How often do you hear the words ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’? It can be a bit of a cliché but in fact there are certain things that really are once in a lifetime…

This month Synergy has been working with clients GUINNESS and Betfair to offer rugby and football fans a dream come true scenario, the chance to play on the hallowed turf at Twickenham and Old Trafford.

GUINNESS, through their community programme Club Together, gave Birmingham Barbarians the chance of a lifetime to play on the pitch at Twickenham ahead of this year’s Aviva Premiership Final. Synergy was responsible for building a dream day the entire squad would never forget. Their day began with England coaches Brian Smith and Mike Ford putting the team through their paces in a dedicated training and warm-up session in Richmond. It was on to Twickenham and from two England coaches to the next as Graham Rowntree greeted  the team bus. The teams walked through the Lion Gates and into the changing rooms where Graham lead a rousing team talk. Then it was through the infamous Twickenham tunnel and onto a pitch in perfect condition for the pros – Birmingham Barbarians were ready for the rugby match of a lifetime. Thirty minutes later the final score was a 5-5 draw. The lads came running off the field pumped full of adrenalin and buzzing after playing at the 80,000 capacity stadium knowing that an hour later the Premiership Final showdown would be kicking off.

As Birmingham Barbarians departed Twickenham it was onto Old Trafford for Synergy to create the ultimate experience for any football fan. With 16,069,210 Facebook likes to date Manchester United has one of the largest global fans bases of any football team and as official betting partner of the club, Betfair had invited 32 very special VIP guests from across Europe and the UK to enjoy the ultimate Theatre of Dreams experience…

Our guests were collected by a chauffeur driven car upon arrival into Manchester, and dropped off at the 5* hotel the Radisson Edwardian for lunch and the chance to meet their fellow team mates. Betfair’s guests donned their training kit and head to Manchester United’s exclusive training facility, Carrington, where the world class Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches and Manchester United legends, Brian McClair, Gary Pallister, Clayton Blackmore and Andy Ritchie where waiting to greet them and test their skills.

Following a solid three hour training session the teams were picked and team managers Brian McClair and Gary Pallister were ready to go head-to-head at Old Trafford the following day. With a big match ahead it was back to the hotel where guests would find their very own personalised 2011/12 season’s kit in their rooms, literally hot off the press as the kit had only launched the day beforehand!

Match day…with their new kit in tow Betfair’s guests were escorted to Manchester United’s home changing room where United legends and the Premier League trophy were awaiting their arrival. After an eagerly anticipated photo opportunity the teams lined up with team managers in the tunnel. As the Champions League music echoed through the tunnel our excited and nervous guests were lead through the Red Devils tunnel – an experience to never forget.

A full 90 minutes on the pitch at Old Trafford and a 9 – 4 victory for Gary Pallister’s away team over Brian McClair’s home side saw the teams exhausted but buzzing from the experience. After some down time for the guests there was one last surprise in store, dinner at Old Trafford overlooking the pitch hosted by none other than footballing legend Denis Law.

So there you have it, two of sports ultimate experiences delivered with every detail planned to the minute by Synergy’s experiential team. If anyone asks you ‘Do you know anyone who can make dreams come true?’ you know where to look…

By Georgina Taylor on June 17th, 2011

Tags: Communications, Consultancy, Default, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Public relations, Rugby, Sponsorship, Synergy, Synopsis

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Life as a PR can put you in some fairly bizarre situations, but frankly yesterday topped it all.  Along with many other PR agencies across the land, we were racking our brains for an attention grabbing, media friendly angle to maximise the PR’s dream annual event – April Fool’s Day.

So to celebrate April Fool’s Day and promote the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP we created and ran a spoof story about a rugby star releasing his very own Eau d’ rugby aftershave.  Ugo Monye, England’s sharp shooter was the man chosen to front the campaign which I’m sure he will regret in the changing rooms on Saturday, when his teammates rib him mercilessly.

The story went that Ugo was creating an aftershave that captured the essence of rugby with hints of sweat, aromas of deep heat, bouquets of mud and of course a drop of the black stuff.  This delectable aroma was set to be stocked in all the big department stores and samples given out to rugby fans at the Guinness Premiership Final on buying a pint of Guinness.

All that was left to do was set up a photo shoot with the customary test tubes, lab coats and bunsen burners…..

In the mire of spoof stories Metro ran the piece today which hopefully you all read on your way in to work this morning and believed ….Happy April Fool’s Day.

By Simon Roche on April 1st, 2010

Tags: Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Rugby

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When we started out as Karen Earl Sponsorship in 1984 we had little idea what the future held, nor did we realise just how far sponsorship would develop as a global marketing phenomenon.

What a ride it has been. So many wonderful clients and sponsorships, so many great friends and memories. Lots of hard work too of course, but always great fun – and is still. I’m so proud of our work, our people, and the unique reputation we’ve built.

