For the eagle-eyed amongst you, Tottenheim Hotspur isn’t a typo: this is the story of how Synergy helped Betfair hit the headlines in the build up to the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final…

Tottenham Hotspur ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory against Fulham to seal fourth place. This would usually result in a UEFA Champions League place, but Spurs fans faced an agonising week-long wait to see if they’d be rubbing shoulders with the cream of European football. If Chelsea made history by beating German giants Bayern Munich to lift the Champions League for the first time, then Spurs fans would instead be tuning into Channel 5 on a Thursday evening for the UEFA Europa League. The equation was simple: Spurs needed Bayern Munich to win at all costs, and so half of North London became German for the week.

Whilst Spurs fans nervously scrubbed up on their Deutsch, restocked their fridges with Holsten Pils and prepared the schnitzel in support of their Bavarian brethren, Betfair gave them a helping hand by producing a unique limited edition range of Tottenham Hotspur coloured lederhosen, for those fans wishing to go the extra mile.

Following a number of calls to bemused suppliers, some suitable lilywhite and blue lederhosen was eventually sourced, and Synergy’s PR team headed to White Hart Lane to bring the idea to life.

The images were released to national and London media and received a brilliant response. The Evening Standard embraced them with the headline of “Hose the Daddy”, while the Daily Star went for “One Size Fritz All.”

There was also plenty of online pickup, including metro.co.uk and a number of football websites and blogs.

The campaign went down a treat across social media channels, with the @Betfairsports Twitter feed running a competition for fans to win a pair of lederhosen by completing the lyric of the Bayern Munich song.

The activity was a great example of what is possible when PR tactics pre-empt the news agenda, with the Synergy PR team delivering a very successful, cost-effective campaign for Betfair within the space of a few days. Although sadly for fans of traditional German dress, the Chelsea win on penalties means that the lederhosen are unlikely to make an appearance in the stands at White Hart Lane next season.

By David Gerty on May 31st, 2012

Tags: Brand marketing, Football Sponsorship, Media, Public relations, UEFA Champions League

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Scanning the papers over the last couple of weeks, one story stands out above all others (aside from the European economy being in tatters that is). The Olympic Torch Relay began its journey around the country in Lands End on Saturday 19^th May. Ben Ainslie was the privileged one charged with taking the torch on its first steps, declaring it “comparable to winning a gold medal”.

During the last week we’ve read the heart warming tales of the torchbearers such as Eric Smith, a winner of a George Medal back in 1962, 16 year old wheel chair basketball player Ben Fox taking the flame through Royal Wootton Bassett, and 86 year old Tony Hill carrying the torch 64 years after missing out in 1948 because of appendicitis.

It has not been short of celebrity involvement with Zara Phillips giving the relay the Royal seal of approval on Thursday, with Didier Drogba also fresh from his Champions League exploits in Munich heading to a sunny Swindon to play his part.

However, it has not all been positive. The torch had been designed to cope in the most adverse of weather conditions, but blew out on Day 3 because of a “malfunctioning burner”. Cue many an embarrassing headline for the organisers.

Elsewhere readers of the Mail on Sunday on 20^th May, were greeted by the headline “Olympic Flare-Up”, as part of an attack on the Games’ commercialisation.  We also had Will.i.am rapped for tweeting with the flame in his hand and torch bearers putting the prized possession on ebay for thousands of pounds.

The Olympic Torch Relay lasts 70 days, so rest assured there will be plenty more talking points and headlines to come.

By David Gerty on May 25th, 2012

Tags: London 2012, Olympic Torch Relay, Olympics, PR, Synergy Papers

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What Happened

With 19 league defeats so far this season, Ipswich Town aren’t going to win many accolades for their performances on the pitch. However, faced with the launch of their new kit, the Championship side demonstrated creative ability which should make any club sit up and take notice.

To publicise the kit launch, the Tractor Boys headed to Easton Farm to record a tongue-in-cheek viral that hugely entertained football fans across the country. In the film, goalkeeper Arran Lee-Barrett (who needs a bit of practice if their ‘goals against’ column is anything to go by) can be spotted diving around the farmyard and striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is filmed dribbling around milk containers. The club’s legendary attacker John Wark also makes a cameo appearance dressed as a farmer.

There’s obviously something in the East Anglian water, as their local rivals Norwich City took a similar approach in 2011, when they brought a bit of Italy to Norfolk with the launch of their Errea kit, through a viral that included Paul Lambert scanning the Gazetta dello Sport.

Why we love it

The football romantics amongst us will remember when kit launches were a rare event that would lead to genuine excitement. They’re now held on an annual basis, with most Premier League clubs producing three kits a year (has a third kit ever been worn?).

