UK pub and restaurant chain Mitchells & Butlers is delivering an interactive mobile experience incorporating gameplay to attract new visitors during the Euro 2016 football tournament.

The new online campaign is centred around the Mitchells & Butlers Green Card app, powered by Eagle Eye Solutions, the SaaS technology company that validates and redeems promotions in real-time, and is driven by technology from 3radical, whose Voco software platform already delivers interactive digital experiences for brands such as Dell, Zizzi, Visit Scotland and British Land.

Mitchells & Butlers is using the new technology to engage its customers in a fun and interactive way, starting off with a virtual bingo card game. The plan is to combine mobile and social experiences across its Sizzling, O’Neill’s and Crown Carveries brands.

This latest activity sees consumers access a virtual bingo game within their existing Green Card app, driven by 3radical Voco.

When users of the Green Card App click to play they receive a unique QR code, generated in real-time by Eagle Eye. Once scanned at the till in an outlet, this code unlocks squares on the customer’s bingo card with the flags of the two teams playing at that time.

After a line, row or full card of flags is unlocked players are sent a reward voucher (for example, for a free beer with a main course) which is saved in the wallet within the app.

Players will also have a chance to win a variety of prizes including a weekend break in the capital city of the winning country of the Euro 2016. Sharing the game via social sites such as Facebook and Twitter and answering quizzes about themselves will allow players to earn entries into other competitions to win additional prizes.

Tens of thousands of teams have already been unlocked by players, and a large population are also engaging with the other aspects of the interactive experience such as social sharing and quizzes.

Ben Riding, Marketing Manager, Sizzling Pubs, said: “As part of our commitment to our pub goers, we are keen to make experiences as exciting and interactive as possible. We see this new campaign as a significant innovation in the way pubs encourage new visitors and a way to encourage repeat visits and ongoing customer loyalty. The new campaign also allows us to collect data that can help us take a more personal approach to how we communicate with our customers.”

Phill Blundell, CEO of Eagle Eye, says: “The Green Card app has seen great success over the last two football seasons driving customers back into the pubs and increasing loyalty through real-time rewards and personalised offers. This new addition of the bingo game around the Euros will be a fun way for consumer to interact with the brand as well as generate new real-time data for M&B to use as part of their re- marketing activities throughout the tournament and beyond.”

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Domino’s and The LADbible have signed a content partnership aimed at taking the pizza brand into the living rooms of football fans across the nation, recording their reactions to UEFA Euro 2016 matches in the style of popular TV show ‘Gogglebox’.

The campaign launched on June 11^th as the first match kicked off; five short video films will feature fans watching the Euros and sharing in their reactions to the action as they follow the journey of the footballing home nations. Content focuses on the viewers as they support their teams from the comfort of their living room.

The partnership was put together by Arena Media.

Influencers and celebrities such as rapper Wretch 32 will also be watching the Euros matches unfold and LADBible viewers can share in their reactions from around the country.

The videos can be viewed exclusively on The LADbible channels and will allow fans to relive their own viewing experience or live the game vicariously.

Simon Wallis, Sales & Marketing Director, Domino’s, said: “Watching the Euros at home while enjoying a slice of Domino’s is the perfect scenario for football fans. The whole country’s going to be hooked. Domino’s and LADbible have found the perfect way for fans to enjoy this fantastic tournament.”

Elliot Parkus, Managing Partner Arena Media added: “Over the past few years we’ve worked with both production companies and influencers to create fun content for Domino’s consumers to enjoy. LADbible’s massive reach is testament to their understanding of exactly what audiences want to watch, and we’re excited to be working with them on this partnership.”

Arena Media is a media agency that helps brands navigate the new world of digital, data and content, whilst telling brand stories in mass market channels. Key clients include Westfield, Domino’s Pizza, Royal Mail and LG.

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Hyundai Motor is launching a one-of-a-kind ‘FanDome’ football gaming experience, played out by some of YouTube’s biggest influencers in front of a live crowd, as part of its EURO 2016 partnership deal with football content specialist Copa90.

