Agency/media operation
Labatt Media Group
Client
Labatt Breweries of Canada
Brand
Carlsberg
Budget
Less than $300,000
Media used
Out-of-home
Timing
Launched in June 2002
Media team
Robert Perri, media strategist, Labatt Media Group
John Verdon, brand manager, Labatt Breweries of Canada
The background
In the early stages of Carlsberg’s 2002 planning discussion, a media challenge was put forth by the brand team: ‘Develop a media plan that will position Carlsberg as an official World Cup sponsor…without paying any rights fees.’
The Carlsberg brand has a rich history in European soccer and a strong relationship with the Portuguese and Italian communities in Toronto. The Carlsberg team decided to use this strength as the platform for the ‘World Cup Attack Plan.’ This plan would dominate the core soccer geography of the city using never-seen-before media tactics and a larger-than-life outdoor presence.
The plan
The big idea was to bring a Carlsberg soccer team to the streets through an innovative use of transit shelters during the month of June. This would capitalize on Carlsberg’s existing strength in the community and ongoing support of European soccer, giving the impression that the brand was an official sponsor of the World Cup.
* The domination campaign included over 50 hand-selected locations in Toronto’s Little Italy/Little Portugal community. Posters and transit shelter ads (TSAs) were purchased, but not in a stand-alone manner – the locations worked in unison to give the impression of a life-size Carlsberg soccer team hitting the streets.
* A ‘side-by-side’ poster strategy was incorporated into the creative brief. The idea was to have soccer players kicking, jumping, and making spectacular soccer plays using multiple locations in sequence.
* All four sides of the transit shelters became advertising space, thanks to the use of adhesive vinyl, allowing for co-operative creative from one shelter to another.
* Prior to the creative development process, media and the creative team spent numerous hours driving to all the locations to ensure the best possible execution.
* Dominance in traditional formats was a certainty, but there was one final element that completed the campaign: streetcar islands.
* After extensive negotiations with suppliers and the City of Toronto, Carlsberg was given permission to be the first brand to advertise on streetcar islands, again through the use of adhesive vinyl materials.
* Streetcar islands were particularly effective because they were positioned adjacent to major intersections in the ethnic community.
* With Carlsberg soccer players at every corner, the Carlsberg team decided to take the campaign to the next level and introduce Canada’s first ‘Human Foosball Tournament.’
* This 30′ x 50′ foosball game was inflated in a parking lot off Toronto’s College Street, along with a three-storey inflatable soccer ball.
* Soccer fans who were in the area on their way to watch the Brazil-England game were invited to participate in an action-packed game of Carlsberg Human Foosball.
* Over 500 soccer fans participated, and some were featured in one of the four live sports segments that Toronto’s Citytv broadcast from the event.
The results
The end result was spectacular. Throughout the community, the soccer sequences piqued consumer interest and put the brand at the centre of the action. The Human Foosball execution provided a true brand experience during one of the most controversial games of the tournament.
This plan delivered on much more than an ‘un-official’ World Cup sponsor positioning: the real value of this campaign came in the form of dramatically increased sales during the month-long tournament (as measured by percentage increase, June 2002 vs. June 2001) in the central Toronto area. The brand also maintained share increases for months after the World Cup ended.
The judges rave…
‘A truly creative media idea. The geographic targeting was well thought out and the visual effect was truly impactful.’
‘Excellent creativity and creation of additional media.’
