The Campaign

Racepoint Group Hong Kong was appointed to launch new sports brand Warrior Football to the Asia Pacific region on 1 June, 2012 – the date the brand’s sponsorship of Liverpool FC officially came into effect. Set over a 14-hour period in Singapore, the launch was also used as a platform to announce the brand’s first football ambassador, star Liverpool player Craig Bellamy, and reveal the brand’s unique charitable partnership with the Craig Bellamy Foundation. Singapore was selected as the location for the Warrior Football launch due to it being a top tier regional media hub and home to one of the largest Liverpool FC fan bases in Asia. In order to generate maximum media interest and fan engagement at a grass roots level with the Liverpool FC community, the launch consisted of a number of launch initiatives involving Craig Bellamy; the schedule included a professional photo/ video shoot, media conference, publicity stunt at the Fullerton Hotel, series of one-on-one media interviews, retail appearance and fan signing session, exclusive in-studio activity with ESPN StarSports and an exclusive Liverpool FC fan event. An engaged social media campaign allowed the Warrior Football brand to converse with Liverpool fans in Singapore and abroad pre, during and post the launch. Awareness of Warrior Football’s Singapore launch event with Craig Bellamy was prevalent around the globe, resulting in worldwide media coverage and widespread boost in brand knowledge amongst key audience groups.

The Brief

1. To launch Warrior Football to the Asia Pacific market by leveraging the brand’s groundbreaking sponsorship of Liverpool FC and unique deal with player ambassador, Craig Bellamy 2. To ignite conversation and awareness around Warrior Football’s Asia Pacific launch throughout the region and the globe by securing top tier media coverage and underpinning traditional activity with a strong social media campaign 3. To communicate Warrior’s unique brand essence through memorable event execution 4. To engage with Singapore’s local Liverpool FC fan base by incorporating grass roots initiatives as part of the launch schedule

Results

As a direct result of the Warrior Football Asia Pacific launch in Singapore, global print, broadcast and online media coverage was generated. Key coverage highlights included: • ESPN StarSports (Asia Pacific, European and North American news feeds) • Sky Sports (European news feed) • CNBC Asia • Channel News Asia • The Straits Times (front page 02.06.12), The New Paper, The Star, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph • Syndicated coverage via Thomson Reuters and Associated Press. During the launch, there was a 37.9% growth rate in page ‘likes’ on the Warrior Football Facebook page. #CraigBellamy was a Twitter trending topic in Singapore. Outreach via Warrior Football’s social media channels during the launch drove discussion and spread virally in real time. Publishing a video showcase of Craig Bellamy and Warrior Football in Singapore post-launch (YouTube, Youku) created more coverage to leverage and extended the event’s social media lifespan.

Execution

In order to engage with as many stake holders and key audience groups as possible, the launch day schedule included a series of initiatives. These included: - Professional photo/ video shoot (imagery and footage to be shared with media globally) - Regional press conference (Warrior Football’s Liverpool FC sponsorship, the announcement of Craig Bellamy as a brand ambassador, details around the brand’s partnership with the Craig Bellamy Foundation and information about Warrior Football’s brand DNA were discussed) - Publicity stunt – the key initiative (Craig Bellamy kicked a series of footballs from the second floor of the Fullerton Hotel at a branded bumboat stationed on the Singapore River) - In-store signing at Weston Sports (open to customers) - In-studio activity at ESPN StarSports (interviews recorded for Sports Center Asia and Score Tonight) - Exclusive Craig Bellamy fan event (100 guests including local media and 50 Singapore LFC supporters’ club fans)

The Situation

Warrior Football entered into the global football market by signing a record-breaking sponsorship deal with Liverpool FC – the fourth largest football club in the world. The team’s new home kit designed by Warrior was made available to purchase on 1 June, 2012. As a new brand, consumer awareness of Warrior Football in Asia Pacific was minimal prior to the Singapore launch due to the fact Warrior Sports (parent brand) had only specialized in manufacturing sports equipment and apparel for lacrosse and ice hockey – two sports generally confined to the USA and Canada markets.

The Strategy

The Asia Pacific launch event was planned over the course of two months. Once availability of Craig Bellamy was confirmed, planning commenced and initiatives took shape around using him as a focal point. All planning (and activation) was carried out by the agency in Hong Kong. Thorough desktop research to identify key stakeholders, opinion leaders and audience groups was undertaken before the team visited Singapore on a planning trip in May. Regular liaison with all third parties continued right throughout the planning process. The Hong Kong team travelled to Singapore two days ahead of the launch to finalise activation details.