The event sees Copa90 host ‘Play the Dome’, which will feature YouTube stars The Sidemen, Poet and Vuj. The one-day tournament takes place at the Hyundai FanDome in London’s King’s Cross on June 19th, where fans will watch their gaming heroes play on a system of giant 360° screens. This custom built display encloses fans in ‘Football Heaven’ – a stylised world of immersive football innovation.

‘Play the Dome’ will be promoted through a suite of cross-platform social content and captured in a number of hero videos to be distributed across Copa90, Hyundai and influencer YouTube channels.

The Hyundai FanDome will be screening 45 matches of the UEFA EURO 2016 from the first Group Stage match on Friday 10th June to the final, to be held on Sunday 10th July.

“We’re delighted to be extending our partnership with Hyundai Motor through  UEFA EURO 2016 and helping them activate the most innovative fan space in the country,” says James Kirkham, head of Copa90 and Chief Strategy Officer of Copa90 owner Bigballs Media. “Gaming is a huge part of any young fan’s football diet. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to fuse the incredible infrastructure Hyundai has built with an event that every young fan in the country will want to get to.”

David Pugh, Marketing Director, Hyundai Motor UK, said: “We are thrilled to continue our relationship with Copa90 and put on an event that captures the imagination of a young football audience. The Hyundai FanDome is going to be the most exciting place to watch UEFA EURO 2016 outside France and this campaign will put us on the map with a huge community of highly engaged football fans.”

The one-day tournament takes place on June 19. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.

UEFA EURO 2016 kicks off on June 10 2016. The championship ends on July 10.

Copa90, part of the You Tube Originals channels commissioned back in 2012, is now a global, multi-platform football media network specialising in creating content dedicated to football-related action that happens outside the 90 minutes of each match that make that 90 minutes so special.

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Euro 2016 sponsor Kia and The Telegraph have linked up for a consumer-facing campaign designed to create buzz in the build-up to and then throughout the tournament, driving association between Kia and football, as well as showcasing the All New Kia Sportage.

The campaign is made up of four distinct elements. To kick off, four events are planned across the country at Kia dealerships – in Bolton, London, Bridgend Wales and Burton – phased around key milestones such as the England warm-up matches and squad announcements. The first event took place in Burton on 17 May.

The events feature high profile figures in football including John Barnes, Stuart Pearce, Dean Saunders, Garry Monk and Neil Lennon with the events all fronted by TV presenter Sue Thearle.

Content captured at the dealerships will be published on the Telegraph website and social channels. Guests attending the preview events will be offered the chance to win tickets to the opening match of Euro 2016. To further showcase the All New Kia Sportage, football talent will be asked for their tournament predictions, players and teams to look out for from the passenger seat of the vehicle.

The second phase of the campaign, taking place as the tournament gets underway, will follow Telegraph sports writer Thom Gibbs on a road trip to France in a Kia Sportage. Thom will be capturing the build-up, game results and fan reactions in a 36 day video series called ‘Thom Voyage!’ hosted on the Telegraph website and shared channels.

To further drive interaction with the campaign, the Telegraph has created a bespoke Kia penalty shoot-out game offering a chance to win an All New Kia Sportage. The game, which launched mid-May and which runs until July 10^th, is fronted by ex-England Goalkeeper David James. It is being promoted across Telegraph platforms at tgr.ph/penaltyshootout

To close the campaign, there will be a series of ‘WoW’ features, showcasing incredible moments from the competition in the light-hearted, tongue- in-cheek tone of voice that Kia is known for. These will run alongside high impact, tactical display activity at key moments throughout the tournament, celebrating, commiserating and congratulating teams on their performance.

The deal was put together by Havas Media UK.

Simon Hetherington, Commercial Director at Kia, said: “Kia has a strong link with football. Euro 2016 this summer will ensure that as a brand we will gain cut-through with new consumers and current Kia owners. The partnership with The Telegraph offers sports fans some great once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and allows consumers to experience the Kia brand in an interesting and engaging way.”

