ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Despite strong representation via a roster of globally renown female footballers, PUMA was not an official partner of the Women’s World Cup or the host nations, the Australian or New Zealand national teams. Instead, PUMA partnered with the first ever nationally representative players from the Australian & New Zealand teams, the ‘OG’s, (average age 75) who had gone unrecognised by the local governing bodies, with their story yet to be told. PUMA told their story through a unique content series, and treated them like modern day athletes, by giving them Tik Tok and Instagram accounts and creating the content for them. PUMA also organised a historic 'ReMatch of their 1975 encounter with Sydney Harbour as the backdrop. The OG’s were finally recognised, and became the most talked about campaign of the World Cup, capturing the hearts and minds of two nations in the process.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
This was a truly original campaign - using the 'Original' players who none of the public knew to front a campaign was a major risk, but it paid off. Engagement levels with these two groups of women was incredible, across social media (14 million social impressions) and traditional media (98M earned media reach). Together we showed that these women had a story that needed to be told, and a story that people wanted to hear. They may not have had the tricks or the skills that they used to, but the public fell in love with them, giving them the recognition that they truly deserved.
Objective
Entering its 9th edition, the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup was tipped to be ‘the biggest’ female sporting event in history. Much more than a sporting event, this was a highly-anticipated cultural moment in time to celebrate not only the best players in the world, but also those who have paved the way to make the spectacle what it is today.
Despite having strong representation through globally renown female footballers participating in the tournament, the challenge was PUMA was not an official partner of the tournament or the Australian or New Zealand Team national teams rendering such opportunities null and void. A potential miss to communicate the brands rich legacy and support for female Football.
The objective was to capture the hearts and minds of the nation and organically insert the brand into the conversation surrounding the tournament and women’s football as a cultural leader.
Strategy & Execution
PUMA chose to partner with the first ever women’s teams to nationally represent Australian & New Zealand in 1975, the ‘OG’s. PUMA may have been prohibited from talking about the present, so instead decided to take ownership of the past. The OG’s, despite their trailblazing efforts as the first ever women to represent their nations in football, had gone unrecognised by the local governing bodies, with their story yet to be told.
The campaign aimed to pay our respects and connect the OG’s with the next generation, the ‘Next G’s. PUMA brought the teams together again, flying them in from around the country and beyond to feature in a multi-channel marketing campaign akin to how PUMA would market its modern-day stars to tell their story—the publicity, the photo and content shoots, the social media (each team had their own Tik Tok and Instagram pages), the billboards, the media coverage and interviews, all culminating in a historic rematch 48 years in the making at the heart of Sydney Harbour during the World Cup opening weekend.
These were no longer unrecognised, they were football stars and national heroes.
Organizations
- PUMA
- BURSTY
Links
Featured
- Australian women's football team (first ever)
- New Zealand women's football team (first ever)
Credits
JAMES WARD
Creative Director
Bursty
Adrian Goold
Creative Director
Bursty
Neysa Goh
Director of Marketing
PUMA
Scott Broekhuyse
Group Account Director
Bursty
Simon Hall
Marketing Manager - Sport
PUMA
Hayley Giarusso
Account Director
Bursty
Portia Lombardi
Event Manager
Bursty
Britt Austin
Brand Marketing Manager
PUMA
Nat Stipanicev
Commercial Marketing Manager
PUMA
Ryan Earles
Head of Production
Bursty
Carla Monforte
Account Director
Bursty
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