The start of March saw digital travel giant Expedia launch a new campaign leveraging its new ‘official travel companion’ partnership with current Premier League champions Liverpool Football Club called ‘With You All The Way’.
The hero commercial launched on television during the team’s Premier League game against Chelsea on 4 March and then rolled out across the brand’s digital and social platforms
The aim behind the activation is to begin building up excitement and bookings ahead of the (fingers crossed) return of fans travelling to watch football games in Liverpool and further afield in stadiums.
Thus the film reminds fans about the opportunities the sport offers supporters for travel – both to Anfield and across Europe – by evoking memories of Liverpool’s six Champions League triumphs.
This approach was a response to the brief’s challenge which tasked the agency not to directly promote travel, so the creative team took a subtle approach and focused on the supporters.
The hero spot, which is set to the 1990’s track ‘Groovy Train’ by famous Liverpool fans The Farm, was helmed by Director Glenn Kitson with Director Of Photography Carl Burke and the campaign was created by sports and entertainment agency Octagon and produced by sister agency Milkmoney.
The team at Octagon included Creative Director Ryan Shaw, Creatives Joe Stuart and Cos Georgiou, with Head of Planning Henry Nash and Planner Alex Mosey, plus Group Director James Knott, Account Manager Katrina Smith and Senior Account Executive Youssef Hassan.
The group working on the project at sister company Milkmoney was Head of Production Roz Barnfield, Executive Producer Samantha Farrance, Producer Natalie Price, with
Production Manager Poppy Davies, Stylist Gemma McCron and Art Director Angie Kirk.
Casting was handled by Tree Casting’s Jonathan Turton, the editor was Pete Fullarton, with VFX/Flame Artist Ally Burnett, with grade handled by Cheat’s Tim Smith, sound by Shane Connolly and photography by Jonathan Turton.
It was back in October 2020 that Liverpool FC and Expedia penned a multi-year agreement that saw the travel platform become a principal partner of the club in a deal that included logo patch rights on the shirt sleeve of both men’s and women’s team kit.
The tie-up sees Expedia create emotionally-driven campaigns through access to players, matchday visibility and branded content with communication focusing on empowering fans to discover, book and enjoy the journey as well as the destination, maximising their experience for when football and travel will return to normal.
At the time the deal was signed, Liverpool FC Commercial Director Matt Scammell said: “I see a great synergy between the club and Expedia; as organisations we both understand the value of the right support, whether that means not having to worry about travel arrangements or knowing the 12th man is behind you every step of the way. I’m delighted to embark on this journey with Expedia and looking forward to the relationship benefiting our global fanbase when we can all experience the freedom of football and travel once again.”
Adam Jay, President and Co-Lead Of Marketing at Expedia Group, added: “We are thrilled that Expedia is now the official travel companion of Liverpool FC. When we can all freely experience the joy of travel again, we look forward to being the perfect travel companion for the Reds and their fans around the world, ensuring that wherever they are, they will never walk alone.”
Comment:
This is an expansion of Expedia.com’s sports marketing strategy which up to now has been led by its Hotels.com brand’s sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League: a partnership which it has active through an Eric Cantona fronted culture-led campaign in 2019 and ‘No Stadium, No Problem’ in 2020.
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