Keith Perry, Group Sport Managing Editor at Telegraph Media Group, said: “We’re delighted to have worked with Kia and Havas around this key sporting event, and look forward to helping keep the KIA Sportage top of mind with football fans throughout the tournament.”

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Molson Coors, one of the UK’s biggest brewers, has revealed Carling’s promotional plans in the lead up to 2016’s ‘summer of football’, centred around the Euro 2016 torunament.

In the off-trade, fans can get £20 off the price of a club or country shirt with Kitbag.com when they purchase packs of Carling. Customers picking up 4-packs of Carling will be able to redeem their discount via the Carling iPint app. Those buying larger Carling pack sizes and x15 packs of Carling British Cider can claim their discount by visiting Kitbag.com/Carling and entering their unique URN code.

Those choosing to watch the action at home will have the chance to purchase a brand new TV at a fraction of its retail price. This summer, Carling will be launching its new ‘Pay Per Inch’ promotion where consumers have the chance to purchase a brand new TV for the price of its screen size, on a first come, first served basis – for example, a 55” inch television will set customers back just £55.

Molson Coors will also be supporting over 3,000 pubs and bars with promotional materials to use in their venues, such as external banners to promote games, bespoke bunting, posters and bar runners and special 4 pint ‘football’ pitchers to ensure Carling is served in the best possible way.

Jim Shearer, Carling Brand Director at Molson Coors, says: “Following the exciting news that we have signed a three year partnership with the Premier League, Carling’s link with football is stronger than ever. We’re absolutely committed to championing the football-watching experience for fans by unlocking value in the on- and off-trade around this huge sporting occasion.”

News of Carling’s planned activity around the 2016 summer of football follows the recent announcement of Carling’s three-year partnership with the Premier League. By deepening its long-standing relationship with football, Carling is aiming to further enhance its relevance and connection with football and mainstream lager drinkers. The partnership will run from June 2016 until the end of the 2018/19 season.

Carling, like many brands, is very carefully referencing the ‘summer of football’ without explicitly naming the Euro 2016 tournament, because it is not an official partner of Euro 2016. The official Euro 2016 alcohol partner is actually Carlsberg.

Molson Coors Brewing Company is one of the world’s largest brewers with a diverse portfolio of owned and partner brands, including signature brands Coors Light, Molson Canadian, Staropramen and Carling.

In the UK and Ireland, Molson Coors has a market share of around 20% of the UK beer market and a portfolio that includes Carling, the UK’s best-selling lager for three decades, Coors Light, Cobra, Grolsch, Doom Bar, Worthington’s, Caffrey’s, Singha and a range of speciality beers.

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Mars has launched a new campaign in support of the England, Wales and Northern Ireland national football teams in advance of the Euro 2016 football tournament in France. The ‘#Believe’ activity features a £4.1m marketing spend and limited edition packaging.

A TV ad campaign featuring Premier League and England nation team stars Danny Welbeck, Harry Kane and Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy breaks on May 15th, with cinema, radio and poster ads supporting it.  The TV ad can be viewed on Mars UK’s YouTube channel here.

#Believe branded Mars chocolate bars are being introduced across the range of single bars, duos, four packs and nine packs.

Mars has been an official supporter of The FA since 2009. In 2006 for the World Cup in Germany, it changed the name of the bar on the packaging to ‘Believe’ and it has used the idea on and off ever since.

Mars will be challenging the public to submit ‘singing selfies’, filming themselves as they sing the lyrics to an England song and sharing this online using the campaign hashtag, #Believe.

Greg Kent, Mars brand manager, said: “International football tournaments ignite the passion of England fans like no other sporting event. Up to 20 million people are set to watch each match at Euro 2016 with a potential audience of 15.3 million UK football fans predicted to be on Twitter at any one time during a game. As we all know, the twelfth man can make all the difference in football, and through our multi-channelled campaign we hope we can give the England football team the extra edge they need to go all the way in France.”

