Professional Fan








      Advertiser / client:

ING DIRECT

Product:

ING DIRECT F1 Sponsorship

Objective:

To communicate the new sponsorship of ING DIRECT with Fernando Alonso through a campaign which constructs an image which is closer to the pilot driver, creating a direct and permanent link between him and his fan base.

Creative Concept:

An offer for employment: “Fernando Alonso seeks “professional fan” to accompany him at all the championships and to be established as a permanent link between Fernando and his fan base”. This was an offer for real employment, with a salary of 3,000 Euros/month and with all expenses paid including trips to all PGs and allowances.

Description of the campaign:

The publication of the offer in the spaces dedicated for employment in the press and on the internet generated an excellent media campaign in all the media channels, serving as an amplifier for the action. The news spread and the public response was immediate. Within a week, the date and video-curricula of 35,000 people interested in the employment position were obtained. The commotion generated and the presence of the professional fan in the media throughout the whole season associated the ING DIRECT brand with Fernando Alonso and thereby improved the image of the driver.

It is much more than an advertising campaign relating the ING DIRECT brand with the driver. It had an irresistible attraction for any fan. It achieved a massive direct response with regards to visits and candidates for the work position. This is content which relied on people’s participation from beginning to end, through the candidacies, the blog comments, audiovisual content generated by the users themselves and dynamisation initiatives on the blog. It was of interest for all media channels both national as well as international, which magnified the diffusion of the action. The election of the candidates allowed a personal figure tightly related to the brand to be present at the most important F1 events and in the media throughout the season.

In barely 48 hours, the news appeared on TV, radio and practically all print, as well as on over 300 blogs. The offer became the most read news on Marca.com, the most forwarded on Elpais.com, and managed to appear in the media throughout the world.
In just one week, the aficionadoprofesional.com website received 200,000 visits from people interested in the offer and 35,000 candidates. The season total was over 800,000 users who visited the website.
The choosing of a winner also had a huge impact on the media and the Professional Fan was the object of interviews and reports on TV, radio and in print. An initial investment of 30,000€ was made into a media presence valued at over 2,510,405€, thanks to the impact and interest which the news generated.
The audiovisual content of the campaign achieved over 400,000 views on YouTube and the season tracking through the Professional Fan blog received high participation by users, who wrote more than 11,000 comments on 250 published posts.

Pieces:

              The campaign:
                   Video: Professional Fan campaign
                   Board: Professional Fan campaign
                   Video: Season summary

              Employment offer:
                   Microsite: application form
                   Microsite: candidates
                   Press: Employment offer
                   Press: Press ad
                   Emailing: Employment offer
                   Banners: Employment offer

              Professional Fan:
                   Professional Fan's blog