With the Autumn rugby internationals almost upon us, Vodafone has ramped up its Irish rugby sponsorship activation with the launch of its #TeamOfUs campaign across TV, OOH, digital, retail as well as an RTÉ One documentary which will be aired in in November.
While Vodafone announced its estimated €15m sponsorship of the Irish rugby team back in May, the Autumn internationals will be the first time that home supporters will see the team in their new Vodafone-sponsored kit.
According to Anne Mulcahy, Head of Brand & Communications, Vodafone Ireland: “Our world-class ambition for #TeamOfUs is matched by a world-class approach, and so we’re excited to share it with people throughout Ireland this Autumn. We are confident that we’ve created something that breaks new ground in sports sponsorship and, more importantly, something that sports fans will love.”
Most of the campaign materials were shot on location at this summer’s historic South African tour and the campaign aims to celebrate the “interdependency behind the Irish rugby team”- from the players and coaches, via IRFU and its partners, to the diverse fan base across the island of Ireland.
“The Vodafone #TeamOfUs sponsorship platform embodies our agency philosophy of creating culturally contagious ideas, and work we’re very proud of. We spent over a year getting under the skin of Irish rugby, working with our client, rights holders, academics, researchers and non-competing brands across three continents. This led us to a platform that marries Vodafone’s expertise as a connector, to the uniquely unifying role that the national rugby team plays within Irish culture,” says Abi Moran, managing director of Target McConnells, the agency which created the campaign.
Credits:
Agency: Target McConnells
Client – Vodafone: Anne Mulcahy, Head of Brand and Communications
Paula Murphy, Brand Operations, Robert Hyland, Senior Sponsorship and Engagement Manager
Paddy Carberry, Sponsorship Specialist.
Production Company – Target McConnells
Agency/Executive Producer – Michael Cullen
Creative Team – Bobby Byrne, Steven Mangan and Jim Seath
Strategy – Paul Fisher
Client Service – Conor Thompson
Director (South Africa) – Pat Comer
Director (Ireland) – Des Mullen
Director of Photography – Cian de Buitlear/John Sherwin
Editor – Cúán Mac Conghail
