Post by marinermick on Aug 9, 2007 12:44:12 GMT 10
HAL Version 3 Marketing
There has been a dramatic improvement in brand/image and in both seasons 1 & 2 which exceeded consumer expectations of where people felt the brand would be. However, we are now being viewed relative to other mainstream sports. To continue to challenge in this competitive market we need to position the brand ahead of where consumer expectation currently resides. Furthermore we have less significant external factors (e.g. World Cup or “new League”) to create interest in 2007. Therefore our brand communication will have to work particularly hard to compensate for the expected reduction in editorial exposure (particularly in those markets that didn’t feature in the 2007 Finals Series).
Throughout the course of December in-depth research was conducted in order to explore possibilities for season 3 and beyond. This research sought to explore unique aspects our mass entertainment offering relative to other codes. The process involved in-depth group interviews with both hard core fans, and ‘light users’.
Throughout the research, Atmosphere was mentioned spontaneously as unique and a
highlight of the Hyundai A-league competition. Respondents felt that it provided a core
point of difference for the sport and a compelling driving force for attending games.
Group members feel they have created something unique in Australian sport.
• Singing chants/songs
• The signs
• Cheering in unison
• Constant chanting throughout the whole game – not just when you score
• Being part a huge group
• Nobody sitting down
Australian Hyundai A-League is a mix of English style cheering and South
American/European style – and there certain people who support certain “schools of
thought”.
With this in mind our core campaign throughout season 3 centers around the unique
atmosphere provided by fans and how it manifests itself throughout the highs and lows
experienced within a match.
In order to evolve the brand in the mind of our audience and properly articulate our new
proposition for season 3, a new Television Commercial (TVC) has been developed. The TVC will seek to articulate the unique atmosphere and choreography provided by A-League fans at a match. This will be achieved by dramatizing the range of emotions that fans experience throughout the course of a match in response to some engaging on-field action. However we are striving to sell the unique atmosphere in a way that is most compelling to those who have yet to attend an A-League game, our primary target.
The Hyundai A-League was launched using the tagline ‘It’s football, but not as you know
it’. This line had a role to play in distancing the game from its ‘soccer’ past and demonstrating the changing face of the game.
As we go into the season 3, perceptions of the sport have changed vastly. There is now
positive equity in football, and through a successful World Cup and successful first 2
seasons of the Hyundai A-League, people are viewing sport in terms of other mainstream
sports in Australia. Therefore this line has served its purpose.
Season 3 will be launched using the tagline ’90 minutes, 90 emotions’. This line talks
directly to the emotional highs and lows felt by fans throughout a game, which are often
the catalyst for the collective shows of support (i.e. singing and chanting) that manifest
themselves throughout a game, and which are unique to the sport.
Television will play the primary role in driving our evolved brand message in season 3. We
will combine ‘free-to-air’ with PayTV, front weighted to ensure we gain sufficient cut-through directly prior to the AFL/NRL Finals Series.
Furthermore, by providing a standard template for the retail advertising we can ease the
pressure on the club marketing personnel to develop ads, and allow them the engage in
the more important elements of local PR, promotions, community engagement
programmes, and enhancing the match day experience.
The areas which are least-developed, and are also both extremely
challenging and labour intensive, and best driven locally at club level, are the areas of
public and media relations, football and wider community engagement programs, and
developing and consistently delivering a brand-relevant high quality match day
experience for spectators. This is where we will be directing clubs to focus their attention
in season three, as it is in this area that experience and research from season one
and two suggests that the biggest difference and improvements can be made.
The scope of work for Hyundai A-League media and public relations should deliver the
following outcomes for the Hyundai A-League and each of the respective clubs:
•Successful and positive engagement with opinion-shapers of our core target youth segment;
•Clearly established relative positioning of each club in the public eye, successfully establishing and fuelling inter-state / city / club rivalries;
•Identification, positioning and elevation of a hand-picked set of Hyundai A-League heroes per club;
•Extensive, prominent and positive media coverage in relevant channels; Differentiating the Hyundai A-League from old soccer, and other sports codes within Australia.