Wales and Northern Ireland also qualified to take part in this year’s tournament, and the Mars #Believe campaign will extend to retailers in these home nations, with a range of POS solutions which feature fan imagery and the nations’ colours too.

Although Scotland did not qualify, Mars is still providing an exclusive overlay for Scottish stores and continuing the campaign presence on-pack while also running a competition offering Scottish fans the chance for two people to win a kickabout with a Scottish International footballer.

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Butterkist popcorn is launching a new campaign called Kick for Cash, coinciding with the run up to the 2016 UEFA European Championships or Euro 2016, with an online ‘penalty challenge’ game offering consumers the chance to win a share of £1m.

The on-pack promotion will appear on more than 8.5 million bags, including best-selling SKUs Toffee, Cinema Sweet, Sweet & Salted, Salted, and Sweet. Consumers will be driven to the Butterkist website, www.butterkist.co.uk, where they can register their details and then enter the barcode from their pack to be able to play the penalty shootout game.

They then get to control a penalty kick and will be instantly told if they have won one of the cash prizes on offer, which will be worth £10, £50, £100 or £1,000. Everyone who takes part in the promotion will be rewarded with a 50p Money Off Next Purchase coupon for Butterkist popcorn.

The campaign will run from May 2nd to August 31st with promotional packs in all the major multiples, convenience stores and wholesalers.

The promotion was created and will be managed by agency Lime Communications.

Butterkist is not a sponsor of the Euro 2016 tournament and so has to be careful to avoid suggesting any official link. As a result, its marketing will focus on encouraging people to share their enjoyment of the upcoming summer of sport, particularly football. It ran a similar promotion, Try for Cash, during last year’s Rugby World Cup.

Anjna Mistry, Senior Brand Manager for Butterkist, says: “The ‘Try for Cash’ promotion last year during the Rugby World Cup was very successful and I look forward to the Kick For Cash promotion generating more incremental sales as the chance for consumers to win a share of a bigger prize fund increases. Football is a sport that unites the nation and Butterkist is one of the few snack brands that brings people together, making it a perfect snack to enjoy whilst friends and family get together during this sporting event.”

Butterkist is the UK’s leading brand of popcorn with around 40% of the £90m market. It is owned by Tangerine Confectionery.

Lime Communications is a leading brand partnership and sales promotion agency. Offering services including brand and media partnerships, sales promotion and experiential marketing, it is best known for creating promotions linking brands with film, sports and gaming.

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Mini Babybel has launched a £1 million marketing campaign including ‘Celebrate Every Goal’, a football-themed online game, in advance of the football fever expected to sweep the UK with the start of the Euro 2016 tournament in France.

Mini Babybel, owned by Bel UK, is not officially connected to the tournament, so the brand is being careful not to mention it directly in the game or the campaign, instead referencing the UK’s ‘exciting summer of sport’.

The Babybel campaign launches in May. The million pound investment will centre around a brand new online game where consumers take part in their very own tournament.

Mini Babybel fans will be challenged to net as many Mini Babybel cheeses as possible in 10 seconds. Signing up to play the online game will automatically enter consumers into a prize draw.

Running until July 11^th 2016, consumers will have the chance to win a European city break, as well as one of many instant prizes including money-off vouchers.

Helping consumer to ‘celebrate every goal’, the online game will be supported by a new TV commercial, video on demand, social media, in store and online activations supporting price promotions, as well as limited edition packaging

Shoppers will be able to support their favourite country as almost all individual Mini Babybel cheeses will be cellophane wrapped with a flag from a participating nation.

The cheese brand will build on its relationship with consumers as it has scored prime time slots for its new Super Supporter TV commercial from the end of May until mid June, encouraging shoppers to “celebrate every goal” and play the Mini Babybel online game.

The Euro 2016 tournament runs from June 10^th to July 12^th.

The campaign will also have £120,000 shopper marketing investment and will support grocery multiples, symbols and independents with strong visibility including outdoor digital screens and on-shelf POS. The 12-week integrated campaign runs from May 9^th.

