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Paddy Power: Out Manoeuvring the Market Leaders
Background
Fresh Communications launched Paddy Power plc, Ireland's largest bookmaker, into the fiercely competitive UK betting marketplace in early 2000. While on every high street across Ireland, the brand was relatively unknown in the UK.
PR Brief
- Establish the brand in the UK marketplace with a strong creative media campaign
- Raise the profile of Paddy Power's betting services and high street shops
- Recruit active and loyal users to the Paddy Power service
- Place Paddy Power at the heart of sports betting whilst exploiting new revenue opportunities within the entertainment and news betting sectors
Issues
- The need to quickly establish trust and loyalty amongst the UK betting community
- Exploiting the brands irreverent humour, without falling into Irish clichés or alienating the more 'traditional minded' UK racing and sports fans
- Creating space for Paddy Power in a national press dominated by the big three - Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral
Solution
Fresh developed a strong creative campaign, with the flexibility to succeed across all media platforms, to support Paddy Power's range of betting services including Paddypower.com, interactive TV services on Telewest and ntl, telephone betting via Dial-a-bet and its high street stores.
By responding swiftly to breaking news, Fresh successfully placed Paddy Power at the heart of sporting and celebrity events. As the first bookmaker to effectively target the 'entertainment and novelty betting' sector, Fresh has created a distinctive personality for the brand and helped generate substantial betting revenues.
Activity
- Paddy Power UK Launch in 2000 - using guest speaker Nick Leeson, under the banner of 'The Longest Losing Streak in History'
- Established a Pro-active Press Office to position Paddy Power at the heart of sporting events and to own the new 'entertainment and novelty betting' arena (driving registrations and increasing betting revenues)
- Media Relationship Building Programme - a series of one-to-one briefings ensured Paddy Power was featured in every article about the UK Betting Industry
- Advertising Campaign - PR turned a negative reaction to Paddy Power's first UK campaign into a positive event with hits to the website tripling over this period
- Maximising Paddy Power's sponsorship of sporting events including: football, rugby, golf, snooker, darts, greyhound racing and as the official betting partner to Channel 4's Big Brother 2001
Results
- Paddy Power Launch - Fresh delivered over 200 pieces of coverage reaching a readership of 14,139,814 people
- Advertising Campaign - more than 80 articles appeared worth £212K in equivalent advertising spend
- Big Brother Sponsorship - over 230 articles mentioned Paddy Power over the eight-week event, with an equivalent advertising spend of £1.5 million
- Fresh generated over 150 articles on Paddy Power's sponsorship of The Paddy Power World Grand Prix Darts Championships
- A strong media profile paved the way for Paddy Power's successful IPO on the London Stock Exchange in the summer of 2001
- Maximising coverage of Paddy Power's title sponsorship of the 2003 Cheltenham Gold Cup Open
- Fresh Communication's media coverage was again highlighted in Paddy Power's financial report as being the crucial factor
for the growth enjoyed by the company between 2002 and 2003
- Paddy Power is now a major player in the UK betting marketplace and arguably the most prominent bookie to punch its weight alongside established bookmakers Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral
During 2003 Fresh increased Paddy Power's press coverage by 77.6%. In total 3,288 pieces of coverage were generated, an average of 274 pieces per month.
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