England kit launch 2006

UMBRO
England kit launch 2006 - case study
Summary:
The Sun
UMBRO, the global football brand, turned to Threepipe to launch
the England team’s new away kit in February 2006. With the World
Cup only months away, this was one of the biggest and most high
profile product launches of the year.
This was a crucial product launch for UMBRO, and vital to get right in
terms of driving sales of the product in a tournament year. Such a
high profile event was also important in determining perceptions of
the UMBRO brand among consumers, shareholders and in the City.
Threepipe delivered a launch campaign that brought together PR
activity, online promotion, brand partnerships and a high-profile
launch event involving 200 media and 9 England players, including
David Beckham, Michael Owen, John Terry and Frank Lampard.
Shoot
The launch generated a massive amount of media coverage
across TV, radio, print and online media, reaching an estimated 25
million UK consumers with key messages about the new kit and
UMBRO’s association with the England team.
Mirror
Evening Standard
The Challenge:
With the 2006 World Cup just months away, the launch of the new
England kit represented a massive opportunity for UMBRO to
leverage their sponsorship of the England team. An integrated
launch campaign was needed to deliver key messages about the
product design and technology to the widest possible audience of
England football fans.
www.threepipe.co.uk
The launch event itself was a complex logistical challenge,
with extensive planning required to deliver a smooth event
to cater for over 300 guests, including media from around
the World, and the involvement of nine high-profile
England football players.
UMBRO also needed to leverage its relationships with
individual England players, including Michael Owen, John
Terry and David James, through strategic PR activity.
Planning and Implementation:
Launch Venue
Planning began in June 2005, with several meetings with
UMBRO and The F.A. to identify the best timings for the
launch, in terms of the England fixture list. After establishing
the launch date of February 27th, just ahead of England’s
game against Uruguay at Anfield, the next challenge was to
find a suitable venue in the North West of England. Threepipe
researched various options in Manchester and Liverpool,
visiting potential venues to assess their suitability, before
settling on the Radisson SAS hotel in Manchester. Several
further meetings were held with the venue, UMBRO and The
FA to plan the launch event.
Player Interviews
Threepipe produced a long-lead media plan, offering
UMBRO players for interviews with lifestyle magazines,
designed to generate positive media coverage at the
time of the launch. A series of interviews took place in
November and December 2005, with Threepipe
negotiating with the media and players’ agents to ensure
that all sides would be happy with the results.
A deal was struck with The Sun, offering John Terry for an
exclusive interview in January 2006, resulting in two pieces
of heavily branded coverage before and after the kit
launch. The paper ran UMBRO’s images and carried key
details of the new kit, encouraging readers to log on to
www.umbro.com for more information.
Launch Event
A complex event to organise! Every last detail had to be
right, from security for the players, down to individual
briefing sheets for the media. Taking place early in the
morning, in order to set the news agenda for the day, a
total of 300 media, guests and competition winners were
all treated to an exhibition of UMBRO’s global
photography, before watching the spectacular launch
event, hosted by the BBC’s Mark Clemmit, where David
Beckham, Michael Owen, John Terry, Frank Lampard and
five other England players officially revealed the new strip
for the first time.
Following the unveiling, a total of 30 one-one interviews took
place with the England players, including live appearances
on BBC Breakfast News, Radio 1, Sky Sports, and Radio 5 Live.
With players on a tight schedule, Threepipe had to be totally
on the ball to ensure that each media got their allotted time
slot with the players. Each interview delivered key messages
and reinforced the campaign imagery through the use of a
branded backdrop.
Promotions
A total of 25 pre and post-launch promotions were set up
to deliver UMBRO’s message to the target consumer.
Partnerships were set up with Carlsberg, Pepsi, Yahoo!, The
FA and various consumer media streams including The
Sun, MTV, Match and Radio 1.
Results:
Media Coverage
The launch event and one-one interviews generated
coverage in The Sun, The Mirror, The Times, Daily Telegraph,
Daily Star, Daily Mail, The Express, The Independent, The
Guardian, Metro, London Evening Standard, BBC Breakfast
News, ITV News, Channel 4 News, Five News, Sky Sports,
Soccer AM, Radio 1, 5 Live, MTV, Nuts, Zoo, Match, London
Sport, and many more!
Long lead media coverage included FHM, FourFourTwo,
Shoot, T3 and Stuff.
Commercial Success
The new shirt sold through in record time in the first few
days of going on sale, helping UMBRO and its retail
partners to reap the rewards of the massive interest in the
England team, four months before the World Cup had
even started!
The week following the launch event saw UMBRO’s share
price at an all-time high.
Enough about UMBRO,
can we talk about you?
www.threepipe.co.uk
• Call James Southerland or Eddie May: 020 7470 8830
• Email us: [email protected]
• Meet us at our place in Covent Garden or
wherever suits you.