Showmax kicked off the new Premier League season with an innovative marketing stunt that hijacked the live broadcast of popular Matchday Live build up show – and fans loved it!
Premier League fans around Africa tuned in to watch hosts Julia Stuart and Owen Hargreaves interview notorious former Red Devils’ captain Eric Cantona to kick off the start of the new season – only to be surprised when the Frenchman stormed off the set, declaring, “The revolution will not be televised; the revolution will be live!”
See the full clip here:
Skip to 5:30, where it’s revealed that Cantona had colluded with streaming platform Showmax to talk about its innovative Premier League mobile subscription.
The stunt drove big results, with #EricCantona trending across the globe, and #ShowmaxPL and the campaign hashtag #ForEveryoneEverywhere trending on X for hours in South Africa as well as in Kenya.
R35 million in PR value
“The stunt drove a 72% increase in PR coverage week on week, drove more than R35 million in PR value and was mentioned more than 27 000 times on social media. The stunt has been covered on major football sites across the world including SPORTbible, Daily Mail, and more,” says chief marketing officer, Yatish Narsi.
Iconic sportscaster and Showmax Premier League ambassador Robert Marawa, who was in on the prank, shared a behind-the-scenes clip of the filming of the stunt on his X profile, which was reshared 450 times by hyped fans who had tuned in for the Eric Cantona interview.
Fans took to X to express feelings of shock, surprise and then delight when it was revealed to be a stunt.
What people are saying on X:
https://x.com/robertmarawa/status/1824506565077983648
https://x.com/Shaded_Blac/status/1824509529976913992
https://x.com/WyclefPresley/status/1824754487593943341
https://x.com/ayanda_yandiey_/status/1824517953041133796
https://x.com/Paballo_maseko_/status/1824514648655134747
https://x.com/Mr_MbulaziSA/status/1824516319812723191
https://x.com/MaxMaw1/status/1824520154459369477
https://x.com/ShowmaxSport/status/1824712281915031862
Narsi says, “The reason for the stunt is Showmax’s value proposition. To echo Cantona’s sentiments, the revolution is here! The revolution is about having the Premier League on your phone and at an affordable price.”
Narsi continues, “For R69 per month (R34 per month if you’re a Capitec Bank customer), hundreds of millions of people will finally be able to consume the greatest football league on the planet, for a fraction of what it costs to attend a live match in England while cheering on super-star African players, in real time.”
He concludes, “It’s the Premier League in your pocket. Welcome to the revolution!”
Credits: Multichoice, Showmax, T+W, Retroviral, grid, 22Ours, Encircle.
