The global megastars of the rugby union world are currently collected on a rainy island up in the north Atlantic, competing in the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2015. All eyes are on these men as they strive for the biggest prize in their sport.
For Land Rover though, its focus is a little broader. As well as being a worldwide partner for the RWC 2015, Land Rover has been steering its campaign to look at the more grassroots levels of the game, something which has culminated in a five-part series of three-minute videos telling the stories of local rugby clubs playing purely because of passion for the game.
The campaign is titled '#WeDealInReal', and runs along the local theme of 'For the Love of Rugby'. It was conceived by creatives Fox Sports and Content Kitchen along with media partners MCN and Mindshare ESP.
“In 2015 Land Rover developed their #WeDealInReal campaign to put local clubs on a global scale,” explained MCN's national sport sales director Martin Medcraf.
“Land Rover and Mindshare ESP challenged Fox Sports and MCN to bring the campaign to life and create a compelling role for Land Rover to connect with the rugby community.
“The solution was to give a voice to Rugby Clubs from all corners of the country, from Hobart to Cobar. We focused the campaign idea on a group of compelling individuals involved in varying aspects of the game and shared their local grassroots stories.
“The 'For the Love of Rugby’ series was developed to address the key insight that within every rugby club there is a handful of characters that are the glue in the team – these key influencers do it for the love of rugby, and not the fame.”
The team had to scour Australia for the right kind of stories.
“Fox Sports and Content Kitchen researched far and wide for some of the most unique rugby stories from remote parts of Australia. Whilst also telling the story of the local club, Fox Sports wanted to find the human story behind what is driving the love of rugby within these clubs,” said Medcraf.
Getting Fox Sports journalist Tim Sheridan to front the videos was also a big part of the plan.
“Highly respected Fox Sports journalist Tim Sheridan was appointed as the ambassador for 'The Love Of Rugby' content series. As a former player and superb storyteller, Tim was the stand out choice to front the series,” said Medcraf.
“Tim’s participation was also the very first time we appointed a journalist as opposed an ex-athlete to tell the story. Tim has an exceptional knowledge of all sports and an unrivalled ability to bring to life the amazing stories and personalities within the rugby community.”
Mindshare ESP's head of sport and entertainment Mark Raisbeck was also pleased with how the content turned out.
“We are delighted with the local #wedealinreal campaign in what is an important year for Land Rover and rugby. The Rugby World Cup celebrates the game at the highest level, and this campaign has provided an opportunity for ‘real’ club stories to be told and shared.
“Working with MCN, the Fox Sports team and Content Kitchen was great, and allowed us the platform to produce and distribute the content."
Land Rover has been partnered with MCN and Fox Sports since the previous world cup, held in New Zealand in 2011. As a premium partner, Land Rover's cross-platform campaign has taken in naming rights of TV show Rugby HQ, the sponsorship of the Rugby Championships and the RWC and the sponsoring of the rugby sections of Fox Sports' website and new Fox Sports app.
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