Chloe Feminier, Head of Insights at Bel UK, comments: “Our ‘Celebrate Every Goal’ campaign taps into this summer’s football frenzy across all ages, and Mini Babybel’s natural fit with the healthy fun of football will bring excitement and interest to the snacking cheese category”

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Award-winning London-based staffing agency Brand Warriors is to open offices in Europe as it celebrates both its 15th birthday and significant client wins.

A new Brussels office, which will go live in the first quarter of 2016, will allow the company to service clients in Belgium, France and Germany – it is already getting requests from major clients to provide staff for activations around the Euro 2016 football tournament.

An office in Amsterdam will follow shortly, with negotiations well advanced.

Brand Warriors has relaunched its website to reflect its new cross-border capabilities and has had new collateral put together which reinforces the agency’s focus on creativity, professionalism and effectiveness. It also highlights the wide range of talents there are on the Brand Warriors’ database, including singers and musicians, sports people, gymnasts and other performers.

Finally, the agency has completely revolutionised how brand ambassadors are recruited, modifying the industry-standard ‘boot camp’ casting sessions in favour of a more personal approach which ensures only quality staff qualify as Brand Warriors.

The new marketing collateral will be used in direct mail, trade advertising, online and digital campaigns during 2016 to attract potential new clients.

Brand Warriors provides specialist staffing solutions to major brand owning companies and retailers for experiential campaigns, including activations at festivals, exhibitions and major sporting events as well as in store and in public spaces.

2015 saw the company deliver activations for clients including Nestle, Alpro, Christian Dior, Ageas, Triumph Lingerie, and, most recently, Coty.

Brand Warriors has also just finished working on one of the biggest experiential campaigns ever seen in the UK providing all promotional staff for experiential agency Playmaker and their experiential activation for the Coca-Coca Rugby World Cup sponsorship. This saw the global soft drinks company run experiential activity in cities the length and breadth of the UK.

During 2015, it also worked on campaigns including:

• An activation at King’s Cross station promoting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Diagon Alley attractions at the Universal Orlando theme park featuring 3D chalk drawings;
• A massive in-store demonstration and sampling campaign for Nescafé Dolce Gusto in retailers across the UK, including Curry’s and Debenhams. It is the ninth year running Brand Warriors has worked on the pod coffee brand’s Christmas sales push. For 2015, it delivered 1,200+ promotional days over eight weeks, with all staff being Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM) accredited;
• And a ‘levitating’ commuter stunt at Waterloo Station for Nestlé Cereals aimed at stopping commuters in their tracks.

Shandelle Downs, Director of People at Brand Warriors, says: “2015 was a great year in terms of campaigns delivered; but our clients want more from us in 2016 and it looks like this year will be one to remember.Our more high profile clients are asking if we can deliver activations in other countries, so we’re rolling out the Brand Warriors formula across Europe and we’re currently looking into other areas of the globe in the next 12 months. There will also be some additional areas in which we aim to supply services; all will be revealed throughout the course of the year.”

Downs continues: “Because of our track record working on campaigns around the Rugby World Cup in the UK in 2015, we are also getting a lot of enquiries about how we can support experiential campaigns around the Euro 2016 football tournament, which takes place in France this year. Clients are taking sports-related experiential marketing more seriously than ever before, both because of the costs involved in sponsorship and also the benefits in terms of getting their product and brand messages across to consumers, and they want professional staff on their marketing teams.”

2015 was both a year of significant growth for Brand Warriors and also a year of consolidation for the future, Downs adds. “We have further developed our in-house education and training and we have completely rewritten the rulebook on staffing. Experiential staff are the face of the brands they are representing. They need to be able to live the brand and deliver the key messages in an exciting, creative, professional and, above all, effective way.”

Finally, Brand Warriors will be celebrating its 15th birthday in June 2016 with a major birthday bash – featuring the whole range of Brand Warriors’ talents – and the announcement of a significant charity link.

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