The objectives of the content were to:
For the Sela brand, the objectives of the content were to:
Newcastle United is the beating heart of a one-club footballing city. Yet, for so long fans were starved of success to shout about.
In 2023, NUFC was returning to the UEFA Champions League after 20 years; now with Sela, a dynamic creator of spectacular experiences and iconic destinations, as their front of shirt sponsor.
48 hours before European football returned to the city, Sela provided a moment for fans, the club and the community to celebrate. For Newcastle, a drone show of this scale had never been done before. Drone shows are not widely held throughout the United Kingdom alone, making this an innovative and exciting experience for audiences who gathered and saw it across the globe. This activation was unique to any other football sponsorship activation in Premier League history.
The content was filmed via drone cameras and in just 12 hours was edited down into two videos. Sela’s social media strategy saw comprehensive outreach and collaboration with the social strategists of some of the biggest football accounts in the world supported by being able to distribute a range of jaw-dropping still imagery and 15 and 60 second videos in 16:9 and 9:16 format.
With the dazzling drone show content, Sela’s access to legendary players, alongside fan groups and local stakeholder engagement, Sela wanted to use this historic moment in the club's history to demonstrate the longevity and scalability of its partnership with the club – reinforcing this as an example of even greater things to come.
After the show, a global communications plan targeting earned, paid and owned media and social media channels was quickly implemented alongside engaging stakeholders including NUFC and legend players to amplify the content.
Earned PR media contacts were alerted in advance to the assets that would be available to ensure a viral news story would follow and gain credibility for Sela amongst targeted global football fans.
What is more, Sela alerted fans to the live show providing an iconic experience the people of Newcastle, a population of 800,000+ people, will never forget. In turn, attendees became amplifiers sharing our content far and wide.
Sela also engaged NUFC legends as spokespersons for broadcast media to ensure longevity of the media moment, with Keith Gillespie or the Sela drone show content featuring on the likes of BBC News, Sky News, ITV and Talk Sport.
From a strategic sponsorship perspective the show is part of a plan from Sela from which this is just tip of the iceberg. Sela were able demonstrate how the partnership between NUFC & Sela created value for parties beyond a typical sponsorship dynamic, beyond football, beyond sports and beyond the UK.
Sela see this sponsorship as a strategic initiative that extends beyond a brand exposure platform and business networking opportunity to reaching the hearts and minds of NUFC fans and the Newcastle community both in the city and around the globe.
The show and content unified a city in excitement, tapping into a renewed sense of pride, and captivated audiences at a local, national and international level to an extent that is rarely seen in football sponsorship. Sela is establishing a positive, experience-based reputation, in line with what it does as a company.
The activation showcased Sela’s thinking, creative, and execution capabilities and its ability to deliver scale and added value as part of its future UK expansion plans. This was recognized by media and sports industry stakeholders as well as the UK business community.