There has been a dramatic improvement in brand/image and in both seasons 1 & 2 which exceeded consumer expectations of where people felt the brand would be. However, we are now being viewed relative to other mainstream sports. To continue to challenge in this competitive market we need to position the brand ahead of where consumer expectation currently resides. Furthermore we have less significant external factors (e.g. World Cup or “new League”) to create interest in 2007. Therefore our brand communication will have to work particularly hard to compensate for the expected reduction in editorial exposure (particularly in those markets that didn’t feature in the 2007 Finals Series).
Throughout the course of December in-depth research was conducted in order to explore possibilities for season 3 and beyond. This research sought to explore unique aspects our mass entertainment offering relative to other codes. The process involved in-depth group interviews with both hard core fans, and ‘light users’.
Throughout the research, Atmosphere was mentioned spontaneously as unique and a
highlight of the Hyundai A-league competition. Respondents felt that it provided a core
point of difference for the sport and a compelling driving force for attending games.
Group members feel they have created something unique in Australian sport.
• Singing chants/songs
• The signs
• Cheering in unison
• Constant chanting throughout the whole game – not just when you score
• Being part a huge group
• Nobody sitting down
Australian Hyundai A-League is a mix of English style cheering and South
American/European style – and there certain people who support certain “schools of
thought”.
With this in mind our core campaign throughout season 3 centers around the unique
atmosphere provided by fans and how it manifests itself throughout the highs and lows
experienced within a match.
In order to evolve the brand in the mind of our audience and properly articulate our new
proposition for season 3, a new Television Commercial (TVC) has been developed. The TVC will seek to articulate the unique atmosphere and choreography provided by A-League fans at a match. This will be achieved by dramatizing the range of emotions that fans experience throughout the course of a match in response to some engaging on-field action. However we are striving to sell the unique atmosphere in a way that is most compelling to those who have yet to attend an A-League game, our primary target.
The Hyundai A-League was launched using the tagline ‘It’s football, but not as you know
it’. This line had a role to play in distancing the game from its ‘soccer’ past and demonstrating the changing face of the game.
As we go into the season 3, perceptions of the sport have changed vastly. There is now
positive equity in football, and through a successful World Cup and successful first 2
seasons of the Hyundai A-League, people are viewing sport in terms of other mainstream
sports in Australia. Therefore this line has served its purpose.
Season 3 will be launched using the tagline ’90 minutes, 90 emotions’. This line talks
directly to the emotional highs and lows felt by fans throughout a game, which are often
the catalyst for the collective shows of support (i.e. singing and chanting) that manifest
themselves throughout a game, and which are unique to the sport.
Television will play the primary role in driving our evolved brand message in season 3. We
will combine ‘free-to-air’ with PayTV, front weighted to ensure we gain sufficient cut-through directly prior to the AFL/NRL Finals Series.
Furthermore, by providing a standard template for the retail advertising we can ease the
pressure on the club marketing personnel to develop ads, and allow them the engage in
the more important elements of local PR, promotions, community engagement
programmes, and enhancing the match day experience.
The areas which are least-developed, and are also both extremely
challenging and labour intensive, and best driven locally at club level, are the areas of
public and media relations, football and wider community engagement programs, and
developing and consistently delivering a brand-relevant high quality match day
experience for spectators. This is where we will be directing clubs to focus their attention
in season three, as it is in this area that experience and research from season one
and two suggests that the biggest difference and improvements can be made.
The scope of work for Hyundai A-League media and public relations should deliver the
following outcomes for the Hyundai A-League and each of the respective clubs:
•Successful and positive engagement with opinion-shapers of our core target youth segment;
•Clearly established relative positioning of each club in the public eye, successfully establishing and fuelling inter-state / city / club rivalries;
•Identification, positioning and elevation of a hand-picked set of Hyundai A-League heroes per club;
•Extensive, prominent and positive media coverage in relevant channels; Differentiating the Hyundai A-League from old soccer, and other sports codes within Australia.
