Umbro: TAILORED BY ENGLAND

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: UMBRO
Product/Service: ENGLAND KIT LAUNCH 2009
Agency: EXPOSURE London, UNITED KINGDOM
Chief Executive Officer: Raoul Shah (Exposure)
Executive Group Communications Director: Heather Ogie (Exposure)
Director: Maneeze Chowdhury (Exposure)
Account Director: Lex Deasley (Exposure)
Account Director: Adam Paris (Exposure)
Senior Account Manager: Andy Jephson (Exposure)
Account Executive: Alec Stephens (Exposure)
Creative Director: Simon Shaw (Exposure)
Retail/Events: Alison Berkani (Exposure)
Art Director: Aaran Cawte (Exposure)
Describe the campaign/entry:
This was the first high profile launch for Umbro since its acquisition by Nike. PR played a crucial role, targeting niche and mass channels to support the ATL campaign and redefine brand positioning.
The campaign mixed creativity and originality with access and advocacy, alongside more traditional media channels. The Cabbie briefings accessed an existing, powerful stakeholder network, effectively spreading advocacy ahead of the reveal. The Konami partnership was a world first, recognising the kit's relevance beyond the strictly traditional footballing arena and accessing a younger audience. The Energy Spaces provided environments where Umbro could drive re-evaluation and appropriacy of the England football shirt as a lifestyle item with an opinion forming audience. The partnership with Vice and VBS.tv accessed young talent to support the craftsmanship message in the kit and create relevant touch points for a wider cultural audience. The Wayne Rooney ‘Lion Heart’ shot mixed true, ‘grass roots’ football photography with contemporary vision to produce an accessible interpretation of a nation's hopes
Describe the brief from the client:
In a crowded media landscape, dominated by rich brands and sponsors, traditional football coverage is niched to match results and scandal about players. Our challenge was to create and execute a powerful campaign to cut through alternative media outlets and deliver recognition and sales for, what is essentially, a football shirt. In order to deliver positive posts on cultural and trend blogs, break into ‘fashion/style’ niche media, our campaign created content to inspire and excite them. At the same time we segmented mass media with messaging which would not alienate Umbro’s core supporters
Results:
28 million+ adults were hit with key messages, 58% of UK population (Source: Metrica)
- 190+ branded pieces of coverage. 75% were positive. Included front cover and 6 and 4-page features in Sunday Times Magazine and Mail on Sunday’s LIVE respectively
- 63% of lifestyle/influencer audience reached 7 times and football fans reached 8 times
- AVE £3million+. PR value £9million+. OTS 230million+
- ROI (fees vs AVE) = 9:1
- Over 20,000 shirts sold in first 24 hours
- 16 people attended Influencer Dinner - 259 Cabbies briefed in 4 days
- 14,000 fans, 400 entries and 2 winners for Facebook competition
- 90,000 on-line subscribers to Vice and 89,000 print. Page impressions – 684,812, videos watched – 10,000 and click-throughs – 2,075
- Konami downloads totalled 700 on reveal day and over 850,000 since
- 718 consumers visited Energy Space, London, 300 in NYC and 70 in Tokyo
Execution:
Advocacy-building dinner for cultural commentators/celebrities ignited debate
- Black Cabbies enlisted to capture network/chatter-power of opinionated, self-appointed football experts
- Facebook competition for photographers to shoot Wembley match day
- Tease on Umbro’s blog with hidden hints/tips
- Vice magazine/VBS.tv partnership (6 pages & 11 films) focusing on England’s ‘first eleven’ of emerging talent - work, passion for football and what it means to be English
- Live gaming partnership with Konami/Pro-Evo Soccer. Online gamers downloaded new kit simultaneously as squad revealed on pitch
- Reveal bolstered by simultaneous global release of iconic John Terry & Wayne Rooney shots, with positioning messaging
- Umbro’s assets (Fabio Capello) utilised to deliver features beyond sports
- Consistent product placement and kit review programme
- ‘Tailored by England' spaces in London, New York and Tokyo hosted VIP screenings, private gigs, games evenings, footballer Q&As and tailoring studios before transforming into stores
The Situation:
A genuinely revolutionary take on the England kit required a genuinely revolutionary campaign. The jewel in the Umbro crown, the England home kit, provided the ideal platform to shout about the brand’s global positioning, re-define replica and elevate the shirt as an icon of English culture. The challenge was to reshape the traditional audience (C1D2 males) whilst saying something bigger about football as part of English culture. We were also managing negativity surrounding the kit’s price point in a recession. We ensured we put back the value into Umbro’s most important asset, rather than relying on England’s on-pitch performance
The Strategy:
A four-phase multi-disciplinary integrated campaign, driven by PR, included activities to seed, tease, reveal and maintain momentum. We created innovative and unique content to drive reappraisal and brand fame. This was integrated with a media strategy that combined protection and promotion, to successfully bring to life the new brand positioning, ‘Tailored by England’ in a positive manner. Ground-breaking, culturally-focused partnerships and an enlistment campaign allowed us to access emerging talent with a passion for football, to set the word of mouth channel alight and align Umbro with categories and personalities outside football. At the same time we utilised Umbro’s finest assets (Fabio Capello, John Terry) to deliver big features beyond the sports media and classic footie fans. This allowed us to deliver volume as well as major positioning coverage