DoorDash, BWS, BCF and BBQs Galore tap into NRL finals fever
The 2021 NRL Grand Final on Nine is on this Sunday, and Nine is reporting strong advertiser interest, despite the game being in Queensland, and a one hour time difference with key markets New South Wales and Victoria.
Nine’s director sales – sport, Matthew Granger, said the network had experienced its “highest level of demand” across its entire NRL asset suite this year, and the Grand Final Series was no exception.
“We had a number of new categories and brands partnering with us this year, including BWS, DoorDash and BCF coming on for the final series. Great to have a couple of those new brands and categories, coming into play,” he said.
“We have seen a big take-up this year of our broader proposition, ‘Your footy, your way’, and our content ecosystem across all platforms.”
Matthew Granger
According to Granger, live streaming figures for the competition on 9Now have doubled, and this increase in viewership has seen increased support on the platform from partners and advertisers.
“We have also seen our partners capitalise on the NRL across radio, and this weekend it is culminating with an eight page wrap in the Sunday paper.
“We have seen brands embrace that broader-connected ecosystem to be able to deliver their campaigns, and start to work with us at a strategic marketing level, as opposed to just a campaign level.”
One of the key competition and broadcast partners, Telstra, is this year celebrating 20 years of partnership with the NRL.
DoorDash’s investment in the NRL, first during the State of Origin Series and now the final series, includes stadium activations that have taken months to plan which have been modified overnight due to the changes to the competition. DoorDash have been delivering the official NRL ball to the new stadium locations for each of the NRL Finals games and will do the same for the Grand Final. The last-minute venue changes have become a positive asset, forming the narrative for a content series that features delivery drivers adapting to any situation to ensure the delivery gets through.
Working with Network Nine and Foxtel, DoorDash media agency Wavemaker has created situational content pieces with James Bracey, Alana Ferguson and Paul Gallen. Wavemaker ensured that viewers saw DoorDash by painting each game red and have also dominated signage and screens. While homepage takeovers on key news and NRL sites were supported with display, social and BVOD executions.
DoorDash Australia, senior manager, consumer growth marketing, Michael McCash, said: “This isn’t your usual ‘your-logo-goes-here’ promotion. We understand that Aussies don’t want to be disrupted when watching something as intense and exciting as the NRL Grand Final, but they do want food and drinks in hand to fuel their passion for the game. Our partnership ensures that we do exactly that, deliver more excitement to the game than seen before.”
The DoorDash ‘Dash Lounge’ went live yesterday at NRL’s FanFest.
Meanwhile, Carat, in in partnership with Dentsu’s content and integration specialists The Story Lab, is assisting Barbeques Galore to use the grand final as a chance to reignite the barbeque. The Story Lab are integrating Barbeques Galore into Southern Cross Austereo’s (SCA) Oztober music month on Triple M, and running an integrated promotional campaign against the NRL Grand Final.
This partnership will be underpinned by a multimedia mix strategy covering off broadcast TV and radio, dynamically triggered digital large format, catalogues, and localised street furniture.
Carat used a full funnel approach across digital activity including BVOD, YouTube Shopping, Native, Display, Search and Social to highlight the range and expertise of the products available through Barbeques Galore.
Credits:
Client – DoorDash Australia
Integrated Marketing Strategy & Operations: Michael McCash
Partner Marketing Manager: Madison Westall
Media, Content & Partnerships – Wavemaker
Chief Content & Partnership Officer: Shivani Maharaj
Client Lead: Liz Smart / Fiona Williams
Sydney Strategy Director: Grant LeQuesne
Associate Manager, Content & Partnerships: Jayden Harris
Business Manager: Emily Lo Pilato
Business Executive: Kathleen Longstaff
Activation – MKTG
Rachel Farrington: Account Director
Luisa Barbaro: Head of Production
Vangelica Paritsi: Senior Event Producer
Laura Gualtiera: Client Manager
Client – Barbeques Galore
Mike Ainsworth – GM Marketing & Customer
Noelle Alphonse – Brand Manager
Alyssa Gardiola – Partnerships and Social Specialist
Naomi Wise – Communications Coordinator
Karen Vien – Marketing Administrator
Pascal Akenson – Designer
Carat Team
Scott McCaffrey – Client Partner
Aaron Carpenter – Digital Director
Amanda Florence – Client Manager
Anna Ranford – Client Executive
Sorcha Doran – Programmatic Director
Erin Hunter – Content & Partnerships Director
Jay Patel – Strategist
Partners
The General Store – creative
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Olivia Kruimel is the managing editor at Mumbrella. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism, communications and marketing. Her journalism career began at Fairfax Media (now part of Nine) and includes various B2B publications such as B&T, Travel Today and ALB. As a marketer Olivia has worked for Standard Chartered and various global law firms.
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