Grudgeby

Background

For the past 137 years, Oxford and Cambridge Universities have locked horns in the ‘Varsity Match.  First played at Twickenham in 1921, it has become an annual spectacular in early December.

In 2009 the Varsity Marketing Group were looking to sell more tickets than ever before and to raise the profile of the match and its sponsor (Nomura).

With a wide range of different interest groups and target audiences it was vital to establish a positioning that appealed to all.

Idea

The strategy was to focus on what sets the Varsity Match apart from professional matches and internationals. It is not played for money, it is played for one reason and one reason alone - to win the bragging rights for the following year. It’s about the passion and the rivalry. There are history books to be re-written. It’s not just a rugby match, there’s a grudge to settle.  It’s not just rugby, it’s GRUDGEBY.

The campaign, featuring the two respective captains, used a number of marketing channels: PR, press and posters, direct mail, digital media and  a Facebook app.

Results

Not known until 2.30pm on Thursday December 10th

Our Thoughts

We try to be as objective as possible with the work that gets submitted to Directory.

We don’t do favours for mates and we keep personal prejudices pretty much under control. Until now. I have brown-beaten the editorial team into selecting this piece for no other reason than that I was at Cambridge myself. Even now, when folk of a light blue persuasion meet, the toast is always “Death to bloody Oxford.”

From the banner, I went to Facebook and have declared on my wall that Cambridge will win. Now I await the firestorm of dark blue protest. Which, of course, is exactly what the agency intended. It’s a fun way of getting the world to take sides. Come to think of it, delete fun. Death to bloody Oxford.