As the new season approaches, late July sees BT Sport roll out a major campaign promoting its (free) UEFA Champions League coverage led by a spearhead TV spot and supported by online video.
The creative is fronted by a team of soccer superstars – from current players like Gareth Bale and David Luiz to former stars turned pundits and presenters such as Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand – and is inspired by the ‘glitz, glamour and spectacle’ of the world’s top football tournament.
A total of 13 different Champions League winners appear in the campaign which is led by a central TV ad called ‘House Party’.
The multi-platform campaign also features FC Bayern teammates Frank Ribery, Philipp Lahm and Thiago Alcântara take on a seated, header challenge.
Watch the @FCBayernEN boys take on the header challenge at the @BTSport house party! #HomeOfUCL http://t.co/5ArWYqVAvK
— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) July 24, 2015
A follow-up spot sees BT client ‘Oliver’ attempt to persuade the footballers to exchange their own personal shirt numbers to zero in order to drive home the message that BT Sport is free for BT TV customers.
They are supported by a further online video in which current players, pundits and presenters pose as if they are in the photo booth at a party.
As @btsportfootball is the new #HomeOfUCL we threw a house party to celebrate and the photo booth proved popular! http://t.co/LSdjelg1fG
— BT Sport (@btsport) July 23, 2015
The TV and online film work is also accompanied by a set of rich digital media ads, plus outdoor, press and radio executions all following the same creative approach and narrative theme.
Other famous footballing faces to appear in the campaign include Manchester City’s Joe Hart and Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, plus Robin Van Persie, Steven Gerrard, Didier Drogba, Jese, Raphaël Varane, Isco, Owen Hargreaves, Robbie Savage, Jake Humphrey, Steve McManaman, James Richardson and Lynsey Hipgrave.
The campaign was created in tandem with agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO (the lead creatives were Rich Peretti and Gary Lathwell), the spots were directed by Randy Krallman (through Smuggler) and the media work was run by Maxus.
‘This is an exciting time for BT Sport,’ commented BT Consumer customer acquisition director Dan Ramsay.
‘We hope viewers get into the party spirit and enjoy seeing some of their favourite football stars celebrating with the glitz and glamour that surrounds the elite tournaments for world club football, the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League, which BT customers can now watch all in one place and at a great price.’
Comment
The creative and the tone are distinctly ‘footballer bling house party’ (yes, we get it, the tournament has a new home) and the price-point message is aggressive and overt.
It seems BT Sports has decided to take on Sky Sports at its own promotional game.
This is the first season BT has broadcast rights for the planet’s biggest annual sports property – the UEFA Champions League.
The former state telco is investing £299m-per-year for the exclusive rights for both UEFA’s Champions League and Europe League – replacing previous joint UK broadcast rights holders Sky Sports and ITV.
The campaign dovetails with BT’s announcement that it will launch the first Ultra HD (4K picture quality) channel in Europe – BT Sport Ultra HD – and will also introduce a new BT TV Ultra HD set top box.
The Community Shield between Arsenal and Chelsea on 2 August will be the first broadcast, with other live events shown throughout the season, including selected games from the Champions League, Barclays Premier League, FA Cup and Aviva Premiership Rugby.
The campaign also coincides with the announcement that Gumtree.com will sponsor all of BT Sport’s Premier League coverage for the 2015/16 season in what is its biggest ever broadcast sponsorship..
The classifieds website will activative through ads, created by BT Sport’s own in-house team, across the channel’s online and mobile app platforms.
Gumtree idents will air during the programme opening, between ad breaks, and prior to the closing credits of all 38 Premier Leagues aired on BT Sport (as well as on repeats, preview and review programmes).
This extends Gumtree’s tactic of sponsoring targeted TV programming. Back in December it signed up to partner Channel 5’s Celebrity Big Brother to push its ‘Home and Garden’ section, while this latest deal will see it promote its second hand car trading platform fro, 8 August.
The deal was negotiated by The7stars, BT Sport and Channel 4 Sales.
‘BT Sport has a fantastic reputation for its thorough and innovative coverage of the Barclays Premier League, so it goes without saying that it’s an absolute delight for Gumtree to be able to partner with BT Sport for the 2015/16 season to promote our Motors marketplace,’ comments Gumtree marketing boss Hannah Wilson.
‘Second hand motors are not subject to the same seasonal fluctuations as new car sales, so we want to ensure that Gumtree is front of mind for those looking to buy or sell a car throughout the year,’ adds The7Stars account lead Jane Power.
Links
BT Sport Website:
BT Sport Twitter:
BT Sport Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/btsport
BT Sport Instagram:
BT Sport YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/BTSportOfficial
UEFA Champions League Website:
http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/
