24/08/2016

New Balance’s Emotionally Charged ‘Feel the Fire’ Launches New CSA Cricket Kit For The Proteas

August sees Cricket South Africa (CSA) and kit partner New Balance South Africa (SA) launched the 2016/17 Proteas kits with an integrated, multi-phase campaign called ‘Feel The Fire’.

 

The kit range, which spans all three formats of the game (test, one-day and T/20), was promoted with a campaign developed in harness with agency Levergy (www.levergy.co.za)  that initially began with a social teaser phase in the two weeks leading up to the official launch with pieces glimpsing kit close ups and promo screen grabs.

 

 

 

The official ‘Feel The Fire’ launch kicked off on 5 August with a centrepiece commercial and a press release running across New Balance and Cricket South Africa platforms and SuperSport (a non-paid piece through CSA http://cricket.co.za/news/13773/2016-17-Proteas-Replica-Kits-Available-Nationwide.

 

The spearhead 60-second spot itself follows the journey of a young Kagiso Rabada who recollects his emotions when he first put on his country’s colours at different stages of his early life – culminating in him putting on his Proteas kit.

 

 

The spot is also amplified across other digital and social channels – including Twitter.

 

 

This hero promotional piece was further supported from 5 August through an ‘Influencer Campaign’ which saw celebrity Proteas fans have new kits delivered to them with hand written notes thanking them for feeling the fire written by the players themselves.

 

 

 

Supported by a set of in-store assets (and, later in August, a workshop targeted at aspiring school cricketers with the team at New Balance’s flagship retail store), the kit became available online via CSA and through South Africa retailers from 6 August 2016.

 

 

This phase was then followed by a series of social and video content pieces released following the launch promotion in on NB and CSA pages

 

 

and assets shared by players on their personal channels.

 

These included selected Proteas players discussing the feelings they experience when they put on the jersey – including the sense of responsibility to the country every time they walk out onto the field of play.

 

The players all encourage South Africans to feel the #ProteaFire by purchasing their replica kits in support of the team.

 

‘We really want South Africans to feel the pride and patriotism every time they put on the jersey, just like we do. Every time we put on the jersey, we know whom we’re playing for and we know that every South African is part of the team,’ explains Proteas test and One Day International (ODI) captain AB de Villiers at the launch event.

 

‘We’re just lucky to be the ones representing them. There’s nothing better than walking out at home games seeing fans in their Proteas shirts and knowing they’re behind us all the way. The kits for this season are the best we’ve ever played in.’

 

The ‘Feel The Fire’ theme and design spans all aspects of New Balance’s kit marketing collateral – from caps

 

 

to shirts,

 

 

and from player specific pieces

 

 

to team led assets.

 

 

Off-shoot content pieces from the players rolled out in the second half of August and the activation also spiked again when the Proteas walked out in their new kit for the first time to play NZ in a two match test series with action-related social pieces.

 

 

 

‘We’re delighted to be able to offer South Africans all over the country every opportunity to feel their own #ProteaFire,’ adds New Balance SA country manager Craig Bowen.

 

‘In designing this year’s kits, we were inspired by the sense of pride and emotion the Proteas get every time they put on the jersey. Each kit is unique in its own right and we can’t wait to see the public donning them at stadiums around the country.’

 

Comment

 

An emotional charged and tactically sensible campaign that demonstrates neatly staged progression through the teaser, launch, retail and match-led phases.

 

It also neatly blends the involvement of the property owner, the kit partner, the players, influencers and the fans with platform relevant assets across the multi-media landscape.

 

New Balance’s agency Levergy continues to showcase an admirable understanding of consumer insights, platform knowledge, property expertise and strategic thinking – as was also demonstrated in its ‘progression’ themed work for fellow CSA commercial partner Audi (see case study).

 

Links

 

New Balance SA Web:

http://newbalance.co.za/

 

New Balance SA Twitter

https://twitter.com/newbalance_sa

 

New Balance SA Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/NewBalanceSouthAfrica

 

New Balance SA Pinterest:

https://uk.pinterest.com/newbalancesa/

 

New Balance SA YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/newbalanceSA

 

New Balance SA Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/newbalanceza/

 

Cricket South Africa:

http://cricket.co.za/

 

Levergy:

www.levergy.co.za

 

 



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