Australian Football League (AFL): GAME SIGNATURES

Credits & Description:

Category: Celebrity Endorsement

Advertiser: AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Product/Service: 2011 FINALS SERIES

Agency: GEORGE PATTERSON Y&R

Executive Creative Director: Ben Coulson (George Patterson Y&R)

Copywriter: Evan Roberts (George Patterson Y&R)

Art Director: Chris Northam (George Patterson Y&R)

GAD: Michael Napolitano (George Patterson Y&R)

Print Producer: Gene Kingi (George Patterson Y&R)

Account Director: Sally Kingi (Geroge Patterson Y&R)

Media placement: Consumer PR - Game Venues, Ticket Venues & Exhibition - 09/09/11

Media placement: Consumer PR - Game Venues, Ticket Venues & Exhibition - 09/09/11

Media placement: Consumer PR - Game Venues, Ticket Venues & Exhibition - 09/09/11



Summary of the Campaign

PROBLEM

Attendance of the AFL Finals Series had declined over the years as frustrated fans forgot that there is still greatness on display regardless of their own team featuring in the playoffs or not.



IDEA

A unique poster campaign was created featuring the the stars of the Series, to remind fans of the mammoth athletic performances of the AFL Finals Series and encourage attendance. Throughout the finals all players were fitted with a GPS which created a unique signature of their game. The best players were chosen to endorse the finals by having their Game Signature drawn by a custom built plotter and turned into posters, which the player signed.



Players' Game Signatures were released each week of the finals with tickets, as well as displayed throughout the series. The originals were auctioned before the Grand Final with proceeds going to the charity.



RESULTS

The 2011 Finals Series went on to have the highest attendance in the history of the sport. Due to popular demand, Game Signatures is now set to become annual Official AFL Merchandise.



The Situation

PROBLEM

No other football code in the world sees players cover such huge distances and roam freely with no offside rule. It's endurance football like no other. In the finals the efforts of players lift to a whole new level - it is quite simply the pinnacle of athleticism. However all this is forgotten if the fans team doesn't make finals and therefore they don't buy tickets.



The Goal

CHALLENGE

Prove to the Australian public that the AFL finals series is where you'll see the greatest performances of the year no matter which teams are playing. That there is greatness to be witness and performances that will be immortalised.



In short to increase hype attendance to the 2012 Finals Series.



The Strategy

STRATEGY

New stars emerge in every finals series and they are often players no one expects. The strategy was to leverage these unexpected stars as ambassadors of the Finals. Their performances would let fans know that there is greatness to be seen, regardless of the featured teams.



Execution

We created Game Signatures, a series of posters created from GPS player data. The players literally drew their own signature.



Throughout the finals, players wore GPS trackers creating unique signatures as they played. A custom built ink plotter then drew the signature from the data, which the player then signed in public, in front of a crowd of footy fans.



Posters of the best performances were released each week of the finals at game venues and ticket venues, with the campaign culminating in a one-off Game Signature of the Grand Final’s best player (MVP).The originals were auctioned at an end of season function.



Documented Results

RESULTS

The 'player created' Game Signatures created a huge buzz around the finals and resulted in the highest attendance in the history of the sport.



Due to popular demand, Game Signatures is now set to become annual Official AFL Merchandise.



The original signatures sold at auction for over $6,000 each, with all proceeds going to charity.