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Viral Hall of Fame 2008

Viral Hall of Fame 2008
Sporting Portugal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ42Kf_SFkE

MarketingSherpa Summary:
Sporting Portugal created a website that let users submit their name and telephone number to become part of an interactive ad. A video showing a well-known soccer coach stressing out in a locker room ended with a phone call to the submitted number with the coach encouraging the visitor to come to the stadium because “the team needs you.” The idea attracted plenty of blog coverage and more than 610,000 people to the site in two weeks. The all-time record for season ticket sales was shattered on the first day of the season.

Agency: Draftfcb and eStara
Client/company: Sporting Portugal
Brand campaign was conducted for: Sporting Portugal
Launch date of campaign: Aug. 7, 2007
Target audience/demographic: Team supporters and fans

Campaign Goal:
To create a memorable, interactive Web ad that would promote the Sporting Portugal team and brand, encourage game attendance and drive season ticket sales.

Creative:
An ad was created for the Sporting website. It asked viewers to first supply their name and telephone number to find out more about how to help the football team succeed.

Users who entered their name and number were shown a brief video of the team in the locker room before a game while coach Paulo Bento paces in the hallway. Another coach hands him a list of names, and tells him that someone is missing. The coach looks at the list, sees the viewer's name on the list and dials his phone. The viewer's own phone rings, and the coach urges the viewer to get down to the stadium fast because the team needs him/her.

Measurement criteria included the number of calls made via the eStara Click to Call service that powered the interactive capabilities of the ad and the number of new memberships secured.

Seed Strategy:
The ad was placed on the homepage of Sporting Portugal's website.

Buzz Generated:
The creativeness of the campaign resulted in massive interest from the local and national media in Portugal. The campaign was covered on various marketing blogs. For example:

Vanksen Culturebuzz: Viral marketing for Sporting Portugal:
http://www.culture-buzz.com/blog/Viral-marketing-for-Sporting-Portugal-1437.html

A Source of Inspiration: Sporting draft:
http://www.asourceofinspiration.com/2007/08/08/sporting-draft/

Wikipedia: Cited in definition of "viral marketing":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_marketing

Technorati: Sporting Portugal campaign:
http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D--jZFUPr49Q

Specific (Goal-Related) Campaign Results:
The ad and the Internet call to action had Bento making 200,000 calls in two days! Word of mouth drew 610,000 visits to the Sporting.org website in just two weeks, resulting in 1,500 new memberships. The campaign helped to break the all-time record for season ticket sales on the first day of the season.