Everton FC and Rovio activate sleeve sponsorship through bespoke club gaming initiative that included limited edition player-characters – the first time real people have been included in a Rovio game.
To activate its three year sleeve sponsorship of Premier League club Everton FC, games maker Rovio launched an initiative running from August 8th-31st 2018 which saw Everton stars Theo Walcott, Cenk Tosun and Gylfi Sigurdsson undergo a CGI makeover when Rovio inserted them as playable, limited edition characters into Angry Birds Evolution.
Objectives
The umbrella objective behind the sleeve sponsorship was for the Rovio and Angry Birds brands to increase engagement amongst a new, younger demographic and change perceptions of the brand towards a more contemporary positioning while demonstrating its innovative nature.
The primary objective of this campaign was to create a splash in both traditional media and online and social channels: as positive PR was deemed necessary to drive awareness of the partnership and to showcase the innovative nature of the tie-up.
The secondary aim was to drive tangible return on investment through an uplift in game downloads globally – with a key focus on the UK market.
The KPIs were:
- 3 million coverage views with cut through across international online press
- 2 million social media reach
- 25% uplift in game downloads
Activation
The campaign followed on from the original late 2017 #RedIsBlue launch of the partnership which included an unveiling event, mascot appearances around the city and at the stadium, social media content and online video.
There was also a PR push that saw the story featured in more than 25 media globally (including ESPN, Mail Online and Sports Illustrated) generating more than 1.9 million coverage views.
Indeed, integrating Everton players into Angry Birds was a key, planned activation phase from the start of the three year partnership.
Angry Birds Evolution, Rovio’s second most played game (after the original Angry Birds), was chosen as the best fit: partly because this game involves the player assembling a team of Angry Birds characters which would dovetail with the idea of including Everton stars into the team.
All three Everton footballers were playable initially in a lifelike form wearing full Everton kit and then, as the game progressed, evolving initially into a futuristic version of themselves and then into super versions of the character.
The choice of which players from the squad to select was important and decisions were made based on factors such as recognisable playing skills which could be amplified and exaggerated (such as speed, tricks), as well as cultural and personality traits which might have local and global appeal, likeability and on the basis of the on- and off-pitch values they represent.
Walcott was chosen for his trademark pace, his status as a highly recognisable English footballer which would help drive UK press interest.
Sigurdsson was selected because as the club’s record signing he has a high profile and because his success with the Iceland national team at the recent World Cup had increased his international exposure.
Striker Tosun’s goal scoring was chosen as his key in-game trait and while his home nation Turkey is not necessarily a key Rovio market it is a growth territory for the games maker.
All three stars were regularly consulted through the development and design cycle – from the early sketches to the final 3D CGI designs.
The multi-channel promotional campaign was led by a PR phase formulated to drive awareness of the in-game event through the mainstream media and the football, trade and gaming press.
Title- and sector-specific tailored press releases were rolled out with various message/story emphasis combined with the over-arching story that this was a ‘world first’.
This was followed by an integrated digital and social campaign to heighten awareness and drive downloads with content focusing on optimising links which pushed traffic straight to relevant app stores.
Rovio worked with the club to develop the multi-channel campaign which deployed a suite of creative assets across a range of platforms.
Everton In Angry Birds Evolution Game from SportQuake on Vimeo.
Introducing the first footballers to feature in @AngryBirds…
Gylfi Sigurdsson, @CenkTosun_ and @TheoWalcott!
Download Angry Birds Evolution now to playhttps://t.co/XbbnFhdjMG pic.twitter.com/3JcJjF5BM7
— Everton (@Everton) August 22, 2018
Introducing the first footballers to feature in @AngryBirds…
Gylfi Sigurdsson, @CenkTosun_ and @TheoWalcott!
Download Angry Birds Evolution now to playhttps://t.co/XbbnFhdjMG pic.twitter.com/3JcJjF5BM7
— Everton (@Everton) August 22, 2018
It's your last day, last chance to get the epic Everton Soccer Stars in #AngryBirdsEvolution! https://t.co/8wmGFjqqLX pic.twitter.com/FIGLOxMd5i
— Angry Birds (@AngryBirds) August 26, 2018
The players themselves also posted the supplied, specific campaign image content on their own social media channels promoting the game and detailing the experience in designing the characters.
While at Everton’s Goodison Park Stadium an ‘Angry Birds Evolution LED’ featuring the players’ bird characters was erected for the Premier League tie with Southampton and broadcast globally.
In terms of the teams working on the campaign, Rovio handled game design and marketing, while Everton’s own partnership, marketing and digital team ran the PR, in-stadium, media and social media strands.
Everton Head of Partnership Management Mark Rollings said: “The creativity of Rovio, alongside our appetite for innovation, has enabled us to make history in both the technology and football industries. It is fantastic to be recognised for that on the national stage. Our partnership with Angry Birds has allowed us to engage with fans across the world – old and new – and position ourselves as a forward-looking club, striving for excellence in all that we do.”
Rovio Chief Marketing Officer Ville Heijari commented: “We have previously worked on a number of Angry Birds activities with Everton and their fans and we’re happy to bring our partnership to life in Angry Birds Evolution. Bringing star players into the game as playable characters is an exciting treat for fans of both Angry Birds and the beautiful game alike.”
Outcome / Results
The campaign media coverage in both the mainstream, the marketing and the gaming press and it featured on the back pages of two national newspapers (the Daily Star and the Daily Express) and on websites including the Mail Online, Marca.com, CNN and BBC Sport.
In total the campaign received more 100 pieces of online and written coverage – amassing a total of 10.02 million coverage views – which was five times the KPI.
The social media campaign – running on both Everton and Rovio platforms – generated a reach of 4.8 million with more than 100,000 total engagements.
The viral nature of the campaign meant posts were shared by thousands of Twitter users across both personal, influencer and business accounts (including SoccerAM, Squawka Football, Mail Online Sport, OddsBible and Paddy Power).
According to the marketing team, posts across the owned and operated channels, player accounts and external outlets featuring campaign material drove over £85,000 of media value for Angry Birds.
While paid-for digital ad placements and evertonfc.com banners had over 5 million impressions which drove traffic directly to the app stores.
Everton and Rovio also reported that each day during the period of the campaign there were 21,000 app downloads. The initiative also drove an overall 63 per cent increase in game downloads: which the club and brand said constituted a tangible return on investment that successfully enabled both brand and rights-holder to engage with new audiences.
