Heineken launches a new phase of its UEFA Champions League (UCL) activation, called ‘No More Excuses’, which aims to convince fans to tune in to the tournament.
Timed to coincide with the start of the competition’s knock-out stages, this latest activation phase is fronted by José Mourinho, spans multiple content pieces and also features a chatbot
The official beer of the UCL again features brand ambassador and Manchester United manager Mourinho to head this global digital campaign phase.
A hero launch video sees Mourinho read out a series of (lame) excuses from fans for not getting together to watch UCL matches.
The spot sees the multiple UCL winning manager demand that fans turn the football season into a social occasion.
The spot is amplified socially on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and is also supported by further content pieces and campaign assets.
José wants you to #ChampionTheMatch by watching it with your mates. He’s noticed a lot of excuses flying around but isn't impressed… #UCL pic.twitter.com/QGvRNNJPI4
— Heineken (@Heineken) February 14, 2017
Forget the weather forecast. José has some advice. #ChampionTheMatch #UCL pic.twitter.com/9LbNxq35ip
— Heineken (@Heineken) February 15, 2017
Indeed, Heineken plans to run a series of social media posts prior to each UCL match week reminding fans to tune in to games: with content posted primarily on Facebook and then being made available on Heineken’s tournament-focused website and its YouTube page.
The first content in this strand of the brand’s tournament-long campaign, developed in harness with Publicis Worldwide and agency Poke London, debuted in early February and it will run through the rest of the competition up to the final which will be held in Cardiff on 3 June.
Additional, fresh campaign features will roll out through that period.
For example, the chatbot will launch in April via the Facebook Messenger application and will offer a set of rewards to football fans who turn Champions League matches into social occasions – these range from transport offers, to free food delivery and home cleaning discount codes.
Activative Comment:
This latest wave of UCL work forms part of the beer brand’s ongoing, official #ChampionTheMatch tournament sponsorship strategy.
It follows on from its initial 2016/17 tournament campaign phase which debuted back in Sepetmber and was spearheaded by a TV commercial called ‘The Prep Talk’ which also featured Mourinho calling on football fans to get together to watch the UEFA Champions League matches (see case study).
(Nice work for the self-styled ’Special One’: whose team is only playing in UEFA’s second tier Europe League competition this season and has been reported to be pocketing as much as £4m-a-year from his Heineken endorsement deal.)
This roll out not only coincided with fellow UCL sponsors launching fresh activation – such as PepsiCo brands PepsiMax (see case study) and Walkers (see case study) – but also with Heineken’s February announcement that it has extended its current UEFA Champions League for a further three years.
The new agreement see Heineken continue as an official partner of the world’s top club football tournament until the end of the 2021 competition.
It also includes rights to the UEFA Super Cup 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In its extension announcement, Heineken said that the partnership had played a key role in supporting the brand’s global business growth objectives.
Heineken’s long-running UCL partnership extends back to 1994 – making it one of UEFA’s longest standing partners.
The partnership spans TV space, LED pitch boarding exposure, hospitality and ticket tranches, plus the rights to exclusive UEFA Champions League content (eg Back Stadium Tour and UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, presented by Heineken), as well as the usual access to use the tournament marks..
‘Heineken has enjoyed a long and successful partnership with UEFA for more than 20 years, and we look forward to continuing this. UEFA Champions League in an integral part of Heineken’s marketing activities, from Sao Paolo to Shanghai,’ said Heineken’s global sponsorship director Hans Erik Tuijt.
‘Our global #ChampionTheMatch integrated campaign is live in over 100 markets this season. Through this, as well as our acclaimed UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, we create engaging fan experiences that go beyond the 90 minutes of the match. This activity compliments our other long-standing partnership platforms; Formula One, Rugby World Cup and James Bond,’ he adds.
The week also saw Heineken report a 1.4% increase in earnings to $21.89bn in 2016.
The campaign also broke at the same time as Heineken beats Coca-Cola to become the world’s most awarded advertiser – according to The Gunn Report for Media.
The report combines the winners of media innovation, creativity and advertising effectiveness awards across 40 countries worldwide and awards points to ads based on whether they won best in show, gold, silver or bronze.
Heineken moved up five spots from 2015 and scored 90 points from wins at 14 awards events or festivals: including for its Spanish ‘Un Jefe de Champions’ or ‘Champions’ Boss’ campaign,
for ‘The Dilemma’ (where an Italian football fan has to decide whether to watch a game live at the stadium or on the sofa with mates, also helped Heineken win – see case study) and ‘The Cliché’ (see case study), as well as for Heineken’s Dos Equis beer, in which long-running ad character ‘The Most Interesting Man in the World’ is retired to Mars.
Links:
Heineken
https://www.youtube.com/user/heineken
https://www.facebook.com/heineken/
http://heineken-agegate.tumblr.com/#heineken/
https://www.instagram.com/Heineken/
UEFA Champions League
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/
