Britannia - Proud to be a Potter

The Brief

Britannia is a building society pioneering sustainable financial services for members, customers and for society.  Its vision is to be theUK's most admired financial services provider.  As part of its strategy to build brand awareness and get closer to its customers it sponsors Stoke City Football Club.  It approached Bell Pottinger to create a digital strategy to utilise this sponsorship to engage and interact with 'Potters' - the passionate body of Stoke City FC supporters.

The Solution

Bell Pottinger devised a strategy that enabled fans to participate and express their dedication to the club across a number of relevant digital channels, whilst positioning Britannia as a true supporter throughout.

Firstly proudtobeapotter.com was created.  This featured compelling news and trivia, gaining recommendations and repeat visits.  Most importantly it was the portal for an ambitious iconic art project.  Fans were invited to submit photographs of themselves which together built two giant images of Sir Stanley Matthews and club captain Abdoulaye Faye.  This user-generated iconic art showcased their pride and passion for the team and was displayed at Stoke FC's Britannia Stadium.   

A social media audit revealed facebook as a key channel for supporters, where football conversation takes place.  Bell Pottinger built a Proud to be a potter facebook page, showcasing a 'fan of the day' gallery and trivia questions, linking to proudtobeapotter.com for answers. 

The draw of players was also brought into play.  Exclusive anecdotes, views and stories from players were shared.  Content was distributed through social media news releases, extending the reach of the campaign and providing vital links driving the profile of the website and facebook page.

Results

Engagement with the fans was huge. Over 4,000 fans 'liked' the facebook page, the proudtobeapotter website received 20,844 visits and 63,000 page views and 2,000 fans submitted photographs of themselves to be included in the art project.  

The campaign's achieved 32.5 million opportunities to see and an advertising equivalent value of £105,502. 

The iconic artwork was scheduled to be in place for two months at the stadium.  Such was the positive feedback it remains in place today with no planned removal date.