Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

The beauty of technology is to create human connections. Liverpool fans crave nothing more than connecting closer to their beloved club. Standard Chartered, Liverpool FCs main partner, used technology to bring a forgotten hero, Bob Paisley, to today’s fans, showcasing their innovation mindset. Project Stand Red respectfully recreated Paisley's character and whilst CGI and AI voice modulation aren't new, we innovatively used them to drive deep conversation between todays fans and those of yester year. The unheard stories crafted to each unique channel earned attention for the Bank's leadership in technology with the global fan base.

Background

Standard Chartered have been Main Partner of Liverpool FC since 2010 - a shared connection based on values and heritage. This enables us to work together with Liverpool FC to create unique experiences for our bank clients, our communities and supporters around the world; bringing them closer to the Club they love. Innovative use of technology is a point of differentiation in banking (an increasingly homogenous and commoditised industry) and a key tenant to Standard Chartered’s global marketing. Our brief was to develop a digital idea to showcase Standard Charters global leadership in technology and innovation. But few people are interested in hearing about fintech and banking innovation. However, we had a platform they were very interested in. Football.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Project Stand Red preserved the tremendous legacy of Bob Paisley, the humble genius, and brought him to 2019 for a whole new generation of Reds fans. Using cutting-edge technology, AI voice modelling, CGI programming, and hundreds of hours of research Standard Chartered worked closely with Bob Paisley’s three surviving children to respectfully recreate Paisley's character and allow him to once again walk the Anfield pitch telling unheard stories. We robustly developed Bob Paisley’s personality and modelled his speech patterns, allowing us to build conversation in today's world. Bob interacted with today’s LFC team and iconically passed the managerial baton to Jurgen Klopp. We built episodic short films driving powerful conversation and an experiential making-of website showcasing the stunning technology details. Project Stand Red built human connections and inspired the next generation of football fans using the same type of innovation that made the bank a fintech leader.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Innovative use of technology is a point of differentiation in banking (an increasingly homogenous and commoditised industry) and a key tenant to Standard Chartered’s global marketing. But few people are interested in hearing about fintech and banking innovation. However, we had a platform they were very interested in. Liverpool Football Club. With over 850 million LFC fans globally, many in the Bank’s key retail target markets; Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Kenya and UAE regions, we would use the context of a football club and its rich history to demonstrate the bank’s commitment to human connections via innovative technology. To educate the next generation of fans, Standard Chartered shared stories from the past through the lens of today's team in a variety of integrated channels each designed for maximum engagement. And in a year that would have been Bob Paisley 100th birthday we celebrated his legacy with this story of innovation.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The Bank worked closely with the Paisley family and Liverpool Football Club to create a truly innovative campaign. • Bob Paisleys signature was stitched into all 19/20 Liverpool shirts driving awareness of the campaign and its link to the Bank. August 2019. • The 8 episodic short films allowed relevant and powerful conversations with fans. Global launch SC & LFC digital channels Nov 2019 - Feb 2020 • The experiential website invited a deep dive into the Banks innovation behind Project Stand Red. Nov 2019. • The AR Boot room gave fans an experience allowing you to step inside the iconic space and discover thousands of LFC Secrets. Feb 2020. • We started Project Stand Red to educate fans of today but as the project evolved, we were able to ensure Bob’s presence will be felt for a lifetime; with a permanent Bob Paisley statue erected at Anfield. March 2020.

List the results (30% of vote)

Against our primary objective, we saw 76% of LFC fans exposed to the partnership believing the innovative bank is ‘for them’. In the same period Consideration by those aware of the partnership rose to 54% (compared to 41% by those unaware) And perception that the bank provided ‘innovative (new) and relevant products and services’ grew to 38% (compared to 22% of unaware) • Our episodic 8 films resulted in; 76.4 million total views, averaging 15.3million per film exceeding the KPI by an average of 146% • 191 pieces of earned media coverage globally. PR value USD$285 million. • The ‘Making Of’ Film shared the Banks innovation. 15 million views and over 330k engagements. • The Bob Paisley statue will be a permanent feature at Anfield. 191k footfall per game. And the cherry on top…. The Paisley family’s next generation were able to meet their Great Grandfather for the first time.