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Cashing In On Soccer Power


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WEEKEND BRUNCH

Cashing in on soccer power

By NOPHAKHUN LIMSAMARNPHUN

The Nation

Published on May 30, 2009

Tim Ellerton, Heineken's sponsorship manager, explains how the |Man U-Barcelona Uefa Champions League final was used to boost brand loyalty and repair Thailand's image

When Manchester United played Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League final on Thursday, Tim Ellerton, the sponsorship manager of Heineken International, was in Krabi, hoping the rain would not spoil the major sports marketing event held by the Dutch beer company.

More than 300 football fans and guests from over 40 countries were in the southern resort town at Heineken's invitation for a three-day stay as part of the firm's "Star Final" global-marketing campaign.

The promotion was a unique combination of football, friendship and beer, all enjoyed in the warm, tropical weather of Krabi.

Heineken had been advertising the campaign on its www.starfinal.com website since February, and by the end of April it had drawn a total of 1.7 million visitors from across the world.

Of these, about 250,000 played online games and competed for a free trip to Thailand so they could watch a live broadcast of the finals on a beach in Krabi.

"Within two months, we got a total of 2.5 million hits worldwide. The campaign was easy [for soccer fans, including those in Thailand] to interact with friends or invite them to join the online games. It's also about sharing [with some elements similar to social networking].

"In terms of visitors, it was highly successful [this time] as there were about 1.7 million unique visitors compared to around 600,000 last year [when the event was held in South Africa].

"There were about 5,000 to 6,000 Thais who played the online games [and eight won free trips to Krabi]. On average, visitors spent an average of eight minutes on the website, and we got entries from more than 190 countries," Ellerton said.

The online game had visitors racing with self-designed rafts, and they were given five days to collect as many winning points as possible. They could also win points by answering questions about the Uefa Champions League or by subscribing to the Heineken newsletter.

Krabi was chosen as the venue this year on the strength of it being a premium destination. The event was held in Iceland in 2007 and South Africa in 2008.

It was believed that using Krabi would help fix the image of Thailand as a high-quality destination for meetings and incentives following the recent bad publicity caused by political unrest.

In terms of creative marketing, the event was billed as unique because it could be used to boost brand loyalty by reaching a large number of target groups around the world who are soccer fans and would also like to visit Krabi.

"Krabi's natural surroundings and Thailand's cultural richness, renowned cuisine and warm hospitality met Heineken's requirements, as we wanted to create an exclusive experience for soccer fans, sitting there on a tropical beach thousands of miles away from home, to unite with the world and watch a superb match live from Rome.

"We're also pleased that our global marketing efforts are helping to promote Thailand overseas. These international visitors will remember Krabi as a one of their most memorable experiences," Ellerton said.

Heineken is the world's second-largest beer-maker with 125 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produced a total of 16.2 billion litres last year.

In Thailand, it's a leader in the premium segment, which accounts for 4 to 5 per cent of the overall beer market, estimated to be worth around Bt70 billion to Bt80 billion annually.

As for the Uefa Champions League, it's the world's largest annual football competition, with a trophy that is sought by every major European football team.

It is estimated that a total of 600 million viewers watched the qualifying rounds and the final.

In the final, Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 in a game that drew around 150 million viewers worldwide, including the 300 lucky ones on Krabi's beach, who were spared the rain during the live outdoor telecast.

nationlogo.jpg

-- The Nation 2009/05/30

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