- Sydney
The AFL has partnered with JCDecaux, Virgin Australia and Vizeum Australia to launch an Australian-first live streaming stunt with instant prizes to engage audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
The Innovate campaign appeared on interactive digital panels in CBD areas and featured a static AFL advertisement promoting the finals in the lead up to the Grand Final. At a random peak time, the panel displays were activated, beaming well-known players from teams in each state via a live video stream, enabling members of the public to interact in real time.
Housed in an off-site Virgin Australia Lounge studio, players rewarded their fans with game tickets or vouchers via the screens, as well as surprising fans by physically appearing at the display sites. Some lucky fans also won the ultimate major prize of two AFL Grand Final tickets per city including Virgin Australia flights from Sydney and Adelaide, personally delivered by the AFL star, all of which was captured on video.
AFL superstars who participated in this experiential advertising campaign included Shane Mumford (GWS Giants), Tom Bellchambers (Essendon), Alex Rance (Richmond),Tex Walker (Adelaide Crows) and Chad Wingard (Port Adelaide).
The AFL’s Head of Marketing, Julian Dunne, said: “Footy is fast, action packed and unpredictable, so to launch the 2017 Toyota AFL Final Series we wanted a campaign that embraced the true spirit of the game.
“We wanted a campaign idea that embraced the action packed nature of the game, was a bit irreverent and gave our fans a chance to win their way to the 2017 Toyota AFL Final Series.
We are delighted to have partnered with Virgin Australia and JCDecaux on this initiative. We know it’s the stars of the game who the fans really want to see and through this initiative fans were given the opportunity to meet and interact with their footy heroes and to come and experience a game live.”
Virgin Australia Chief Marketing Officer, Inese Kingsmill, said: “As the proud Official Airline of the AFL, this campaign was a unique way for us to bring our sponsorship to life and also give back to the AFL fans. The activation had so many amazing fan moments using such an innovative, interactive execution and we were delighted to be a part of it.”
JCDecaux’s Head of Creative Solutions, Alan Klein, said: “AFL players surprised their fans speaking directly to them from the panels and their reactions make incredible shareable content for both the AFL and Virgin Australia. Using our digital panels as a creative stage to reach people online as well as on the street has brought a whole new level of wow factor to the AFL and its fans.”
Vizeum Australia Client Service Director, Sam Westway, said: “This was a really innovative and engaging campaign to be involved with and a great way for the AFL to bring unique fan experiences to life.”
Campaign details:
Sydney – Monday 28 August, York St in Sydney’s CBD
Melbourne – Wednesday 30 August, outside Southern Cross Station
Adelaide – Friday 1 September, Rundle Mall
Check out the AFL live stunt activation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DycGNZGLFN4