The Brief

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 and getting the stadium on their feet. But the twist came in a brief for greater brand engagement throughout the event and a request for the brand to be more present.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We did what banks do – made money. We designed and minted a Serious/Play coin. One side was ‘SERIOUS’ - representing the serious business of rugby. The flipside was ‘PLAY’, expressing the carnival atmosphere of the event. The Serious/Play coin was much more than a memento. Announced by an in stadium film, the coins became a second currency for the weekend – used throughout the Stadium, and in the party areas of the city: to buy entry into events, play games and enter competitions. The coins added to the experience and placed the brand in the hand of thousands of fans.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

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. 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.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

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.