Ref's Pack

Background

Setanta Sports is a small but growing sports broadcaster in Australia. October marked their first birthday on Australian Pay TV. To celebrate, and leverage this significant achievement, Setanta wanted to build a stronger relationship with the leading sports journalists in Australia, reminding them of their fantastic line-up of sports, which no journalist would want to miss.

Idea

Referees and sports journalists have a lot in common – they both call the big games. So what better way to help these people than to send them a referee’s kit? Journalists were supplied with everything they needed; yellow and red cards, a ref’s whistle, a pencil and, of course, details of Setanta’s programming disguised as a referee’s notebook. Also included was a free subscription to the channel to make sure they didn’t miss a moment of the action.

Results

There are probably only 80 sports journalists in Australia and they all received a pack. Of those, 11 took up the offer - so just under a 15% conversion rate. But anecdotal feedback was also positive, with many journalists saying they were previously unaware of the amount of sports Setanta offers and the pack made them feel warmly towards the brand.

Our Thoughts

Most above-the-line folk look at DM as if it is broadcast advertising. In other words, as if it is relevant to them and to a generalised target audience. But the point of what we do is in identifying small groups of people who can wield disproportionate power over a brand. Targeting sports writers when you’re a challenger brand in the cut-throat world of sports broadcasting seems smart. Making the mailing fun as well shows an agency thinking about brand communication as well as conversion rates.