Super League will break extraordinary ground next week with an innovative and perception-changing television advertising campaign to promote the start of the new season.
State of Mind are excited ahead of the big kick off of the 2013 season on the weekend of February 1-3, a specially-commissioned advert featuring some of Super League’s biggest stars will be transmitted in the Granada and Yorkshire Television regions. The 60-second ad is the latest phase of the ‘Rugby League of the Extraordinary’ campaign and will showcase the amazing exploits and talents of Super League players like Adrian Morley to millions of viewers.
These include a bumper audience on the weekend of January 26 and 27 when the ad will be screened during the live FA Cup football matches on ITV. The first time the new ad will be seen is during ITV’s live coverage of the Stoke City v Manchester City tie on Saturday January 26 (kick-off 12.45pm) and then again on Sunday January 27 during live coverage of Oldham v Liverpool (kick-off 4.00pm).
The ad will also be broadcast during the FA Cup highlights programme on the evening of Saturday January 26. Other spots will be spread through the week up to Friday February 1.
Matt Lowery, the Super League marketing consultant who has engineered ‘Rugby League of the Extraordinary’, said: “The TV advertising campaign will expose the stars of Super League to a whole new audience. “It’s easy for some fans to take what they see on the pitch in a Super League match for granted: the ad is designed to convey the message that this really is a sport played by extraordinary athletes who are extraordinarily skilful, with great speed and energy. “Rugby League is a fast-paced, physical game that is hard to rival anywhere in sport.
“The ad builds on the breakthroughs we experienced with the viral video which was a great internet success last autumn and I am sure it will be well received by all who see it. Almost a quarter of a million people downloaded the video on youtube and Lowery is anticipating another positive response.
He added: “Those who watched the viral had a huge appetite for it and how it conveyed the sport. There was a strong desire for it to be shown to a much a bigger and wider audience. “In the build up to the Super League 2013 season we now have that opportunity and hope to reach three million adults on several occasions.”
The advertisement features a range of Super League players, including England stars Tom Briscoe (Hull FC), Eorl Crabtree (Huddersfield Giants), James Roby (St Helens) and Sam Tomkins (Wigan Warriors). The aim of the campaign is to take the excitement of Rugby League to a wider audience.
Research conducted following the ‘Rugby League of the Extraordinary’ online and poster campaign around last season’s Super League Grand Final has indicated it was successful in changing the perception of non-Rugby League fans and increasing their likelihood to attend matches in the future.