Designing, producing and managing an experiential fan zone for British Airways at one of the world’s biggest rugby competitions.
Sponsorship Overview
Aiming to celebrate their 100th anniversary at the Six Nations and leverage their status as Principal Partner to Twickenham Stadium and as Official Airline Partner to England Rugby, British Airways wanted to create an experience that would leave a legacy of lasting memories for rugby fans, strengthen brand awareness and generate engagement.
Considering our success in bringing their sponsorship to life with a fun fan activation at the 2018 Autumn Internationals, the airline entrusted to make an even bigger statement in 2019.
Experiential Brand Activation
We designed an innovative concept, activated over the three England home fixtures (England v France, England v Italy, and England v Scotland), featuring a bespoke entertainment village: the “British Airways Fan Village Experience”.
The experience, conceived alongside the renowned airline, invited the most enthusiastic fans to test their rugby skills with two interactive challenges: a Passing Challenge and a Line Out Challenge – with amazing prizes on offer such as free flights, match tickets and signed memorabilia.
The Passing Challenge rewarded skill, with fans getting 40 seconds to try and pass as many balls as possible through the holes and the highest score getting the top prize.
The Line Out Challenge still had an element of skill, with fans having three chances to throw a ball through the hoop, however it was designed to give as many people as possible the chance of winning the top prize, with a lucky dip feature allocating the prizes.
The British Airways Fan Village Experience also had two branded lounges: the Avios Lounge, welcoming all fans to enjoy the match day build up and the BA Lounge, an exclusive area for British Airways Gold and Silver members to enjoy a complimentary drink and a view of the Twickenham West Fan Village.
We brought this concept to life over a two week build on-site and managed the entire fan experience.
Fan Engagement
The BA Fan Village entertained thousands of fans of all ages before and after Six Nations games. The rugby skills challenges were a fan favourite, as a combined total of 1,314 people participated in the Line Out Challenge while over 1,449 people took part in the Passing Challenge over the three England home matches.
Furthermore, this participation was converted into long-term customers and advocates of the brand – as over half of the people that engaged with the activation signed up for Avios & Marketing communications.
The bars inside the lounges were also extremely popular with each reaching full to capacity two hours prior to all three matches, creating a special atmosphere within the British Airways Fan Village Experience.
The fanzone looked amazing and we were thrilled to welcome everyone aboard. CSM Live have done a great job.
If you are interested in learning more or would like to see how we could help you enhance your event please get in touch.
