On 1 July, five days ahead of UEFA women’s Euro 2022 kick off, Visa released the main creative wave of its multi-strand host country campaign which championed both women in football and women in business titled ‘When More Of Us Play, All Of Us Win’.
The activation, created by agency Wieden & Kennedy London (with media handled by Starcom), highlights the brand’s commitment to gender equality in terms of accessibility and participation both on and off the pitch and emerged after brand research showed that team sports can have a positive impact on women entrepreneurs and what they do for their communities.
The integrated campaign spans TV, video-on-demand, digital and social media, as well as on-pitch and outdoor work, PR, plus pre-tournament offers and competitions and the UEFA sponsor’s exclusive rights to the ‘Visa Player Of The Match Award’ and the ‘Visa Ball Kids Programme’.
It's time for the #WEURO2022 to begin! It's sure to be a summer to remember, are you ready? ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/FHcsqI2xeM
— Visa UK (@VisaUK) July 6, 2022
The votes are in and the #VisaPOTM is…
The incredible Beth Mead!⚽ Scored a hatrick
Fast, strong dribbling
Determined will to score
Courageous in 1:1
♀️ Distance covered 10.1km
Max speed 28.7km/h@WEURO2022 #WEURO2022 #ENGvNOR pic.twitter.com/LQnHVZxb4c— Visa UK (@VisaUK) July 11, 2022
Its various spots and strands, led by a hero commercial, all seek to highlight a link between the tournament, women’s football, equality and how Visa is helping businesses of all sizes accept digital payments: with all genuine, real businesses featured in creative to ensure authenticity.
Visa also spotlights professional footballers and small businesses in out-of-home locations in a variety of key cities throughout the UK with the aim of creating local heroes outside London.
An additional OOH phase saw London’s flagship digital out of home Piccadilly Lights deploy ‘deepscreen anamorphic 3D technology’ to bring to life the Player of the Match Trophy sponsored by Visa.
Impressive start to the tournament
England's Georgia Stanway is the @VisaUK Player of the Match #WEUROPOTM | #WEURO2022 pic.twitter.com/Gb7QQyQKjP
— UEFA Women's EURO 2022 (@WEURO2022) July 6, 2022
An additional online video series strand called ‘Team Talks’, backed by a national PR push, featured leading female footballers and small business owners.
Visa also sponsored the tournament’s ‘Visa Ball Kids’ programme and had a highly visible presence during the tournament road show and the sponsor also ran a pre-tournament ticket contest.
Thanks to our partnership with Visa, we’re excited to announce the @VisaUK ball kids selected for the upcoming England group stage matches at the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022™
Look out for the girls at the #WEURO2022 next week!
It all starts with a chance ⚽ pic.twitter.com/gIClDimLVX
— Barclays Football (@BarclaysFooty) July 1, 2022
Wonderful to see Lyra as a Visa Ball Kid at the Opening Match of the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022™.
It all starts with a chance @WEURO2022 https://t.co/3hYCzsYGfj
— Visa UK (@VisaUK) July 8, 2022
The free UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 ™ Roadshow makes its final stop in London today! Visit our booth to get the must-have #WEURO2022 tickets and our instant win prizes. Check out all the football fun right here https://t.co/rEWEQslb56 pic.twitter.com/0Qp6MpnxP2
— Visa UK (@VisaUK) July 2, 2022
We're proud to sponsor the UEFA Women's EURO 2022™ and to cheer on our Team Visa athletes.
To celebrate, we're giving you the chance to win two tickets to the sold out final. Follow the link to find out more https://t.co/LikfjpnTop pic.twitter.com/djjXTe01Ju
— Visa UK (@VisaUK) May 30, 2022
You and a lucky guest could enjoy a VIP match day experience at the UEFA Women's EURO 2022™ final.
Or celebrate in style with our party in a box packages and recreate the atmosphere at home. Enter for your chance to win any time you pay with Visa https://t.co/4xi6GsrKZP pic.twitter.com/c7qmz5frMl
— Visa UK (@VisaUK) May 23, 2022
You could be cheering on the history-makers from the stands.
Enter online and every time you pay with Visa is your chance to win tickets to the UEFA Women's EURO 2022™ final at Wembley.
https://t.co/wUuvExorDs pic.twitter.com/knjatN9x34— Visa UK (@VisaUK) May 16, 2022
Visa also ran a series of media partnerships to further amplify its tournament sponsorship and its activation campaign. A partnership with The Guardian delivered brand-backed coverage across the media organisation’s audio, digital and print platforms – including sponsoring the launch of the publication’s special edition women’s football podcast, ‘The Guardian’s Women’s Football Weekly’, as well as its existing women’s football newsletter.
The idea of life after professional football can be daunting for many women, here’s how Visa’s career-development programme The Second Half is helping many to strike out into new roles@VISA #AD https://t.co/CqJ9UGfAuy
— Guardian Labs (@GuardianLabs) June 27, 2022
An additional partnership with broadcaster Sky Sports features a series of famous female footballers including current England star Fran Kirby and former England player Karen Carney in a series of online short films. The series explores a set of tournament linked topics including achieving excellence, the future of the game and the importance of supporting women footballers throughout their careers and beyond.
Carney is also a co-creator of the Visa ‘Second Half’ initiative: which supports female footballers in Europe as they consider their careers after professional football.
According to Visa, the media partnerships with The Guardian and Sky Sports were crucial to Visa’s commitment to “walking the walk” and helping women’s football “grow and achieve its fullest potential”.
“If women’s football is going to achieve its full potential, it’s about the public, the press and the quality of the games, it’s going to take time,” said Visa Europe Chief Marketing Officer Adrian Farina. “But we want to make sure that we help to remove all of the barriers that may hinder that development. So coverage and exposure is critical. If you don’t see it, you won’t fall in love with it.”
“Small businesses are a critical part of the economy all across Europe,” continued Farina commenting on the current cost of living crisis. “Our involvement and support for small businesses goes way back [and] it’s been a commitment and a part of our marketing and business strategies for a long time.”
Comment
One long-term objective of the campaign is to cement Visa’s commitment to driving acceptance and opportunity for everyone, everywhere and another is to ‘build on its sporting legacy to celebrate excellence and drive inclusion both in women’s football and the economy’.
This UEFA Euro 2022 activation follows in the footsteps of Visa’s strong heritage of supporting and marketing around women’s football and other notable campaigns within its back catalogue include its women’s FIFA World Cup 2019 ‘One Moment Can Change The Game’ campaign and its 2019 USWNT ‘One Nation, One Team’ activation.
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