Sixteen countries, a sun-filled Old Trafford, a victorious Czech Republic team, a German cardboard cut-out mascot, a stadium awash with national team kits and the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton – that was the first ever Betfair World Cup!

As part of Betfair’s sponsorship of Manchester United, 96 lucky amateur football players and United fans from 16 different nations entered the world of the mighty Reds to enjoy a once in a lifetime opportunity to play at the Theatre of Dreams. The Betfair World Cup included a three-hour training day at United’s exclusive Carrington Training Facility before the 5-a-side teams went head-to-head on the pitch at Old Trafford. Clad in their nation’s colours and with the Betfair LED boards rotating in the background we witnessed sporting class, team hugs, and football fans fulfilling their dream of playing at Old Trafford! Check out our video to see the event in action…

Despite their national team not making it through to the FIFA World Cup Finals the players from the Czech Republic triumphed over Ukraine in the Betfair World Cup Final, whilst the Bulgarians lost out to the ever-so vocal Portuguese team in the Plate Final.

Manchester United and England star Gary Pallister was on site to watch all the action and said, ‘These players are following in the footsteps of legends, from Sir Bobby Charlton to Eric Cantona to Wayne Rooney. The final was a pretty close run thing but the Czech’s seemed to have the upper hand in the final half and came away with the all important win.’

Whilst the Synergy Experiential team managed to help 96 footie fans fulfil their dreams (along with the help of the incredibly well organised Manchester United Soccer Schools) I realised a personal dream of my own, interviewing the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton for the post event video (see You Tube player above).

It has to be said Sir Bobby is nothing short of a true hero for every United fan and he was certainly one of the highlights of the event, as every team had their photo taken with the United and England legend (gotta love those white suits, Bulgaria!).

With one World Cup over we now eagerly anticipate the FIFA World Cup in South Africa starting on Friday. Keep your eyes peeled on www.thevoiceofthefans.com and the Betfair poster at Waterloo station as England try to go all the way!

This blog was written by Vicky Clark and Caroline Ayling.

By Caroline Ayling on June 9th, 2010

Tags: Betfair, Event management service, Experiential marketing, Football, Football Sponsorship, Manchester United, Sponsorship, Synergy

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The weekend before Easter saw the Synergy team glamming it up and walking the red carpet for our friends at Jameson, in preparation for the 2010 Jameson Empire Awards ceremony in London.

Ray Winstone with daughters, Jamie and Lois who presented him with the Jameson Empire Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema (c) Photo: Karwai Tang / Alpha Press

For those unfamiliar with the Awards, they are universally considered to be the most fun Awards in the British film calendar. Regularly attended by the top echelons of Hollywood glitterati, the 2010 ceremony was no exception with a guest list that included the casts of The Clash of Titans, Kick-Ass as well as Hollywood royalty Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and legendary guest of honour, Sir Ian McKellen.

Synergy’s role was two-fold: international PR support enabling Jameson HQ in Dublin to successfully engage five international markets around the world to use the Jameson Empire Awards for local PR in their home nation, and creation and management of the Jameson guest hospitality programme, across 13 markets.

Central to the PR programme was the Jameson Done in 60 Seconds Award, inviting amateur film-makers to re-make 60-second versions of their favourite Hollywood blockbuster. Synergy created a central PR toolkit for each market to pick up and implement in their own region, encouraging entries from their nation and making the Done in 60 Seconds competition truly global for the first time.

As part of the Jameson guest hospitality programme, Done in 60 Seconds finalists from each market were then invited to London on Friday 26th March – two days prior to the full Awards ceremony – to attend the International Finals Party, held at 24:London. There, the panel of judges – including British directing talent Edgar Wright and Michael Bassett, Empire’s editor, Mark Dinning and British actor Jason Isaacs (who was absent on the day but consulted remotely) – viewed the sixteen final films, heralding from Turkey, Russia, Sweden, Holland, Ireland and the UK. Five finalists were chosen, who then went on to attend the Jameson Empire Awards on the Sunday night, where the final winner was to be crowned victorious.

Jameson branded Routemaster buses were specially commissioned to transport guests around London on their Movie Mania Tour

Between this event and the Awards night, Synergy put together a full guest management programme for visiting markets: the Jameson Movie Mania Tour.

