#btsia Shortlist Focus: The Kick Off With Ladbrokes

Brand: Ladbrokes

Talent: The True Geordie

Agency: Formidable

Entry: The Kick Off with Ladbrokes

Category: Individual or Team Partnership

What’s it all about?

“The True Geordie and his on-screen pal Laurence McKenna came up with the idea for a new style of weekly live football show aimed at young adult fans, which sits in the middle of an ongoing, multi-platform conversation with the True Geordie’s fans. Elliot Hackney at Ladbrokes Coral sought to build an industry-leading influencer partnership to put the brands at the heart of the football conversation every weekend. 

“They partnered with creative video content agency Formidable to develop and produce the format. We’ve now been working together for two seasons making authentic, highly entertaining content with the brand seamlessly integrated across three YouTube channels as well as constantly conversing with the fans on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.”

Why do you think you made the shortlist?

“1. We have the most watched and most talked about live football show on YouTube

“2. We have a loyal and highly engaged audience which has grown 200% since we started

“3. We are constantly challenging ourselves to evolve and improve, including building out the weekly ecosystem of content to find new ways to converse with fans.”

What made it a great campaign to work on?

“Hundreds of thousands of young fans (and sometimes millions) are entertained by and engage with our content every week.  

“We make that content with our friends about the game we love. What’s more the partnership has a proven track record to drive engagement for the brand partner. It’s fun and it’s interesting to be the leaders in this space with a show that’s often emulated but never equalled.”

Who was the MVP on this campaign?

“Team. Effort.”

How do you plan to celebrate?

“Very calmly and quietly… (Have you watched our live show?!)”

CREDITS

• True Geordie
• Ladbrokes Coral – Elliot Hackney, Head of Social Media 
• Formidable
• Laurence McKenna

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