To activate around England Rugby’s tour of New Zealand, shirt sponsor O2 Prioirty is running a mobile-led search for the ‘ultimate England rugby fan’ called ‘Once in a Lifetime’.
Part of the mobile network’s wider umbrella ‘Once In A Lifetime’ platform – which spans unique experiences spanning music, culture and sport – this variation offers fans a chance to join the rugby union side on pitch before the autumn 2014 QBE Internationals.
Launched in mid-June, fans following @O2Sports on Twitter, are asked five rugby-themed questions as a quick fire test of knowledge.
Each day, the fan with the most accurate score and fastest combined time across the Q&A campaign will be entered into the grand final
This final will pitch five fans against one another as they undertake a series of challenges at the England Training Camp in Loughborough in August – alongside players from England’s Elite Player Squad.
The winning ‘O2 Ultimate Fan’ will then join the team during the build up to the test in camp at Pennyhill Park shadowing the England Performance Team as they put the players through their paces and then stand side-by-side with the squad on the field at Twickenham for the singing of the national anthem pre-match this autumn.
The four runners up will attend a session, to watch the England Rugby squad train.
‘We’re passionate about rugby and we know our customers are too, so what better way of celebrating this than by rewarding the most dedicated fan with an unparalleled England Rugby experience,’ adds O2 head of sports sponsorship Gareth Griffiths.
‘O2 Priority is all about giving our customers unique experiences and with O2 Ultimate Fan we’re offering a prize you can’t get anywhere else.’
The team’s New Zealand tour also sees the mobile operator continue to run the #O2InsideLine YouTube series.
This is a player video diary series that offers a behind the scenes perspective on life with England Rugby Team.
It offers exclusive access, player and management interviews and analysis with O2 Inside Line.
Eg Day 1,
and Day 3,
Comment
Being on the field of play with the stars is a unique experience and interestingly one that is often part of US sports sponsor activation, but seldom seen in the UK or Europe.
O2’s Ultimate Fan and ~InsideLine both aim to further demonstrate the sponsor’s commitment to bringing rugby fans closer to the action.
Indeed, these New Zealand tour activations follow O2’s previous virtual reality England rugby experience – ‘Wear the Rose’ (see case study).
Links
O2 Rugby Website
http://news.o2.co.uk/tag/o2rugby/
O2 Rugby Twitter
@O2sports
#O2UltimateFan
O2 England Rugby Website
O2 Matchday App
http://news.o2.co.uk/2013/03/15/o2-matchday-app/
O2 Inside Line
http://www.rfu.com/qbeinternationals/o2-inside-line
O2 Touch
RFU