Despite plenty of opportunities to experiment, the majority of clubs still rely on a tried and tested way of getting mum and dad to part with their hard-earned cash. Chelsea recently displayed the usual activity undertaken by the majority of clubs, who rely on a photo with a handful of stars (normally including one who has been linked with a move away from the club) posing with the kit behind the club crest. Such launches usually incorporate a video, which in this case contains some particularly profound soundbites from Gary Cahill – “you’re used to seeing Chelsea in a blue strip innit” – and Juan Mata – “every team has a different kit.”

Ipswich Town haven’t taken themselves too seriously and have been willing for fans to have a bit of chuckle at their expense. The viral has been rewarded with over 124,000 views on YouTube to date with football fans quick to register their praise:

“Brilliant! Funny and engaging. Absolutely genius advertising and it doesn’t break the bank, very sensible of Ipswich. Well done!”

“I’m a Brighton fan, but I have to say this is quality!”

“Great idea and good to see a bit of humour instilled in football.”

The viral also received coverage across football forums and media outlets, with Ipswich Town’s retail manager Lee Hyde stating that it was another way to help the club interact with fans:

“It’s fantastic to interact with the fans through social media and social networking nowadays. The viral kinds of feeds from that.”

I won’t be heading to the Ipswich club shop anytime soon, but I definitely take my hat off to them and hope that one day my team Tottenham realise that marketing club merchandise doesn’t have to be quite so straight-laced.

By David Gerty on May 1st, 2012

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Football, Sales promotion, Sport, YouTube

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Last Tuesday night, as the majority of football fans were glued to Chelsea’s heroics (John Terry aside), Tony Evans (Football Editor of The Times) gave a rare and fascinating insight into the extreme pressure journalists are faced with when putting together the sports pages of one of the UK’s leading papers.

Tony posted regular updates throughout the day on Twitter from The Times sports desk, knowing that the result from the Nou Camp – not due until approximately 21.40 (or later if extra time or penalties were required) – would be the main sports story of the day.

Here’s a selection of the best tweets as one of the most dramatic nights in Champions League history unravelled:

Tony then repeated the feat on Sunday, showing how the football supplement The Game is put together. Fernando Torres was set to steal the headlines on Monday morning as a fairly routine Sunday afternoon passed with Chelsea and Tottenham strolling to wins against relegation-threatened QPR and Blackburn. Then, at approximately 7pm, The FA announced they were set to talk to Roy Hodgson about the England manager’s job.

Here’s Tony’s reaction, which would have been shared across all of the national papers:

A fascinating insight, and for anyone foolish enough to think the job of a sports journalist is a stroll in the park, have a look through Tony’s Twitter feed and that illusion will be well and truly shattered.

By David Gerty on May 1st, 2012

Tags: Media

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PR Week showcases Synergy’s ‘Betfair Presents…Man Utd Live’ – a Q&A with three Manchester United players hosted on Betfair’s Facebook page, which attracted over 50,000 views and increased ”likes” by 36%

Click here to read the case study in full.

By David Gerty on April 26th, 2012

Tags: Press Clipping

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Tim Crow tells Marketing magazine that whilst the RFU’s new marketing initiatives are to be applauded, they “will have little effect if the England team continue to under-perform on the field and misbehave off it.”

Click here to read the article in full.

By David Gerty on January 31st, 2012

Tags: Press Clipping

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Footballers can talk directly to their fans through social media, but does this 140-character phenomenon help or hurt football?

Jessica Enoch tells the Official Champions League Magazine that “Twitter allows players to build their own brand.”  However, she warns that if clubs try to influence the online profile of players they may endanger what makes them popular in the first place.

Click here to read the article in full.

By David Gerty on January 27th, 2012

Tags: Default, Press Clipping

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Tim Crow kicked off the ESA Diploma for 2012, with the opening lecture on the history and the future of sponsorship on Thursday 19th January. 

Synergy and ESA Chairman Karen Earl is heartened by the industry’s support: “We have always sought to position the ESA Diploma as ‘the industry training the industry’ and the breadth of experience from the high calibre pool of contributors pays testament to this.” 

Click here to read the story on the ESA website.

By David Gerty on January 20th, 2012

Tags: Press Clipping

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Marketing Magazine examine the twelve issues that will affect marketers most in 2012. Tim Crow believes that one of the trends will be “Redefining Britain.”

“One of the key themes this year will be the redefining of what it means to be British and how the country will define itself around the Jubilee and the Olympics.”

Click here to read his comments in full.

By David Gerty on January 11th, 2012

Tags: Press Clipping

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Olympic organisers have created ”The Team 2012 programme” which is intended to raise private sector funding for some 1,200 British athletes, part of which is aimed at SMEs.

Tim Crow tells the Financial Times that he has his doubts on the programme and describes its link to the games as “tangential at best.”

Click here for the story in full.

By David Gerty on January 4th, 2012

Tags: Press Clipping

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