Looking ahead, we’ve never been in better shape. We have the most talented and committed group of people in our history, and a client list that’s unrivalled in the industry – and growing. Our international work has grown exponentially in the last few years. And as part of The Engine Group, we are ideally placed to continue to spearhead sponsorship’s unique role in modern marketing.

Easy to say, but let me explain.

We evolved into Synergy a year ago and moved into Engine’s new building just north of Oxford Circus. This meant that, as well as our three existing specialist units – Consultancy, Experiential and Communications – we were able to offer four new services: Branded Content, Digital, Employee Engagement and Sales Promotion. And all under one roof.

Our clients all tell us the same thing: they love it!

We now provide them with the broadest, most flexible and most relevant toolkit for 21st century sponsorship. Successful sponsorships are those which are truly integrated into brand marketing campaigns. Truly outstanding sponsorships are those which act as a catalyst for this integration using compelling ideas which both cut through the media clutter and effectively engage consumers.

We help our clients do that every day.

You can see numerous examples on our website. Two that immediately come to mind are the Guinness Premiership and the Powerade InnerGear campaign, each of which completed a clean sweep of the three major sponsorship awards in the last two years.

Our 25^th year makes this a landmark year for Synergy, but there’s going to be a lot more to shout about. We’ve already announced, for example, that we’re now working with Philips on their global Formula 1 sponsorship and with Betfair to develop their sponsorship strategy and portfolio. There are more announcements in the pipeline – watch this space.

Here’s to the next 25 years!

Karen Earl, Founder and Chairman of Synergy

Ed Kemp from Marketing spoke to Karen about the last 25 years – read his blog here

By Karen Earl on June 4th, 2009

Tags: Branded content, Communications, Consultancy, Digital marketing, Employee engagement, Experiential marketing, Guinness Premiership, Olympic sponsorship, Sales promotion, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultancy, Synergy

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Where better to kick start any celebration than at a showcase event watched live by 80,000 and 445,000 on TV?

2009 marks 250 years of GUINNESS® brewing heritage and this year the Synergy team were tasked with bringing the anniversary celebrations to life at the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP Final.

The GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP Final is the culmination of nine months of hard fought rugby on the pitch and even harder fought supporting off the pitch as fans follow their teams across the country come wind, rain, snow or sun. This year was no different with the top four teams taking it right down to the wire to win a spot to run out on the hallowed turf at Twickenham.

Behind the scenes, the planning which goes into organising the world’s largest rugby premiership match is no mean feat and to add to all the excitement of the rugby, the Synergy team were challenged to develop an engaging integrated PR and experiential campaign.

With a number of key considerations, including promoting the 250 celebrations, the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP Final and the core brand message – Bring It To Life – our ‘Raise a Pint to Arthur Guinness’ campaign worked across multiple platforms.

The activity encouraged players and fans to change their middle name to Arthur Guinness. Players from the two finalist teams, Mike Catt (London Irish) and Martin Corry (Leicester Tigers) lead the way by undertaking the name change by deed poll and by doing so, GUINNESS made a donation to the PRA Benevolent Fund. Interviews and photography with the two iconic players promoted the 250 message and increased the media coverage in the week running up to the Final.

Mike Arthur Guinness Catt and Martin Arthur Guinness Corry

 

This experience was bought to life for the fans in the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP village at Twickenham where over 200 rugby die-hards adopted the new middle name and for their troubles they were rewarded with a free pint of the black stuff!

I now pronounce you John 'Arthur Guinness' Brown

 

 

Although the fans watching from their sofas weren’t able to join in the name-changing fun, the 250 message was brought to life with new post pads and dynamic LED boards. It was a hard fought game but when the final whistle blew Leicester came out victorious and it was up to Club Captain Martin ‘Arthur Guinness’ Corry to lift the Trophy for the Tigers.

Martin Arthur Guinness Corry lifts the Guinness Premiership trophy

 

 

Keep an eye out for more Guinness 250 celebrations later in the year!

By Caroline Ayling on May 28th, 2009

Tags: Brand marketing, Event management consultants, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Public relations, 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, community, Event management service, grass roots sport, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Rugby

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The team behind Powerade’s InnerGear campaign is celebrating today after picking up the ’Best Communication Campaign featuring Sponsorship’ at the highly regarded MCCA Best Awards last night.

Entered by Synergy, Coca-Cola GB’s sponsorship consultancy, the campaign’s striking photography, of Team GB athletes doing their individual sports naked, caught the judges eyes.  The win is the second in a row for Synergy campaigns.  In 2008, Guinness, with its title sponsorship of the English Rugby Premiership, was the victor.

Fingers are now crossed for both the Hollis and Sport Industry Awards 2009 for which the Powerade InnerGear campaign has also been short-listed.

