Peugeot signed a two-year, £2m deal with ITV to be the broadcaster’s principle sponsor of its Six Nations rugby coverage and has launched a multi-platform campaign that spans commercial break bumpers on-air, online, on catch-up and across the channels social media platforms too.
ITV, which is sharing broadcast rights with the BBC for the 2016 competition, will air 10-second Peugeot sponsorship bumpers at the start and end of all commercial breaks,
Unleash the lion inside the New #Peugeot308GTi by #PeugeotSport > https://t.co/moT7YFT0GL #PeugeotRugby pic.twitter.com/gzTBm34LvG
— Peugeot UK (@PeugeotUK) February 20, 2016
as well as run the car brand clips as online ads across its digital, simulcast and catch-up ITV Hub platform, as well as creative executions on itv.com’s dedicated RBS 6 Nations pages.
The campaign, which primarily promotes the performance-focused, hot-hatch 308 GTi Sport model (which recently launched in the UK), also includes idents sandwiching ITV’s own-channel social media Six Nations rugby clips too.
BOSH! Jamie 'The Wall' Roberts shuts out Robbie Henshaw – brought to you by @PeugeotUK #PeugeotRugby #IREvWAL https://t.co/M2h1IBmcZo
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 7, 2016
HAT-TRICK! Joseph powers over for another try – brought to you by @PeugeotUK #PeugeotRugby #ITAvENG https://t.co/ogFa4DHicB
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 14, 2016
The French auto brand is also linking this rugby work to track days and competitions with tweets and Vines running on its own digital channels.
Enter now for a chance to win a #Peugeot308GTi track day with @MSVTrackdays > https://t.co/5NQygFmEfm #PeugeotRugby pic.twitter.com/EoJl3equT1
— Peugeot UK (@PeugeotUK) February 14, 2016
For those who demand an exhilarating driving experience, the New #Peugeot308GTi by @PeugeotSport. #PeugeotRugby https://t.co/IWH9mDdpuT
— Peugeot UK (@PeugeotUK) February 5, 2016
While Peugeot dealers are using the campaign’s centralised creative assets on their own channels in order to show support for the team relevant to each dealers specific geographic locations – such as
We are cheering on England in the #RBS6Nations & loving the #308GTi as coverage sponsor #PeugeotRugby #ITAvENG pic.twitter.com/kxjB5zPslN
— Norton Way Peugeot (@NortonPeugeot) February 14, 2016
Mark Pickles, Marketing Director at Peugeot UK explained: ‘The tournament coverage is a great opportunity for Peugeot to reach its target audience and to engage with them to show our sportier model range. To be the launch sponsor for ITV’s coverage is a real coup as we too bring a strong and competitive product line-up, a multitude of virtues and performances for the overtaking opportunities that lie ahead with customer conversion and just like the teams on the field we have high expectations to max out our conversions.’
The car brand’s head of platform Keely Davidson also believes that the 6 Nations offers a unique exposure: ‘It is more male than female but it’s mixed. It is generally quite a broad audience of people aged 25 up to 65. The rugby audience gives us that good cross section. This is tournament that in Britain people really latch on to as it is all the Home Nations so there is a competitiveness and, as a sponsor, you don’t have to pick a side either.’
Davidson also says that the UK hosting the 2016 Rugby World Cup ‘helped brands gain a clearer sense of the game’s values’.
‘Rugby is good-spirited and has good morals; in terms of viewers, there is a chance to engage with the entire family on offer,’ she adds.
‘Football is harder to get into for sponsorship while rugby is all encompassing. Anyone can turn up and enjoy it. As a brand we feel it has got that right fit for us as there are so many different touch points.’
Simon Daglish, ITV’s deputy managing director added: ‘This is the first time ITV has shown this prestigious tournament, and our broadcast coverage partnership with the BBC is a real boon for rugby fans. We are delighted to be working so closely with Peugeot to activate the sponsorship on ITV.’
The car brand’s media agency, OMD UK, brokered the deal, while agency Havas Worldwide (in harness with its own digital and data shop Havas Helia) created the content.
Comment
This isn’t the first time the French car marquee has linked itself to rugby – it sponsored the Rugby World Cup in 2007 and has also partnered with the Scottish national team.
Of course, for existing sponsors ITV’s entry into the broadcasting landscape alongside its own media partners and advertisers, the new broadcast reality will increase the clutter around the tournament.
This could affect the competition’s sponsors and their strategy (and might see more of these official partner brands focus on work outside the TV space).
ITV is sharing the rights to broadcast the 6 Nations alongside the BBC, making it the first time the competition has aired on a commercial broadcaster.
It also offers an opportunity for brands to leverage the post Rugby World Cup buzz.
‘For the first time in living memory the 6 Nations has come to free to air commercial TV,’ adds Daglish.
‘This not only offers brands exposure to a large upmarket audience, which is rarely available, but also the opportunities for brands to get involved in the game from a broadcaster angle. There are very few upmarket sporting events on such a scale still available in the UK and that’s good for rugby.’
As part of its programming plan, ITV launched a partnership with Talksport radio and Sport magazine to promote its coverage as it promoted its rights by bringing back its ‘Get In The Game’ messaging from the Rugby World Cup.
This is led by a Six Nations ‘Get In The Game’ promotional spot, launched in early February, for its tournament coverage that aims to offer viewers an innovative, first hand perspective of elite rugby
Furthermore, ITV is also running its own regional idents in different UK regions – such as this Scottish ident.
Six Nations Ident on ITV – Scotland from Beth Lishmund on Vimeo.
This mirrors the BBC’s approach to promoting the tournament – which this year saw both a central, pan-regional creative stream,
as well as regional work such as this BBC Wales clip
Links
Peugeot UK YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/theofficialPeugeotUK
Peugeot UK Website:
Peugeot UK Twitter:
Peugeot UK Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/peugeotuk
Peugeot UK Google+
https://plus.google.com/u/1/+peugeotuk
ITV Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/itv
ITV Twitter:
ITV Instagram:
ITV Vine:
ITV Website:
RBS 6 Nations:
OMD UK:
Havas Worldwide:
