Betsafe has released its latest sports-led marketing campaign, called ‘The Walk Of Adversity’, leveraging its alliances with several teams and athlete ambassadors.
The initiative, which opens with work fronted by Betsafe brand ambassador Conor McGregor and Manchester City FC, is the second phase of the brand’s ongoing ‘Passion Overcomes The Odds’ creative big idea.
This umbrella concept, which was first established earlier in 2017, revolves around telling stories of sporting struggles, adversity and upsetting the odds: while the latest phase focuses on the hurdles faced by each ambassador and/or partner team before they walk out to overcome them in their specific sporting field challenges.
The integrated campaign, which has been developed in harness with creative agency SNAP London, spans the UK, Ireland and Norway and is running across TV, OOH, digital, sponsorship idents and is speraheraded by a series of hero online films.
The campaign launch ad is narrated by McGregor who said: “‘Passion overcomes the odds’ is something that resonates with me because I overcame my situation through pure determination and dedication to success”.
As well as being amplified on YouTube, the campaign also spans the brand’s other digital and social sites including Twitter,
Work, train and walk like a champion @TheNotoriousMMA. Passion Overcomes The Odds.pic.twitter.com/PNQ78UdFL2
— Betsafe (@Betsafe) December 7, 2017
and Instagram.
“I am proud to be a Betsafe ambassador and lead this campaign because we share the same commitment to success. Filming this campaign was an amazing experience, and I can’t wait to tell my story to my incredible fans across the world,” McGregor added.
The McGregor creative rolled out in parallel with work leveraging the brand’s highest profile Premier League team Manchester City – ahead of the side’s big Manchester derby match against local rivals Manchester United.
It’s not just about getting to the top, the hardest part is staying there @ManCity. Passion Overcomes The Odds. pic.twitter.com/6KxuKEFHt9
— Betsafe (@Betsafe) December 9, 2017
We teamed up with our betting partner @betsafe to show our keys to success. Hard work. Dedication. Passion. #mancity pic.twitter.com/qy3KL7Kdrg
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 9, 2017
Further work will leverage the brand’s ties with jockey Sam Twiston-Davies, rugby union side Saracans and boxer Tony Bellew.
Nicola Fitton, managing director for Betsafe UK, Ireland and ROW added: “Our previous ‘Passion Overcomes The Odds’ campaign did a fantastic job of showcasing the moments when an underdog defies the numbers stacked against them to produce astonishing sporting achievements. With ‘The Walk’, we wanted to take this a step forward and provide a genuine insight into the preparation Betsafe ambassadors put in before they step out to produce these performances in their respective arenas.
“To be able to bring the likes of Conor, Manchester City, Saracens, Tony and Sam Twiston-Davies together in one concept like this is an achievement we are really proud of.”
Louisa Tapper, managing partner at SNAP London, commented: “The team at Betsafe have done an amazing job pulling together such an impressive stable of ambassadors. We wanted to do them justice with an emotive and powerful campaign that gives you goosebumps and embodies the excitement and anticipation of attending a sporting event.’
Comment:
These are stylish and emotional, yet fairly solid and standard sports spots and supporting content pieces.
But the core idea works cleverly in terms of leveraging both a specific timely event (such as the Manchester derby) or one from the past (as with the case with McGregor) and neatly link the brand’s partnerships under a single creative concept.
The campaign follows on from the brand’s summer ambassador activation around the Mayweather fight which was led by a ‘Notorious Airways’ marketing strand (see case study).
Links:
Betsafe
https://www.youtube.com/user/betsafecom
https://www.facebook.com/BetsafeOfficial
https://twitter.com/Betsafe
https://instagram.com/Betsafe
https://www.snapchat.com/add/TeamBetsafe
https://www.betsafe.com
SNAP London
