As a lifelong football fan, I was immensely excited about the 2024 UEFA European Championship this summer.
It officially kicked off at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on June 14th, with a match between the hosts, Germany, one of the favourites in the sports tournament, and Scotland, who had an impressive qualifying campaign to reach the finals.
A big football tournament is a unique opportunity for brands to generate sales and raise awareness for their own benefit to reach a substantial and captive audience gripped by the drama and excitement of ‘football fever’ that promises to sweep the nation during the sports tournament.
We’ll take a look at some of the official and unofficial sports brand partnerships and promotions that leveraged the EURO 2024 hype through their consumer-facing communications and marketing.
These sports brand partnerships with UEFA partners included:
- Lidl
- Hellmann’s
- Unilever (Sure, Dove, Lynx and Radox)
- BYD
- Coca-Cola
- WWF
1. Lidl
Lidl launched its “We’re On Your Team” UEFA Euro 2024 campaign back in March. Lidl Kids Team programme, a campaign to give children the chance to be an official UEFA EURO 2024 player escort.
The prize-draw-style competition ran between March 28th and 17th of April. Parents/guardians could enter exclusively via an entry form on the Lidl Plus App to be in with a chance to win.
This incredible prize also included air travel to the UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany for the successful winning parent/guardian and their child, along with accommodation, plus various other fun EURO 2024-related experiences.
2. Hellmann’s
Hellmann’s, an official BBQ Partner of UEFA Euro 2024, launched limited-edition bottles across 12 SKUs, including mayonnaise, tomato ketchup and its flavoured range, to drive sales and trial throughout the six months of BBQ season.
Tapping into the nation’s football frenzy, the brand launched its “Up Your BBQ Game” with the England team’s own Jack Grealish as the face of their campaign.
They activated through the line, including content such as the ultimate “Grealish Burger”, a prize draw offering consumers the chance to win a trip for 2 to the UEFA EURO 2023 Semi Final in Munich on 9th July, and an experiential amplification activation featuring giant Hellmann’s bottles in major London train stations.
The prize draw competition encouraged consumers to scan a QR code found in Tesco stores or the Hellmann’s website and upload photos of their “most creative Hellmann’s sandwich” to be in with a chance of winning the semi-final tickets.
3. Unilever (Sure, Dove, Lynx and Radox)
The prize draw to win EURO Semi-Finals tickets also featured across official partner Unilever personal care brands such as Sure, Dove, Lynx and Radox.
Consumers can pick up any qualifying Unilever personal care products, scan the QR code on display promotional material, and fill in the online form.
This also ran alongside a non-purchase-to-win Semi-Final Tickets competition promoted via the Sure UK Instagram page, driving entrants to an online entry form page.
To learn about connected packaging, be sure to check out this blog.
4. BYD
BYD, the battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric automobile brand, is an official partner of UEFA EURO 2024.
They are running a through-the-line campaign across their comms.
This included a variety of EUROs-related content, driving customers online to follow their social channels, such as Instagram, to be in with the chance to win tickets to the tournament.
At Lime, we help create impactful brand partnerships and sales promotions that maximise brand exposure.
Get in touch with us to discuss your ideas in more detail.
5. Coca-Cola
Another official UEFA partner during EURO 2024, Coca-Cola, gave pubgoers across the UK the chance to win a host of football-themed prizes in the run-up to the tournament.
Running for five weeks from 10th June, consumers could scan QR codes on limited edition 330ml glass icon bottles of Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, taking them to the Coke App to enter a prize draw.
Consumers could get their hands on Adidas training tops, Coca-Cola-branded footballs, and cups daily. Everyone who enters the promotion will also be added to a draw for an ultimate VIP final fan fest experience at BOXPARK to watch the tournament’s final game.
But for those not likely to venture into a pub to watch the football, there was also an “Endless Summer” on-pack promotion on single and multipacks of Coca-Cola Original and Zero Sugar packs, giving shoppers the chance to win one of 295 pairs of tickets across UEFA EURO 2024.
6. WWF
WWF, the World Wide Fund for Nature, is also getting in on the act and adding some additional excitement to this year’s tournament.
You could head to their website to download their EURO 2024 sweepstake kit and plenty of other inspiring football-based fundraising activities, such as wearing your kit to work day or info about how to host a charity football match.
This was a fantastic way for all ages to join in on the fun and excitement of the tournament whilst doing your bit to help build a better future for the environment and wildlife.
At the time of writing this, we were two weeks away from the start of the tournament. There were plenty of unofficial and “ambush” sports brand partnership examples that were not featured here, which maximised the general buzz and excitement surrounding the sport.
I personally couldn’t wait and was overly enthusiastically cheering on Kane, Bellingham, and co! COME ON ENGLAND!
–
We are Lime, an independent partnership and sales promotion agency based in London. We offer an end-to-end sales promotion service from idea generation to prize fulfilment.
If you’re interested in learning more about the services that we offer, please get in touch with a member of our team today at 02073179280 or email Charlie@wearelime.co.uk.
