Football Pools re-launched for new season thanks to BMT, SFW, VCCP digital and Pure Media

The New Football Pools is launching a £5.5m campaign promoting its new and diverse offering to coincide with the start of the football season. The task was awarded to VCCP Group who created a team of specialists from Stephens Francis Whitson, BMT, Pure Media and VCCP's digital arm to co-ordinate all the disciplines required to facilitate the re-birth of this national treasure.

The agency group was briefed to re-engage with the modern day football fan and bring the mechanics back to the roots of football, in a 21st century social environment. It aims to capitalise on the increasing trend of social gambling amongst 18-45 year old males, signified by the rise of league table based competitions and sport based fixed odd betting. The focus is to drive players online to footballpools.com where they cannot only play the pools prediction games and read rich football content but also set up leagues with friends and interact with the views and news from celebrity pundits including Alan Hansen, John Barnes and Mark Chapman.

Creatively the campaign stems from a proposition of 'making the banter matter' and reflects the consumer insight that inside everyone is a football pundit. Thus the audience is invited to transfer this wisdom into an action, with the accompanying strap line 'Don't just talk a good game, play one'.

Mark Joy, Managing Director of BMT said: "We've created a campaign which will allow a huge amount of flexibility, engaging through topical football content whilst at the same time driving the desire to act with the lure of turning the skill of prediction into a cash reward."

Visually, each execution has male 'pundits' bantering about a football match in locations they are most likely to be found doing so, such as a pub or by a burger van outside a football stadium. The characters feature oversized heads implicating their huge reservoir of stored football knowledge.

The campaign breaks across the country in time for the start of the new Premier League season. Media will be heavily up-weighted in the football heartlands around the North and Midlands using outdoor sites, radio, stadium advertising, buses and press.

Jon Sheehy, Marketing Director at The New Football Pools stated: "We are confident we have everything in place to put the pools back where it belongs, at the heart of football in this country. The range of games, opportunity to interact and tie-ups with the major football leagues are coupled with a well planned and well executed campaign to bring 85 years of football heritage into modern times."