Heinz BIG’s Super League activation came to a crescendo at the Grand Final with the outcome of its season-long campaign ‘Heinz BIG Weekend’ competition.
The official Partner Of The Super League’s initiative, which has been running through the season, challenges fans to create their own ultimate BIG Grand Final weekend.
The campaign is incentivised by a selection of prizes including the main reward which sees one lucky winner (plus their three friends) having their BIG Grand Final Weekend turned into reality.
From arriving at the stadium in a tank or a private tour bus, to stepping out on the pitch before the opening whistle or being front row and centre at the Grand Final trophy presentation in front of 80,000 people, before sleeping in a private tour bus – Heinz BIG will make it happen.
In order to get fans’ creative juices flowing and to fire their imaginations as to how they might wish to spend their ultimate BIG Grand Final Weekend, the Heinz BIG team spoke to spectators at Super League’s Magic Weekend and produced a YouTube video of their ideas and dreams.
The Magic Weekend is an RFL event which sees an entire round of Super League matches played in one city to provide an amazing showcase of the sport. The Heinz BIG photographer was busy snapping away at the 2013 Magic Weekend at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium.
The marketing team then created a spectator album on the Super League’s Facebook page which formed the heart of a Facebook-led photo initiative which featured a vast array of pictures of Super League supporters. The fans were simply asked to tag themselves and share their pictures in order to be entered for the ultimate BIG Weekend at the Grand Final.
This initiative, developed in tandem with agency Brand Rapport, builds on last year’s end of 2012 season rugby league fan competition – Win a BIG Weekend! The prize offered four VIP tickets to support your team in luxury that included 5* hotel and fine dining, match day hospitality and a chauffeur-driven vehicle.
The enhanced 2013 version was further supported through the Heinz BIG Challenge – a gaming challenge based around rugby skills. Operated in partnership with Morrisons through a supermarkets roadshow, the activation was linked to purchases of 4x500g cans of BIG soup and promotions for the new Fiery Chicken & Chorizo variant and offered prizes ranging from replica mini rugby league balls, to one consumer winning a year’s supply of Heinz BIG Soup.
The Heinz BIG Challenge and the Heinz BIG Team were also running experiential initiatives at the Super League Grand Final FanZone.
A further Heinz BIG strand was a Signed Super League Grand Final Match Ball Prize Draw
Also in the weeks leading up to the Grand Final, Heinz BIG ambassador and Wigan Warriors rugby league super star Sam Tomkins fronted the launch event for the new Heinz BIG Soup Fiery Chicken and Chorizo flavour – which was chosen by the public in the ‘Heinz BIG Flavours – You Decide!’ campaign.
This campaign originally kicked off in February and was fronted by three star players: as well as Tomkins, Leeds Rhinos Kevin Sinfield and Huddersfield Giant Eorl Crabtree launched the ‘You Decide initiative at a pop-up kitchen in central Leeds.
The campaign offered consumers the chance to vote for which of its three new flavour variants would go to market.
Tomkins, who is off to the New Zealand Warriors next season, was at Morrisons in Wigan town centre to promote the winning flavour launch and give the first purchasers a chance to win season tickets for the 2014 Super League season.
Ahead of the Grand Final, the England star was quizzing fans on a number of questions to do with rugby league. Those winners who answered correctly in less than 30 seconds won a pair of 2014 season tickets.
The questions included:
– Who won the Challenge Cup?
– Who is the 2013 Man of Steel?
– When did Wigan last win the Super League trophy?
– Who did Wigan play in the first game of this season?
– At how many different stadia has the Grand Final been held?
Campaign executions typically carry the brand’s umbrella tagline ‘Go BIG Or Go Hungry’.
Comment
Despite its long-standing status as one of the world’s giant brands, Heinz does not have much of an established track record in UK sponsorship.
But this began to change when its Heinz BIG sub-brand began its rugby league relationship in early 2012 with a six-figure two-year deal.
By January 2013 it extended its Super League partnership for the 2013 season with a deal that saw the brand feature on matchday perimeter advertising hoardings and on the sleeves of all 14 Super League clubs’ playing jerseys, as well as on Super League match balls.
The objective of the partnership is to support the expansion of the Heinz BIG brand and to maximising awareness of Rugby League beyond its traditional core north of England strongholds through experiential work, competitions, brand ambassador-led events, on-pack promotions and retailer partnerships, media tie-ups, plus national media campaigns.
‘We’ve been working hard this year to make sure that we bring Super League fans a full-on Heinz BIG Soup experience for 2013, including signing national media partnerships and a BIG new and interactive campaign which will be launched with some well-known Super League faces,’ comments Heinz Senior Brand manager Chris Nunn.
The brand further extended its sponsorship by backing youth rugby league in the form of the 2013 Under-16 and Under-18 sections of the Yorkshire Junior and North West Youth Leagues. As part of the deal, Heinz BIG supplies all clubs in the competition with equipment and post-match food.
‘We are extremely excited to be title sponsor of the Heinz BIG Conference Youth Leagues,’ says Heinz BIG Brand manager Chris Isaac. ‘Sponsoring the leagues provides us with a great opportunity to nurture and support the development of some of the best Rugby League talent at Under-16 and Under-18 level, whilst filling them up with Heinz BIG post-match teas!’
Links
Heinz BIG website
Heinz BIG Campaign Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.649068655107100.1073741828.325962660751036&type=1
Heinz BIG Tour
http://www.heinzbig.co.uk/big-soup-tour.aspx
Wigan Warriors Website
RFL Website
