As the new NRL season kicks off, Mazda celebrates its new back of shirt sponsorship deal with the New Zealand Vodafone Warriors with a new synergy led campaign called #BelieversInBetter.
Mazda, which has teamed up with the Auckland based team for the 2019 NRL season, worked with creative agency 99 on a campaign that highlights how the new alliance is much more than just a logo on a shirt.
Indeed, the strategic and creative idea behind the activation is that the two brands align philosophically: both in terms of sharing a challenger spirit and in a joint belief in constantly striving for better.
The activation is led by a hero online film,
which is supported by print executions and social activity which all draw compelling similarities between the team and the sponsor.
The creative aims to help fans develop a deeper understanding of the sponsorship and this kick-off marketing phase aims to act as a central launch pad for Mazda for its activation through the rest of the season.
There are also player focused ‘Team Talk’
and Mazda staff-focused ‘Latest Signing’ strands to Mazda’s team activation.
“The New Zealand Warriors are more than just a footy club, their business is sports entertainment. You just need to go to a game to feel that,” explained Mazda New Zealand general manager of sales and marketing Glenn Harris.
“As a long-time fan of the Warriors, it’s clear to me that they’re a team with a challenger spirit. Their belief in what they can achieve never fades. It’s a mindset we at Mazda also share. Their grit and determination sees them continue to raise the bar in a highly competitive competition. Ours keeping us moving forward to deliver excellence in design, technology and safety. We play very different games, but we play them the same way.”
While Mick Stalker, executive creative director of agency 99, while admitting that he knows little about rugby league, says that he finds it easy to recognise the parallels between the two brands.
“Both brands respond to competition in the same way; with ingenuity, passion, and expertise,” asserted Stalker.
“They both have a history of digging in and trying new ways to win, a belief in better.”
Comment:
Shared passion and values?
Doesn’t that seem to be the justification and foundation stone for pretty much every single sports brand partnership?
This campaign sees a classic, well trodden creative approach that blends slow-motion action footage and images of the stadium and the fans, with shots of the sponsor’s product set to a cinematic voiceover that includes cliche copy synergies such as ‘Driven By Belief’.
As a New Zealand NRL side, the team is running a poignant and powerful #TheyAreUs shirt hashtag tribute to those caught up in the country’s dreadful terrorist tragedy.
Truly, our thoughts are with the families that have lost loved ones and the communities that have been affected by today's heinous acts of violence. pic.twitter.com/y0Vf9uCeKq
— Vodafone Warriors (@NZWarriors) March 15, 2019
Links:
Mazda NZ
https://www.youtube.com/user/mazdanewzealand
https://www.facebook.com/MazdaNewZealand
https://www.instagram.com/mazda_nz/
Vodafone Warriors
https://www.youtube.com/user/VodafoneWarriorsTV
https://www.facebook.com/vodafonewarriors
https://www.instagram.com/nzwarriors/
https://twitter.com/NZWarriors
https://www.pinterest.com/nzwarriors/
99
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