Competing Groups – Promotion & Collaborations – iGB

## Competing Groups – Promotion & Collaborations – iGB

Zack Thomas-Aquino had a chat with Charlotte Emery, the Head of Branding at William Hill. She’s keen on using the sense of togetherness and rivalry that football brings to be a part of the company’s new marketing campaign.

**Opposing Teams**

Honestly, it’s the competition that makes the game thrilling. Scoring a goal is fantastic, but it feels even better seeing the other team’s supporters downcast and disheartened.

You could call it a distinct identity. To have your own group, you need to know who you are – but even more importantly, who you’re not. Yes, the feeling of unity can be stronger because of what you are, but maybe just as important is what you’re not.

**Returning Home**

Charlotte Emery, Head of Branding at William Hill, has placed this strategy of emphasizing community and competition at the heart of the company’s new season advertising plan.

“We’re kicking off a new football season, all the old rivalries are going to be back – and then we have the first ever winter World Cup, where you go from competing with your friends to being on the same team, your opponents become your country,” Emery said.

“Then we return in January, back to the team competition. So it’s like a really nice, different cadence that you can use to talk about.”

Previously, many of the same football components were utilized in advertisements as this year: the field, companions, the charming Caroline, Jermaine Jenas – however, the emphasis was more private and individual, reflecting the gradual relaxation of the UK’s strict confinement.

“What we were commemorating was that feeling of unity – we were emerging from lockdown, and we were simply reminding people how wonderful it is to be together, and sports and games are a part of that, but it was more about those ties of camaraderie, coming back together, those old jokes you tell every time, like the jokes about those individuals moving the vehicle,” she stated.

Magnificent
This time, the catchphrase of the day is magnificent, the sensation William Hill is attempting to generate is large, daring, irresponsible, and celebratory.

“As we entered this year, we thought, ‘We have emerged from lockdown, we desire to capture the same positive sentiment, but now we want to celebrate ourselves, we are about to have the greatest, most extraordinary, most magnificent football season ever,” she said.

“We wanted to capture that feeling surrounding football and truly demonstrate that we comprehend what it feels like to be a fan. We discuss this season being extraordinary, magnificent, because we have just witnessed the Lionesses’ greatest ever Euros.”

Thats why we say this season is extraordinary, the sport itself is extraordinary, but this season more than ever feels like something is about to occur, and some remarkable extraordinary stories have already occurred, like the Lionesses.

We desired to capture that feeling in our work and advertising. So we’ve produced a collection of ads and resources that discuss the extraordinary nature of football.

Another new facet of the campaign is a greater focus on the variety of football.

We brought back some of the friend groups from last year’s campaign, and we’ve also included some new characters because we wanted to ensure we were truly reflecting the variety of football.

So we have a grandfather with his granddaughter who is in her twenties, you feel like they’ve been doing this together for a long time.

William Hill’s brand strength stems largely from its high street presence. Through its chain of physical betting shops, the brand has become a very noticeable brand in the UK betting industry.

I believe the strength of our brand comes from our high street presence – retail gives us a very strong presence. We’re an established brand, and while we don’t like to linger on the past, we’ve been around for a long time.

Emery believes the brand’s future will depend on the operator leaning into its strengths.

Were certain that our robust groundwork will pave the way for sustained expansion and achievement. We’ll maintain our forward momentum and strive to make football more equitable for all.

Our racing heritage is extensive and deeply significant to us, but we acknowledge that excelling in football is paramount.

Placing football at the heart of our approach could be a wise decision – after all, rivalry is what fuels excitement.

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