| Title | HSBC SERIOUS PLAY |
| Brand | HSBC |
| Product / Service | HSBC |
| Category | A02. Premiums & Giveaways |
| Entrant | JWT LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM |
| Entrant Company | JWT LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM |
| Advertising Agency | JWT LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Romilla Sanassy | Jwt London | Romilla Sanassy |
| Orlando Hooper-Greenhill | Jwt London | Planner |
| Rollo Gwyn-Jones | Jwt London | Account Supervisor |
| Tanya Hamiltion-Smith | Jwt London | Account Director |
| Simon Sworn | Jwt London | Art Director |
| Matt Chandler | Jwt London | Copywriter |
| Iain Weatherby | Jwt London | Creative Director |
| Daniel Hennessy | Jwt London | Creative Director |
| Axel Chaldecott | Jwt London | Global Hsbc Creative Director |
| Russell Ramsey | Jwt London | Ecd |
The HSBC 2012 Hong Kong Sevens Campaign marked the bank’s return to title sponsor after a 15 year absence with a bang. A media takeover of the city and a viral stadium ad that was ‘bloody brilliant’ (the CEO’s words, not ours) marked the bank’s renewed focus on Hong Kong. We were asked to build upon this initial success by doing more of the same i.e. getting the stadium on their feet. But the twist came in a brief for greater brand engagement throughout the event and to see the brand brought out more.
Apart from the obvious connection between a tournament coin and an international bank, the Serious Play coin answered a harder problem. How does a major brand communicate its sponsorship whilst not getting in the way of the rugby? Whatever we did had to add value to the experience. The coin became a catalyst for fun in a personal sphere but on a large scale. It allowed people to settle bets and set outlandish challenges. And afterwards, it would be something found in a pocket and to remember the weekend by. All courtesy of HSBC.
Knowing that the audience would be caught up in the excitement of the matches, we knew that our role was to add to their experience. We created and distributed an unofficial tournament currency for the weekend with a Serious/Play coin. People could buy entry into HSBC events, play games and enter competitions. It quickly became the second currency of the Hong Kong Sevens and wider city as people used them outside of the stadium.
In just two and a half days more than 10,000 sevens fans managed to get their hands on the limited edition coin. Tens of thousands more joined in with the campaign, visiting the HSBC sevens village, and being thrilled by the coin’s minting procedure through the rousing in-stadium film. And the campaign immediately went beyond Hong Kong, with rugby fans around the world also joining in the spirit of Serious Play as the film received over 280,000 views in the week of the sevens alone.