Epsilon International claimed silver at the DMA Awards for Best B2C Campaign for its work with Wasps Rugby Football Club (RFC) at an awards ceremony which took place in the UK. The campaign entitled ‘Another Local Great’ focused on the Premiership club’s relocation from their home ground at Adams Park to Ricoh Arena in Coventry and brought together Epsilon’s strategy, media, and creative capabilities while working with Conversant to create a fully integrated campaign.
“Faced with the challenge of a professional sports club relocating and risking the relationship between a club and its traditional fan base, Epsilon working with Wasps Rugby Football Club wanted to build an emotional connection with its key target audiences. The relocation would see Wasps moving from a ground which averaged 5,500 to a stadium with a capacity of 32,000. The brief was to fill the Ricoh Arena with an average attendance of 14,000 for each of the remaining nine games of the season,” according to Epsilon.
“Using a creative approach, warm and humble messaging, the ‘Another Local Great’ campaign drew comparisons between the achievements of both people from Warwickshire and local businesses to those of Wasps Rugby Football Club. Creative executions used Wasps action shots to complement strong headlines about local heroes such as musical group The Specials and the inventor of the jet engine, Frank Whittle. The campaign which included a combination of above the line and digital channels surpassed its initial target KPIs to attract an average attendance of 19,167 while also breaking the record for home attendance. More than 16,000 new ticket buyers were drawn to the club, while digital prospecting meant a re-targeting pool of over 250,000 potential customers was also established. During the online campaign, website traffic increased by 39% and email click-through rates were 30% higher than industry average,” it says.
