With the Premier League season just a matter of days away, fans such as myself start to feel excited towards football again (no burn out here Galer!) After being let down as an England fan (again) this summer in South Africa, until Monday the thought of a good season for my club (Aston Villa) was an exciting prospect.

Last season I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Spurs pip Man City to fourth spot and it was hugely satisfying, as a Villa fan, to see Gareth Barry miss out on Champions League football. The 2010/2011 campaign should be another fantastic Premier League season as a host of clubs continue to close the gap on the so called “big four”, in fact I’d say with the depth of Man City’s pockets we really should be referring to it as a “big five” and, in fact, the odds at Betfair agree. For the first time in Premier League history five teams (Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool) are all 15/1 or shorter to win the Premier League title, suggesting that the title is most definitely a five horse race.

This Premier League first led to a fantastic Betfair event at Kempton Park on Thursday 5th August 2010 when five legends from the aforementioned clubs took part in the Betfair Five Horse Race. Yes, five ex-footballers agreed to jump on horses and race each other over one furlong and what a race it was! The ex-players vying to be first past the post were Ray Parlour, a Premier League and FA Cup winner with Arsenal, Chelsea’s second all-time leading goalscorer Kerry Dixon, ex-Liverpool hard-man Neil ‘Razor’ Ruddock, Steve Lomas, the combative midfielder formerly of Manchester City, and David May, a Champions League winner with Manchester United.

Prior to the event Neil Ruddock weighed in at a worrying weight and Ray Parlour was introduced to his horse, cheekily named after the current Gunners boss, Arsene Wenger. The Synergy and Betfair teams were met at Kempton Racecourse by glorious sunshine after a morning of training for the legends that saw David May flung to the floor and Steve Lomas emerge as the early favourite. Kitted out in club colours and full riding clobber the former stars took to riding like ducks to water and the race was eventually won by… well you can watch below.

By George Woffenden on August 11th, 2010

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Betfair, Football, Football Sponsorship, Manchester United, Viral Marketing

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Last weekend the Betfair team here at Synergy were involved in a world football first at Old Trafford for the Manchester United v Everton match. For the first time in football history, the faces of fans appeared on TV interview backdrops and LED ad boards, as part of Betfair’s unique Get Behind United campaign.

Fans were able to win this once in a lifetime opportunity by uploading their photo at www.betfairfootball.com/getbehindunited. Promotional girls were outside the ground at the previous Manchester United v Blackburn match to take fans’ photos which were also entered in to the competition.

Betfair’s USP is that fans bet against each other rather than against a bookmaker, and this was brought to life before the Everton match where the Synergy Experiential team organised a Betfair football roadshow where fans could take part in a variety of football skills challenges for the chance to win a signed United home shirt, as Event Magazine reported. The Fan v Fan messaging was also emphasised on-pitch at half-time by fans competing against each other in a skills challenge. Before kick-off there were once again promotional girls taking photos of fans’ faces ahead of the Manchester United v Aston Villa game on 12th December, where the activity will be repeated as Betfair again give back to United’s loyal supporters by offering them a unique experience for a worldwide audience to see.

The campaign has gone down incredibly well with the fans; I had a thank you email from one of the winners calling it an “unforgettable experience” and Duncan Laryeah. whose face appeared on both the perimeter boards and interview backdrop claimed “it was almost like there wasn’t a football match on that day!” If you’re a Manchester United fan go and upload your photo at www.betfairfootball.com/getbehindunited and be involved in a World Football Second.

By George Woffenden on November 27th, 2009

Tags: Advertising, Football, Manchester United, Sponsorship

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