MCCOY'S LOCAL IN RIO
There was only one place better than your local pub to watch the footy this summer, and that was in the Rio McCoy's Local - in Brazil. This was the thinking behind snack brand McCoy's nationwide hunt, launched this year, to find a 'pub to put on a plane to Rio'. The brand aimed to combine the best of everything in the UK when it comes to football - the beer, best mates and sitting at the bar - with the best of Brazil: the sun, the atmosphere and being close to the action.
The campaign was fronted by the 'Pub Landlord' Al Murray, and aimed to find the best British pub to be recreated in Rio ahead of the World Cup. The winning pub would have all the much-loved British comforts and amenities for fans to enjoy, including a wood-burning stove, personal memorabilia, wooden bar stools, a big screen, well-known pub games, beer and British grub.
McCoy's aimed to support local pubs in the run-up to the tournament by using the competition to get locals on board to vote for their pub. A judging day was held with a celebrity panel, including Murray, to find a winner from five shortlisted pubs, with the landlord from each taking part in a Skype call with the judges. The Old Star in Winsford, Cheshire, was named the winner. To celebrate, a samba-themed quiz was held at the pub for landlord Ernie Welch and his locals on 14 May, hosted by Murray.
Agency Wonderland was briefed with replicating the pub in Rio, including wrapping the exterior of an existing venue and installing key features of The Old Star, while agencies M&C Saatchi PR and Hey Human supported the campaign.
The Rio version of The Old Star launched on 12 June, with 60 people flown out -including Welch, nine locals and 30 competition winners. The launch party included entertainment from Brazilian capoeira dancers and stilt walkers. The pub also hosted a number of Best of British events, including karaoke nights, Fifa Xbox competitions and a performance by the England Supporters Band.
According to Matt Wallace, production manager at Wonderland, one of the main challenges for this activation was the time frame. "From the date the winning pub was announced we had four weeks to recce, design and recreate the internal items to fit and work with our venue in Rio. This also applied for the building wrap - having to make the design of one building work over the exterior of another," he says.
COCA-COLA FIFA WORLD CUP TROPHY TOUR
As one of Fifa's longest-standing corporate partners, Coca-Cola wanted to leverage the Fifa World Cup Trophy Tour to share its message of happiness with the world's most passionate fans, and make the World Cup a celebration for all. Coca-Cola focused on making the trophy the 'World's Cup' by pledging to bring it to 90 countries, while involving local communities and sharing local stories at each stop. The ambition was to make the viewing of the iconic trophy intimately personal for each participant, and unique to each country.
Experiential agency Ignition, part of the Havas Sports & Entertainment network, devised a roadshow covering more than 153,000 kilometres over eight months. The tour began its journey in Rio de Janeiro in September 2013, departing from the famous Christ the Redeemer statue to travel the world on its own plane. It visited the UK between 12 and 18 March this year, before returning to host country Brazil in May in advance of the World Cup kick-off.
Former World Cup winners, heads of state and Fifa ambassadors welcomed the tour at each stop, and fans celebrated their love of football and Brazil through festivities at each location. Along the way, Coca-Cola collected inspiring stories to reflect what the brand stands for, sharing tour content and videos on a designated website.
A memorable experience for fans around the world was created through one of the biggest-ever experiential campaigns, as more than one million fans connected with the tour, which grew a Facebook community from zero to more than 1.8 million.
BP CASTROL'S WORLD CUP ACTIVATION
Castrol, an official sponsor of the Fifa World Cup, has worked with experience agency Kempster for the past seven years. Castrol is part of BP and leveraged its partnership with Fifa globally by creating a brand activation aimed at engaging key business stakeholders. The programme was managed centrally and delivered for both BP and Castrol, depending on which local markets opted in for regional activation and business engagement. BP/Castrol's VIP guests ranged from automotive clients to the prestigious 'Ambassador Club', which consisted of their fastest-growing distributors.
The brand activation for the World Cup stretched across all 12 host cities and encompassed more than 40 matches, with many thousands of guests. The guest programme, designed and managed by Kempster, incorporated opportunities to experience the Fifa World Cup with Castrol, including a private event at two-time World Cup winner Cafu's home in Sao Paulo. Guests gathered for a kick-off event followed by hospitality before the opening game between Brazil and Croatia.
Kempster also created a preand post-match business meeting and hospitality experience at Lillo's, a renowned venue in downtown Sao Paulo, for Brazilian guests on behalf of BP Brazil.
The World Cup programme was designed to incorporate both business and brand messaging at key touchpoints, using football as a platform to communicate with consumers so that they understood Castrol and BP's business and brand objectives.
As the tournament progressed, events were planned around the knock-out stages and final in Rio, focusing on iconic locations using Brazilian-themed entertainment, Castrol ambassadors and activities for guests to experience the brand's football sponsorship.