Carling Black Label’s Be the Coach campaign has won the ‘Best Integrated Sport Marketing Campaign’ award at the Virgin Active Sports Industry Awards. The winning concept gave the supporters of the country’s two biggest clubs, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs, the right to select their starting XI’s for the new Carling Black Label Cup final and to make line-up changes during the game.
Every Carling Black Label bottle top during the promotion period gave the buyer one vote in team selection and an SMS during the game to affect substitutions. Linked to Facebook and Twitter and executed alongside a substantial above-the-line roll out, the campaign was endorsed by Dutch footballing legend and global brand ambassador, Ruud Gullit.
“This unique sporting property has turned the tables of sponsorship on its head and continued to change South African beer drinkers’ perceptions of the brand. Carling Black Label’s proposition was brought to life in trade and captured the imagination of soccer loving supporters with the biggest and boldest through-the-line campaign in the history of the brand,” says Andrea Quaye, Carling Black Label’s GM.
The idea enraged purists and coaches – generating massive PR mileage – and completely engaged the fans who purchased beers and took part in swarms. 10.5 million votes were cast for team selection in seven weeks and the metrics on all the social media and online platforms also showed triple digit growth.
“Underpinned by a loved brand and the beautiful game, it was great to use mobile technology along with traditional advertising to enable mass consumer participation,” says Gavin Levinsohn, MD of Ogilvy Cape Town.
