Bungay Town FC: BUNGAY V BUNGAY

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: BUNGAY TOWN F C
Agency: BEATTIE McGUINNESS BUNGAY
Category: Best Integrated Campaign Led by PR
Advertising campaign: BUNGAY V BUNGAY
Designer: Dan Forde (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)
Art Director: Daniel Bennett (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)
Editor: Daniel Stockmann (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
CopyWriter: Bil Bungay (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)
Director: Bil Bungay (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)
Print Producer: Ian King (King Henry London)
Director: Jack Masterson (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Director: Josh Stack (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Photographer: Laura Bungay (Freelance, Bungay)
Print Producer: Lol Keen (King Henry London)
Director: Scott Newstead (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Marketing Director: Shaun Cole (Bungay Town FC)
Creative Director: Bil Bungay (Beattie McGuinness Bungay Llp)
Editor: Bil Bungay (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)
Editor: Jack Masterson (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Editor: Scott Newstead (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Producer: Bil Bungay (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)
Director: Daniel Stockmann (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Editor: Josh Stack (Norwich UCA Nr Bungay)
Designer: Phil Appleton (Beattie McGuinness Bungay LLP)

Campaign Description
Having Googled 'Bungay', Shaun Cole, the Marketing Director of Bungay Town FC was lead to the door of an agency with Bungay in its name. The issue he had was that his club - Bungay Town Football Club ‘The Black Dogs’ had a problem; no one had ever heard of them and this was hampering crowd attendance, financial support, sponsorship and player acquisition.Shaun Cole of Bungay Town FC needed a big idea, one that made the whole of the UK and beyond aware of Bungay Town FC - on literally no money. Fundamentally he needed a very big PR idea to create big news for Bungay Town FC.The idea was to find enough Bungays from around the UK and indeed the world to play a unique game of football; 22 players called Bungay playing for teams called Bungay at Bungay Town FC, Bungay, Suffolk - and throw professional commentary into the mix 'Bungay passes to Bungay, Bungay heads, Bungay scores, Bungay leads Bungay by a goal to nil'.It was a genuine world first; the biggest number of players with the same name ever played in any sport anywhere in the world. The results were astonishing with the story appearing in practically every UK mainstream media and beyond, reaching an estimated 30 million on a budget of £3K - the price charged for shirt sponsorship.

Effectiveness
The awareness of the Bungay v Bungay event was national. It became a hot topic across the nation, with it appearing in practical every mainstream national media channel, online, radio and TV. These are referred to in the accompanying video. It is estimated (based on the readership/viewership/listenership of each channel the story appeared in) that the story reached circa 30 million people. It also crossed borders appearing as far afield a Australia, Russia and Vietnam. It is also being considered for The Guinness Book of Records. JURY PLEASE NOTE: That this is a truly impactful 'out of the box' BUDGET IDEA, the cost alone of providing the specific criteria required to defend this entry for the true PR event that it is would be well in excess of the amount the event cost - already the cost of entry is almost a third of the entire budget spent on the event itself.

Strategy
There is a simple rule in football: that the most visible clubs are the ones that the talent gravitates towards. Players and supporters want to be part of a team that gets talked about, so the objective was simple; to get Bungay Town FC noticed, preferably through the language of football.

Execution
Step 1: Come up with a brilliantly simple idea: Bungay v BungayStep 2: Using the power of social media, the good old fashioned phone book and national broadcast - find as many Bungays as you can and to promote the game itself.Step 3: Find professional commentators (Sam Delaney, Kevin Piper) to commentate live on the game - 'Bungay passes to Bungay, Bungay scores, Bungay leads etc'Step 4: Make a programme full of Bungay only team sheets (mention the professional FA ref - another Bungay), make Bungay v Bungay team kits, scarves, scoreboard.Step 5: Play game and try and keep a straight face through the commentary.Step 6: Sit back and watch the event unfold in national news media!

Client Brief Or Objective
Bungay Town Football Club is a legitimate semi-professional football club, albeit at the lower end of the lower leagues in the UK. It therefore made perfect sense to use the language of football to promote Bungay Town FC, the bonus being that it also happened to be one subject that the entire UK nation (and indeed target audience) obsesses about. The only caveat was to do something entirely original and newsworthy with football, hence Bungay v Bungay. Beyond that the goals were: 6 for Bungay and 6 for Bungay.

Relevancy
Bungay Town Football Club ‘The Black Dogs’ had a problem; no one had ever heard of them and this was hampering crowd attendance, financial support, sponsorship and player acquisition. Shaun Cole of Bungay Town FC needed a big idea, one that made not just to locals but to the whole of the UK and beyond aware of Bungay Town FC - on literally no budget.