South African financial brand Nedbank activated around the climax of The Nedbank Cup, the leading football cup competition in South Africa, via an integrated #PlayYourPart campaign running across multiple platforms which reminded all South Africans that everyone has to keep doing their bit to win the battle off the pitch – for the sake of football, the fans and most importantly everyone’s families.
The campaign was developed from a brand brief to agency Levergy which tasked them with ‘finding innovative ways to leverage the sponsorship in a COVID-19 environment’ which saw the season play out with no fans able to attend games in person.
The title sponsor’s Nedbank Cup campaign ran from February through May 2021 and for the Final itself spanned the build-up to the big game, the live coverage and with post-match content across @nedbanksport’s social platforms (including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) with content linked to the campaign’s #PlayYourPart and #NedbankCup2021 hashtags, plus the activation spanned Supersport and SABC broadcast platforms and played out on the pitch too.
The activation was spearheaded by a hero #PlayYourPart television commercial, dropping on 3 May, focusing on the ‘new normal’ in the way fans are consuming football from the safety of their home and which also reminded the country that everyone has a role in defeating the pandemic.
Another activation strand was an inventive remote engagement tool with digital platform Fanmode which allowed fans to share their in-game sentiments directly onto two big screen LEDs (vibeboards) in the stadium which were visible to the players on the pitch and to those watching the telecast from home.
Support the #NedbankCup2021 final from home and you could feature on our stadium vibeboards and TV Register on Fanmode (it’s free): https://t.co/wdQzUw1ueo pic.twitter.com/1Ap6oeGefq
— Nedbank Sport (@nedbanksport) May 8, 2021
Airtime and data ✔️
A jersey of your choice ✔️
Headphones ✔️
A #NedbankCup2021 soccer ball ✔️These prizes could be yours if you reply with the name of the team who will be crowned the #NedbankCup2021 champions
T&Cs apply: https://t.co/LLB3PIeS74 pic.twitter.com/QmmbB1s4CP— Nedbank Sport (@nedbanksport) May 3, 2021
An additional focal point of the content was the #PlayYourPart armband which was worn by the players during the match. While footballers typically wear a black armband as a symbol of mourning and/or respect for the passing of a senior club figure, former player, iconic manager or even a famous fan, the campaign flipped the narrative by using the colours of the South African flag to inspire fans and reminding the nation that everyone has their part to play.
To the fans, thank you for playing your part and being an integral part of our #NedbankCup2021 journey #PlayYourPart pic.twitter.com/AKTo6CUI2b
— Nedbank Sport (@nedbanksport) May 8, 2021
Furthermore, for the Nedbank Cup Final the brand and agency ensured four fans’ dreams came true in the form of a contest to win a VIP Final Screening in the safety of their own home with one of four South African football legends Doc Khumalo, Matthew Booth, Jerry Sikhosana and Mark Williams.
Plus, the banking sponsor ended the season in style with a show-stopping concert headlined by some of South Africa’s biggest artists.
Comment:
The 2021 final of the Nedbank Cup, often known as ‘The Cup Of Dreams’ and organised by Premier Soccer League, was held on 8 May and was won by Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila who made history by winning their first ever major trophy at the Free State Stadium after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chippa United.
Interestingly, instead of the usual game between one of the giants of South African soccer – such as the Kaiser Chiefs, Orlando Pirates or the Mamelodi Sundowns – this was a battle between two lesser known teams under threat of relegation from the top flight.
Nedbank’s #PlayYourPart initiative first launched in December 2020 in the form of the bank’s South African Open activation.
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