For the historic 2021 Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Final, Western Australian bookie TABtouch launched a socially-riven campaign based around the Norm Smith Medal – which is awarded to the player deemed to have been the ‘best on ground’ in the final.
For the 25 September, Perth-hosted season finale at the Optus Stadium, the Western Australia owned betting brand (formerly known as Ozbet) gave local fans a chance to ensure there was no repeat of a widely held previous player injustice by voting for the Xavier Ellis Medal for ‘Actual Best On Ground Who Should Have Won The Norm Smith Medal’.
The marketing push tapped into a familiar insight in Aussie footy circles based around the running joke perception that back in 2008 Xavier Ellis was robbed of the ‘Norm Smith Medal’ (awarded for best on ground player) at the AFL Grand Final when it was awarded to his teammate Luke Hodge.
The campaign was created by agency Clemenger BBDO Sydney and spearheaded by a hero social spot which rolled out across brand (and Xavier Ellis’ own) online channels from 22 September as a live countdown to the big game.
The voting began at the start of the match and all fans/punters who voted had the chance to win a medal of their own and a $2,000 cash prize.
The experts have spoken! The footy fans of WA have awarded the TABtouch Xavier Ellis Medal For Actual Best On Ground Who Should’ve Won The Norm Smith Medal. #AFLGF pic.twitter.com/01mkYHJ39H
— TABtouch (@TAB_touch) September 27, 2021
Don’t worry you can still vote for the Xavier Ellis Medal and go in the running to win a medal of your own and $2000. Click here to cast your vote: https://t.co/w6Jm5qUEGE The BOG will be announced tomorrow. #NormSmith #AFLGF pic.twitter.com/gZudqBhX5g
— TABtouch (@TAB_touch) September 26, 2021
Footy fans of WA. We’ve announced the prize winner of the TABtouch Xavier Ellis Medal For Actual Best On Ground Who Should’ve Won The Norm Smith Medal. #AFLGF #NormSmith pic.twitter.com/nOGV33yFF6
— TABtouch (@TAB_touch) September 29, 2021
Petracca amazing ✅
Low key, Luke Jackson, was in the middle when the tide turned – brilliant.
Time to vote for the @TAB_touch Xavier Ellis Medal to be announced tomorrow, you can still vote and win $2000. Cast your vote: ➡️ https://t.co/F1g6ZfDBoS #ActualBOG #sponsored pic.twitter.com/jdupGUz5Md
— Xavier Ellis (@XaviEllis18) September 26, 2021
The campaign’s outcome saw fans award the medal to Melbourne Demons’ six goal star Bayley Fritsch in what the brand described not only a win for Fritsch but also for all forwards who have been overlooked in favour of midfielders for the gong.
“When it was announced that the grand final was going to be held here in Perth, we knew we had to be a part of it,” explained TABtouch Head Of Marketing Katie Roberts. “What better way than to ensure that there weren’t any Norm Smith Medal robberies on our watch by heroing former Hawthorn and West Coast Eagles great, Xavier Ellis.”
Clemenger BBDO Sydney Creative Directors Chris Wilson and Roy Leibowitz added: “At the pointy end of the AFL calendar everything can feel a little serious. But since TABtouch is about enjoying yourself (responsibly), we wanted to create a campaign that reminds people, being a footy fan should be fun. It’s ok to have a laugh, it’s called a game for a reason,”
Comment:
This work is some of the first creative from Clemenger BBDO since it was appointed as creative agency for Racing and Wagering Western Australia (RWWA)’s TABtouch brand back in June.
It is just one of several local, Western Australian brands to market around the game following the AFL’s decision to hold its flagship season finale in Perth’s Optus Stadium rather than the usual 100,000 capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) venue: another example was stadium sponsor Mrs Mac’s campaign with Peter Rowsthorn.
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