FA Unveils World Cup Marketing Campaign
The FA has embarked on a wide-ranging integrated marketing campaign with the aim of engaging with the estimated 27m people who will watch England’s World Cup matches in South Africa this summer.
The campaign, the largest in the governing body’s history, will look to convert the nation’s enthusiasm and optimism into active participation in the game.
The focal point of the campaign is ‘England Football Day’ on Saturday 12th June, the day of England’s first game against the USA in South Africa.
At its centre is a full day of child coaching on the pitch at Wembley Stadium – while communities and clubs throughout the country are being encouraged to set up their own ‘England Football Day’.
More than 250 festivals have already been arranged at clubs throughout the country. Help to set one up is provided at www.TheFA.com/englandfootballday
To reach these communities and clubs, The FA has used traditional and new media, utilising its key assets – Fabio Capello and the England players:
England manager Capello has written a ‘letter to the nation’ which will appear on 48-sheet posters in each of the 12 Candidate Host Cities in England’s bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The letter will also appear on two huge banners wrapped around part of Wembley Stadium.
The players and Capello have also featured in six short films made by The FA, which will be streamed through various paid-for online channels, as well as media the governing body now manages.
Apart from its website, The FA re-launched its England Facebook page last month, and it already has 200,000 followers. The Facebook page will be used to launch a viral app when the final FIFA World Cup squad is announced on 1st June.
Alongside Facebook, a widely-publicised England iPhone app has been launched on iTunes, to enable consumers to keep in direct touch with the England team. The FA is also now utilising its own TV channel, FATV, as an outlet for key marketing messages, particularly around the live streaming of games.
‘We have huge challenges to grow the number of qualified coaches, and in turn improve the quality of young players,’ says The FA’s head of marketing Simon Freedman.
‘A FIFA World Cup offers the best possible opportunity to help nurture the next generation of England players – and encourage people simply to play football to improve their lifestyles. This is the first FIFA World Cup to take place in a mature social media age – and we intend to utilise this alongside traditional media to converse with our fan base.’
The media planning and buying for the campaign has been undertaken by AMS, digital materials have been created by Dare, while PR is being handled by M&C Saatchi.
