Carling In Off The Bar

Fridays, Fans, Fun & Football

We wanted the hat-trick of football Fs…fans, fun, Fridays. We achieved it. A show for the younger audience that mirrored and enhanced the unique atmosphere of watching a live game in the pub.

Now the squad is ready for the 2017/18 EPL season.

Jim Shearer, Brand Director, Molson Coors

We wanted the hat-trick of football Fs…fans, fun, Fridays. We achieved it. A show for the younger audience that mirrored and enhanced the unique atmosphere of watching a live game in the pub.

Now the squad is ready for the 2017/18 EPL season.

Carling In Off The Bar

Collaboration around the four ‘F’s’: Fridays, fans, fun and football

Broadcasting live on Sky Sports from a pub…simulcasting to Facebook Live…coordinating four agency partners…and all with less than two weeks ‘til pre-season to go from idea to reality. Game on…

0
%
increase in brand association with the Premier League
0
%
more likely to buy Carling
0
m
digital impressions delivered after just four days

Challenge

Ten years after ending its English Premier League (EPL) sponsorship, Carling returned to football, this time as an EPL partner. The aim: to reconnect with its key male 18-34 audience, and to celebrate football in a vibrant and innovative way

Insight

A first for the Premier League in the 2016/17 season, the new live Friday night games opened up new exciting opportunities. After all, watching the game in the pub with your mates — the jokes, the banter, the cheering – is an essential part of British football culture, and Carling could capitalise on this.

Furthermore, the way people consume football content in 2017 is becoming significantly more fragmented. Platform and search trend analysis indicated a significant growth in football research on a Friday evening going into the weekend fixtures, up weighted towards mobile platforms.

Platform, timing and audience confirmed, the idea needed to exceed expectations.

Idea

The idea was to turn Friday night football into an ownable event that Carling could host. With a shared heritage in football, Sky was the natural partner – and the pub, the home.

Carling In Off The Bar (CIOTB) was pitched: A live, three-part, cross-media show, from a pub, and hosted by Soccer AM presenters Adam Smith and Laura Woods. The new show would give Friday night football a modern twist, taking Sky Sports directly to its fans, by filming LIVE in pubs across the UK.

Each episode would include sporting chat, games and songs with fans, ex-footballers, comedians and social influencers, and would be made up of three segments:

  • Pre-match (6.30-7pm) live broadcast on Sky Sports from a Carling pub in the home team’s city, simulcast on Facebook Live, YouTube and SkySports.com
  • 15-minute half-time analysis live-streamed on social media
  • Post-match (10.45-11.15pm) analysis live on Sky Sports, simulcast on social media and online.

Episodes would also be available on-demand on Sky Go, and cut-downs available to distribute via Carling social channels to extend reach and viewing opportunities beyond Friday night – anytime, anywhere.

Activation

The partnership kicked off every Friday night in a local pub across the UK and was split into three  key content segments across the evening.

The first segment kicked off from 18:30 – 19:00. This was a 30 minute show, broadcast live on Sky Sports from a Carling pub in the home team’s city, simulcast on Facebook Live, YouTube and SkySports.com. This began to build the buzz ahead of the big game with exciting content such as the ‘Carling Tap Challenge’. This challenge required participants to hit the beer taps with a football to win tickets to see the big Friday Night game live in the stadium.

The second segment ran from 20:45 – 21:00 on Facebook Live, offering viewers half-time analysis and an alternative look at what happened in the first half of the game.

Finally, the third segment rounded off from 22:30 – 23:00. This was a 30 minute show air’d on Sky Sports 1, as well as streamed on Facebook & YouTube. This segment rounded off the evening with innovative features such as ‘Matt Hutson’s end of show song’ encapsulating a comedic song based on football topical antics and events of the game.

In order to communicate the partnership further and engage an even wider audience, a Carling branded ‘Mirror Me’ photo booth was created and established in all of the pubs visited. The booth provided unique entertainment for the audience in between shows, encouraging them to share their experience on social media, further driving social conversation.

Results

Shift In Perception

  • 81% say that CIOTB content is something they have to share with mates
  • 73% – Carling is brand I would drink with friends (+43%)
  • 67% – Is a brand I would drink at the pub (+37%)
  • 77% – Is a brand I would associate with the premier league (+48%)
  • 75% are likely to buy Carling in the next month or so (+56%)

Engagement

  • Matt Hutson’s ‘Damn You Demba Ba’ received over 775k views on Facebook.
  • CIOTB delivered an audience of 4.5 million across TV, digital and social media after only four Friday Night Football games
  • CIOTB achieved 25.5 million digital impressions after only four Friday Night Football  games

Client Quote

”We wanted the hat-trick of football Fs…fans, fun, Fridays. We achieved it. A show for the younger audience that mirrored and enhanced the unique atmosphere of watching a live game in the pub. Now the squad is ready for the 2017/18 EPL season.”

 

 

Jim Shearer, Brand Director Molson Coors

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