Days ahead of the start of the 2018 Ryder Cup, US finance and HR support services brand Workday ambushed the bi-annual Ryder Cup golf tournament by launching a new Phil Mickelson fronted campaign called ‘A Partner Like No Other’.
Workday, an enterprise cloud applications company for finance and human resources, launched the campaign on 24 September with a spearhead spot that sees the US star golfer playing the tongue-in-cheek role of a ‘business caddie to a top executive played by The Office actor Andy Buckley.
The 60-second commercial, created by agency 215 McCann, plays on the relationship between the golfer and the caddie.
The narrative metaphorically portrays the company as a trusted partner (a caddie) for organisations of all types across all industry categories and sees Mickelson (wearing a caddie vest) team up with Buckley and advise him on vital and everyday business decisions.
Including office table tennis strategies and haircut analysis.
This creative approach dovetails with the brand’s values: it currently lists ‘fun’ as one of its core values, while the message aims to demonstrate Workday’s unrelenting commitment to providing customers with the insights and guidance they need to help drive their business forward.
The campaign is running across television,
as well as out of home, print, digital and social.
Having our solution is like having a business caddie…you know, always there for you with insights and guidance: https://t.co/yERPk7Ym4t #partnerlikenoother pic.twitter.com/OlXba3mZ0g
— Workday (@Workday) September 24, 2018
The campaign is running in most Ryder Cup relevant markets: including the USA, the UK, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Japan.
Comment:
It may be something of an old school stereotype, but male business executives and managers are known for their golf obsession.
So it’s no surprise that a business cloud app company is leveraging the Ryder Cup to engage its target demographic.
But, despite the clichés, this campaign manages to feel fairly fresh.
Its neatly, humorously done and succeeds in communicating a message about the brand’s ‘usefullness’.
This alone means it cuts through.
After all, so often B2B television ads are either unpalatably dull or simply cringe worthy – especially when they actually feature executives.
This year’s Ryder Cup tournament, which is being held in Paris on 25 to 30 September 25-30, marks the first time that the Ryder Cup Europe and PGA of America have joined forces to sell commercial partnerships – in an attempt to unite the assets and inventory and negotiate with a single parties.
Mickelson, as he matures is clearly more comfortable mocking himself in marketing.
Indeed, he has built a brand ambassador image as a consummate pro who is not afraid to play the fool.
This campaign follows his equally funny and even more bizarre spot for Mizzen + Main that saw him ‘dad dancing’.
Links:
Workday
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Workday
https://www.youtube.com/user/workdayvideo
215-mccann”>215 McCann