It began with a behind the scenes tour of St Paul’s with private access to the geometric staircase most recently used in Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes. Guests were greeted by a Professor Dumbledore look-a-like running down the geometric staircase as he does in Harry Potter the Prisoner of Azkaban.  The St Paul’s tour finished up in the Wren Suite were guests were treated to an exclusive performance by world famous illusionist Keith Barry.

Guests then re-boarded their Jameson Routemaster and were taken to the Bluebird Restaurant in Chelsea for a private three course lunch in the Gallery Room, before heading to Borough Market for the final part of their Jameson Movie Mania Tour.  Simon Rodway and John Ashton movie experts from Silver Cane Tours guided guests through Borough Markets movie locations, ending at Bridget Jones’s flat door, where guests were met by a Hugh Grant look-a-like. Guests then got back on the bus and headed back to The Langham Hotel.

Our Experiential team did such a top job of entertaining all of Jameson’s international guests, that Event Magazine ran a feature on the weekend last week. Have a read here.

On the night of the Awards, Synergy managed the Jameson press room, ensuring all the global markets were equipped with full video and photographic assets from the night, enabling them to bring some of their own local talent to attend the event, creating greater relevancy and PR back home (such as Croatian actress Natasa Janjic, below).

The attendance of international movie stars such as Croatian Natasa Janjic helped Jameson's global markets secure local coverage of the event (c) Getty Images for Jameson

As for the Done in 60 Seconds Award, it was our favourite Top Gun that clinched the top prize, with Cambridge accountant Mark Wong – director and star of the re-make – taking to the stage, still in costume as Maverick, and collecting his much-deserved Jameson Empire Award. Watch the final masterpiece here.

Done in 60 Seconds winner Mark Wong clutches his Jameson Empire Award for his Top Gun re-make (c) Getty Images for Jameson

But if that hasn’t given you enough of a flavour of life on the red carpet, have a look at Empire’s full videoblogisode of the event below. It certainly keeps some variety to what we do, swapping muddy rugby pitches for red carpet glamour.

Bring on the 2011 Awards.

By Lucie Bartlett on April 7th, 2010

Tags: Alcohol, Brand marketing, Event management consultants, Event management service, Film, Public relations, Sponsorship consultancy, Synergy

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Imagine the prospect of a rugby training session with a coach who is feared by players for his army style drills and envied by other coaches for the results he yields from his team. Guinness Club Together, a grassroots rugby initiative, gave one lucky club the chance to be put through their paces in a unique training session, tailored specifically for the club, by the Wales Defence Coach Shaun Edwards.

Shaun gave up his only day off this year, in his busy schedule training the Welsh National Squad and the Wasps Guinness Premiership team, to head to Nottingham Casuals RFC, currently 5^th in Midlands 4 (East – North), for a once in a lifetime training session.

Oli Mott, winner of the Guinness Club Together competition, claimed he’d never seen so many players turn up for mid-week training and with such excitement and enthusiasm – they were even all on time! Shaun lived up to his trade-mark terrifying approach and took no pity on the Nottingham Casuals Team, undertaking a series of training drills and practices, which would have put a professional player through their paces. Shaun showed his true passion for the development of rugby by spending time with the club coaches as well as with the players. Judging by all the exhausted faces at the end I think it’s safe to say they had never experienced anything like it.

Despite Shaun’s gruelling schedule, he found time to share a pint of ‘the black stuff’ with the team after the training session, along with sharing some amusing anecdotes of life off the pitch in the professional game. The hard work and sweat truly paid off as the Nottingham Casuals won their next match 81-0! Shaun Edwards obviously left a lasting impression and turned out to be not so intimidating as originally thought.

To round up the 2008-9 rugby season Guinness Club Together is offering one member club the chance to play on the hallowed turf at Twickenham on the day of the Guinness Premiership Final. To enter visit www.guinness-clubtogether.com.

By Georgina Taylor on March 25th, 2009

Tags: Alcohol, Event management service, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Rugby, community, grass roots sport

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With all the innovation and technology which surrounds the world of F1, where speed is key and winning is everything, it has become apparent that a showcar based simulator ticks all the boxes in providing The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) with an interactive consumer event with mass appeal and brand engagement.

