersey led by a mockumentary called ‘The Travelling Salesman’.
The film follows the journey of one Glenden Suffolk, an awkward but lovable salesman, as he travels through New Zealand selling Wallabies jerseys to Kiwis.
The launch spot is amplified across both sports brand and rights-holder channels.
and supported by a set of digital and social campaign content pieces.
In 2018, we have looked to the past to take the Wallabies into the future. Whether you're a rugby traditionalist or new Wallabies fan, you'll love the 2018 Wallabies Replica Jersey. https://t.co/Oql4QyP3yx #Walalbies pic.twitter.com/wYjxZmgR9Q
— ASICS Australia (@ASICSaustralia) May 9, 2018
The Oceania division of the sports apparel manufacturer developed the campaign in harness with Sydney based creative agency The Social Beat and partner The LADBible Group.
A socially led initiative, The Travelling Salesman content strands were placed not only across ASICS’ own digital and social channels, but were also tailored and then amplified across the LADbible global network to scale up the marketing campaign.
“In an environment where interest in the sport of Rugby Union has been challenged, we were interested in exploring new and innovative ways of launching the jersey,” explained Asics Oceania general manager Sam Chew.
“The Social Beat has a fresh approach to marketing brands particularly those associated with sport. Not only were they able to execute the creative but also deliver an engaged audience at scale via The LADBible.”
Ted Helliar, director, The Social Beat, added: “Brands and rights holders can sometimes take sport too seriously in Australia. This campaign comes at a perfect time for both Asics and Rugby AU. This was a great opportunity to create humorous content spotlighting everyday heroes like Glenden.
“We were keen to develop a campaign that spoke to the traditional rugby audience but also resonated with Millennials. Our partnership with LADbible gives us access to the largest most engaged youth audience in Australia and the world. Millennials aren’t hard to reach they just want content they relate to.”
Comment:
Silly, therefore shareable, therefore smart: this sports shirt launch campaign feels fresh and contemporary.
ASICS has acted as the official apparel and footwear supplier to Rugby Australia since back in 2014 and its previous shirt launch campaigns included the 2015 World Cup ‘Go Dominate’ campaign (see case study).
Since it took over the kit supply partnership the Wallabies jersey has seen several design changes.
This new 2018 edition blends tradition and technology: mixing elements of the classic jerseys from the past with ‘state of the art fabric and construction’ to create a ‘more tailored look’ that includes both a traditional collar and textured mesh panels.
This new kit campaign follows on from Rugby Australia’s own new ‘Part Of More’ brand platform launch in late March (see case study).
Links:
ASICS
https://twitter.com/ASICSaustralia
https://www.facebook.com/ASICSaustralia
https://www.instagram.com/asicsaustralia/
The Social Beat
Rugby Australia
https://twitter.com/rugbycomau
https://www.facebook.com/rugbycomau
https://www.instagram.com/rugbycomau/
https://www.snapchat.com/add/rugbycomau
https://www.youtube.com/user/MyRugbyTV