By Sara Wilson on March 6th, 2009

Tags: Beijing 2008, Default, Guinness Premiership, London 2012 sponsorship consultants, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympics, Rugby, Sponsorship consultancy, Synergy, Team GB

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December saw James Haskell of London Wasps and Steve Borthwick of Saracens switch the pitch for the pool by playing a game of rugby in the underwater tank at Pinewood Studios. Submerging themselves in 1.2 millions litres of water, the England duo were promoting the GUINNESS PREMIERSHIP Drinkaware Weekend and highlighting the importance of staying refreshed by drinking water in-between alcoholic beverages. 

Have a look at the behind-the-scenes footage to see how the players avoided sinking in their size thirteens:

By Nick Stocker on January 6th, 2009

Tags: Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Public relations, Rugby

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Congratulations to the Guinness team who picked up their fourth award last night for the title sponsorship of rugby’s Guinness Premiership. The sponsorship, managed on behalf of Guinness by Synergy, won the Rugby Business Award for Rugby Sponsor of the Year (over $500k).

The judges particularly commended the ground breaking work on the Guinness Club Together campaign across 2007/8. Synergy manages all aspects of the sponsorship from strategic consulting to experiential events and PR.

By Dominic Curran on November 18th, 2008

Tags: Experiential marketing, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Public relations, Rugby, Sponsorship, Sponsorship consultancy, Synergy

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20 men in a room hugging was the scene last Wednesday night at Harlequins at the Guinness Club Together, ‘Rugby Essentials’, event. Guinness Club Together is a grassroots initiative developed to work with rugby clubs. It is free to join and in exchange for collecting and sending in Guinness keg caps, clubs are able to redeem a host of prizes, merchandise and other sought after items from the online catalogue.

The events are being hosted by Guinness Premiership referees, players and coaches demonstrating training techniques, warm-up drills as well as offering advice on the new and controversial Experimental Law Variations (ELVs) . Wayne Barnes, a Guinness Premiership referee, provided an interactive session on the ELVs. Clubs have now been playing the new laws for a few months and this gave them a chance to discuss how they are being interpreted by both the players and referees. It was the coaching portion of the evening that prompted a group of fully grown men to get up and hug each other as Colin Osborne, the Quins coach, demonstrated the wrestling techniques that the squad use to warm up.  The events have been kept small and intimate to ensure that the attendees get an opportunity to interact and really get what they want out of the session.

I am a rugby fan but last week some of the jargon really took it to the next level and I did wonder at times had it been in a foreign language I might have had more chance of interpreting it! It was really great to see the audience so fully engaged and, at times, mesmerised.

The purpose of the ‘Rugby Essentials’ events is for Guinness to target the core rugby audience and club opinion formers and to engage them in their passion giving them a valuable rugby insight that they can take back to their respective clubs. This is a really great way for Guinness to offer a unique brand experience whilst spreading the wealth of its Premiership sponsorship assets.

The Guinness Club Together Rugby Essential events are travelling around the UK in the next month:

Newcastle Falcons – 29^th October (18.00 – 21.00)
Sale Sharks – 5^th November (18.00 – 21.00)
Northampton Saints – 12^th November (18.00 – 21.00)
Saracens – 19^th November (18.00 – 21.00) 

I would love to be a fly on the flood lights when the guests from last week go back to their clubs and attempt to cajole the players into a bit of a wrestle!

By Lisa Parfitt on October 29th, 2008

Tags: Brand marketing, Experiential marketing, grass roots sport, Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Rugby

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A week before this year’s Guinness Premiership Final, Guinness proudly hosted a lunch and an opportunity for the country’s top sports journalists to sit down and chat with two giants of the English game who are walking away after a quarter century of service – Lawrence Dallalgio and Richard Hill.

Whilst Richard Hill has regularly been described as a linchpin for both club and country, it is Lawrence Bruno Nero Dallaglio who has captured the hearts of the nation. And as he entered the restaurant last week, his presence filled the room and it was easy to understand why.

For Lawrence, playing rugby was like going into battle. Whether he was playing in the Guinness Premiership or on the international stage, he always brought to the table that fearless Churchillian spirit. He was never afraid to put other players in their place, he always spoke his mind, both on and off the pitch, and when on international duty he bellowed out the national anthem with more pride than the entire England football team.

So it seemed fitting that on Saturday, Lawrence played his 339^th and final game of competitive rugby in front of a world-record crowd for a domestic game. Once again he played at Twickenham, once again he shed tears in the tunnel and once again, as expected, he led his team to victory.

For Lawrence his charisma and natural aura stands him in good stead for the next stage of his career and can be summed-up in the words of another staunchly proud Englishman: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

Something tells me we will be seeing Lawrence again.

By Nick Stocker on June 5th, 2008

Tags: Guinness, Guinness Premiership, Rugby

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