Over the course of the season to date we’ve taken the RBS Grand Prix Challenge (GPC) to Singapore and most recently Paris where fans in the heart of the respective cities business districts tested their reactions and skills.

Throughout the week of the GPC, queues of inquisitive commuters, tourists and students had the opportunity to get a realistic impression of what it may be like to sit in and race the state-of-the-art simulator based around a full-size AT&T Williams Formula 1 show car. Everyone drives two laps of the RBS track – a specially developed generic circuit – with the fastest three drivers winning the opportunity to attend the Driver Day Race-off, where they went head to head with an AT&T Williams driver either Nico Rosberg or Kazuki Nakajima in front of the mass press packs.

I was amazed with the amount of interest a replica F1 car can generate, especially amongst the male population. The competition to gain the fastest lap time between co-workers and friends was fierce, with many repeat visitors even videoing the track to learn the corners at home!

It is sometimes good to remember that simple events, executed well, which offer consumers an interactive, once in a life time opportunity provide the most meaningful experiences for a brand.

By Emily Waring on July 24th, 2008

Tags: Event management service, Experiential marketing, Formula 1, Sponsorship

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With 82,000 fans attending this year’s Guinness Premiership Final, this was the biggest domestic game the world had ever seen and it was up to us to ensure that everyone left with a smile.

As tradition dictates, fans flocked to the Guinness Village on arrival for a pre-match pint of the black stuff and were immediately greeted by the Guinness Honesty Bar. This was a simple concept designed to reward fans by entrusting them to deposit their money in an ‘honesty box’ before collecting their pints from the bar. As anticipated, queues were cut, allowing fans more time to enjoy the day. Judging by the amount of Guinness being poured, the PRA Benevolent Fund were also delighted as they received a donation of £1 from each pint sold.

For those with quick hands, the Guinness Power Pass tested how fast you could pass a rugby ball. Leicester Tiger’s Harry Ellis or London Wasps’ Eoin Reddan needn’t worry just yet, but with each entrant being rewarded with a Guinness headband, it was certainly very popular.

Your Shout gave fans an opportunity to explain why they loved this year’s Guinness Premiership season and with winning entries being relayed on Twickenham’s giant screens at half time, the sell-out crowd were enlightened to some rather excitable views…

However, despite all this activity, perhaps the biggest winners on the day were amateur side Highley Rugby Club who were given the chance to play on Twickenham’s hallowed turf after winning the Guinness Club Together initiative. Gloucester Rugby’s Dean Ryan surprised the team with a pre-match training session before the team ran out to club anthem “Come on Eileen.” English rugby, it seems, is in a very good place!

With the Guinness blimp majestically floated around Rugby HQ parading the message “Seconds from Greatness” for all 82,000 fans to see before the game, the match, it seemed, was the only thing out of our control. By the end of the day even Prince Harry was raising his pint of Guinness as winning team London Wasps paraded the trophy under a banner that simply read “Greatness.”

By Nick Stocker on June 5th, 2008

Tags: Event management consultants, Event management service, Experiential marketing, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Rugby, Sales promotion, Sponsorship

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Football these days: it’s all about the bottom line, isn’t it? Transfers, takeovers, salaries and shareholders – more front than back pages risk an overwhelming slide towards fan fatigue. Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of The Football League has always been founded on the brand’s understanding of real fan motivations in 72 communities.

Having just returned from working on the showcase finale to The Football League season, the Coca-Cola Play Offs, I can confirm that it’s an event about clubs, not multinationals; fans, not investors. This year Coke activated it through club-specific advertising and activity at Wembley Stadium, though unlike many brands, it remained mindful of the fact that what matters to supporters is the match itself.

Hull City made it to the Premier League thanks to two local heroes; Donny Rovers overcame the 40,000-strong support from Leeds Utd and Stockport County won at Wembley, at the fifth time of asking.

With all the stats and figures coming out of last weekend’s event: 200,000 attending fans…110,000 matchday programmes sold…£60million at stake…at the Play Offs, the bottom line appears to be simple: heart.

By Jonathan Izzard on May 29th, 2008

Tags: Event management consultants, Event management service, Football, Sponsorship consultancy, Synergy

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