Australia's Holden Partners With Periscope for Rugby Tweetcheers
Periscope's partnership with carmaker Holden for a rugby State of Origin Twitter campaign is giving the video live-streaming app huge exposure in Australia.
In an Australian marketing first, the country’s iconic carmaker Holden has partnered with Periscope for a Twitter campaign leveraging its sponsorship of the country’s State of Origin rugby competition.
The State of Origin rugby competition sees two teams – the Blues and the Maroons – play three games throughout the season. Australian fans watching the game live are invited to tweet a cheer with the hashtags #TweetCheer, #CheerBlues or #CheerMaroons. If it is deemed catchy enough, a professional cheer squad will retweet the cheer into a video format from a studio. Viewers can simultaneously watch the filming of these tweetcheers through the Periscope app.
“Tweet Cheer allows us to engage with fans in a unique way while having some fun with new technology,” says Bianca Mundy, media manager at Holden.
Scott Heron, a partner with Melbourne digital agency Sonar Group, thinks consumers will remember Holden for introducing a new form of marketing to the Australian market.
“To date, the market has hesitated to use Periscope because the numbers have not been there yet and there are not enough people getting on board,” he says. “So there are huge benefits for Periscope to be using one of the biggest brands in Australia and a huge audience. This is their big chance to give it a go.”
However, Heron warns that the stakes are high for the new video live-streaming player. “If people like it, that’s great, but if people don’t like it, it will be really hard to get them to use it again,” he says.
Whether or not people like it, they will at least have been exposed. During the first game – held in Sydney on May 27 – #TweetCheer reached more than 4.5 million Australians, according to Isobar Australia, the agency behind the campaign.
Partnering with Twitter has given Holden the opportunity to experiment with a new way to reach a younger audience, says Nick Hardie-Grant, senior account manager at Isobar Australia.
“We learned a lot about Periscope and how people will engage with this app,” Hardie-Grant says. “As the live stream ends as soon as you stop broadcasting, it relies on people tuning in at the right time.”
As a result, during Game 2 on June 17, the campaign kept Periscope running longer for each broadcast so the Tweet remains live for more people. When the broadcast ends, people can still click on the Tweet, though it says, “Video no longer available.”
ROI is being measured on campaign reach and engagement across social media carrying the hashtag and content. Holden is pushing the campaign on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, which direct fans to Twitter for the in-game engagement. Paid media, PR and in-stadium big screens are also being employed.
Want to cheer but lack the pom poms? Support your team with a tweet during @NRL #Origin and we’ll do it for you! https://t.co/rvsnRWCXEv
— Holden (@holden_aus) May 22, 2015
