On Today’s Agenda:
A Masterclass in Holiday Marketing
Kicking Into The Holiday Spirit
How Teams Should Create Holiday Content
‘Tis The Season For Sports Marketing
A Masterclass in Holiday Marketing
YouTube / @AldiUK
What do Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, The Super Bowl, and Christmas have in common? The advertising. Audiences anticipate the most emotional, star-studded, and creative advertisements to come out during these “holidays”, and with Christmas right around the corner - we are targeted with Christmas/holiday branded content at every corner.
Most of the sports-related holiday content we see is typical - we see teams asking their players fun questions about their favourite holiday traditions, players singing Christmas carols, and my favourite - players and teams giving back to their community. The holiday spirit lights a warm fire in all our hearts, and we love to see the smiles on faces when our favourite teams give back during this season.
One element is often missing from the commercials we see from the top sports teams and leagues - the athlete. During the holiday season, it is difficult for an athlete to differentiate themselves from all the giving and joy that is spread during the holidays. Even when we consider the celebrity appearances made in some larger commercials, like Mason Mount or Jadon Sancho this year, the athlete’s clout does the heavy lifting for the brand - but does not necessarily add to the athlete’s brand.
Enter Aldi, a German grocery store chain that has locations all across Europe, and owns Trader Joe’s in the United States. Their Holiday commercials (better known as adverts across the Atlantic) have become a popular tradition for many British consumers, who anticipate the advert and the popular celebrity who may be included.
This year’s Aldi commercial hits the feels in a light-hearted way, combining holiday tradition with a twist on a popular story - and tying it up with a bow of good-spirited feels.
If you’re a soccer/football fan (specifically the EPL), you’ll know that the character Marcus Radishford is based on Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, one of England’s best forwards - and a huge advocate for tackling youth food insecurity in his country. Although his character is only seen for about 6 seconds in the entire one-and-a-half-minute commercial, it is clear to fans that Marcus Rashford’s inclusion has something to do with his benevolence.
Marcus Rashford was outspoken during the height of the pandemic when school lunch programs were at risk of being halted due to COVID-related budget cuts. His stance and advocacy helped to save a program that supported vulnerable youth across the country - and in 2020 he was recognized by the British monarchy for his efforts.
Why is all of this important? Marcus Rashford quickly became an icon in the sporting world as someone who was an advocate for youth empowerment, someone whose brand was all about nurturing and supporting vulnerable youth and their families. In the Aldi commercial, we
To cap off the advert, it is mentioned at the end that Aldi will be donating 1.8 million meals to families during the holiday season - a perfect feel-good ending for a season where giving is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. It is a subtle detail, but ties in Rashford’s appearance in the commercial well.
This was one of the most well-executed athlete cameos in a holiday advertisement that I have seen. Limited screen time by the athlete and no direct selling was required in the commercial - Rashford was naturally the perfect fit for this collaboration. A natural fit is what we’re all about at white whale mktg, and we cannot stress how important it is for an athlete to be themselves and create their brand around this concept. Marcus Rashford’s advocacy has shone through because of how genuine it is. The magic of Aldi’s commercial is heightened by Rashford’s character associating with the meal donation gesture by Aldi.
Ultimately, Marcus Radishford should be remembered as one of the best easter eggs in a commercial and should be a highlight for athletes who are starting to develop their brands. When there is a lot of noise in the world, it is not always the loudest who is heard. Good preparation, timing, and a natural fit are what it takes for an athlete’s brand to stick out and stick around. Bravo Marcus Rashford, bravo.
Merry Christmas - From FC Cincinnati
Kicking Into The Holiday Spirit
Facebook / @FC Cincinnati
Waking up on Christmas, coming downstairs, the milk glass empty, the plate of cookies gone, and seeing the big decorated tree with so many nicely wrapped presents under the tree; it's a Christmas dream. But for many around the world who aren't in as fortunate of a situation, their holiday seasons often look very different from the mainstream traditional idea of what Christmas looks like.
FC Cincinnati is participating in some holiday cheer and improving its corporate social responsibility this Christmas by partnering with TQL and St. Vincent de Paul to make local families’ Christmas wishes come true.
The Orange & Blue sponsored 6 families in need in the Greater Cincinnati area by helping them purchase items on their wish lists. With the help of TQL, Gary the Lion, FCC’s mascot, delivered presents to St. Vincent de Paul and made many holiday dreams come true.
A great gesture from FCC to help its local families in need this holiday season and definitely a step in the right direction from the professional soccer team. FCC is showing the importance of corporate social responsibility and community outreach as well as the importance of partnering with companies such as TQL to help the less fortunate.
With the global pandemic impacting millions of lives across the world over the past two years, many people are in less fortunate situations than they were 2 years ago. Now more than ever, communities need to focus on helping one another. With the resources that many professional teams have and in partnership with businesses, these teams have the ability to make a difference in their communities.
Hopefully, FCC leads the way for future teams to carry on the corporate social responsibility and community help programs across North America and across the world. Teams are a part of the community in more ways than others and can use their social standing to make a difference in the world.
However, some have questioned the reasoning behind the charity. Some believe that it's just a photo opportunity for the team and company to make them look good in the public eye? What do you think? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram @whitewhalemktg
Is CSR a necessity for brands nowadays, or should it be left to charities and NPOs?
The Season To Get Creative
How Teams Should Create Holiday Content
Twitter / @Anaheim Ducks
The holidays are fast approaching, and this is the time your social team can sink or swim. Every brand in sports is in the process of soon releasing its holiday post. Most scrape by with the basics while others would’ve been better off not participating. Yet, we’ll admit there are still some teams that are shining bright with creativity. It makes you wonder why don’t more teams make posts like this?
Posts like what? Great question.
Like this:
Earlier this week, the Anaheim Ducks released a video of Kevin Shattenkirk dressing up in a large teddy bear suit with a lavish Christmas backdrop where he jumped out to scare his teammates. The video was great! The idea wasn’t game-changing, but it was different. Different is good. As we mentioned, you usually have teams release these boring videos of players wishing the fans a happy holiday and that’s it. But, in this video you get to see how the players interact behind closed doors and react to this funny prank.
What makes this type of video so good is the ability to see players in their true element. Unfortunately, in sports, especially hockey, you see players trying to suppress their personality for the “greater good”. Here’s the hard truth: that does more harm than good. Fans won’t connect with these cold monotone athletes; they’ll connect with the authentic ones. As a club, it’s your job to create as many authentic settings as possible, away from the field of play, for athletes’ personalities and personal brands to thrive.
Back to the Ducks video, this authentic setting is what makes this video a success. When watching it, you can connect with various personalities. Whether it’s the way a player was scared, the reaction the teammates had to the pranks, or even just how they read their fake lines – there are numerous touch points where a sense of relatability is formed.
Creating content where fans end the video smiling, is what it’s all about – that positive sentiment will work wonders for your team and the personal brand of the players. I, frankly, want to keep an eye on the Ducks a bit more after viewing content like this. They seem like a fun young group, and I happen to relate to Jamie Drysdale's reaction.