Guinness, which is supporting the rugby teams in Ireland, has introduced more technology into its campaign. With the help of ball manufacturer Gilbert and Fraunhofer Institute in Nuremberg the brand featured rugby balls with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Technology) chip and sensors around rugby pitches to monitor and analyze how the ball moves. The results of the technology’s merging with sport provide rugby fans with an accurate game statistics and give a deeper insight into the process.
With the help of director Rory Kelleher the brand created a TV-spot ‘Area 22’, describing how the invention worked. The campaign was devised by the IIBBDO creative agency from Dublin. The video features man who falls beneath the earth surface to the Area 22 to see a futuristic rugby training ground with real sportsmen playing with robots. “Irish rugby like you’ve never seen it before,” says the voice in the end.
The spot directs the viewer to the site of the Guinness Irish Rugby, where the game fans can find a plethora of information alongside with a link to the page where they can download the iPhone application, which aggregates rugby news, and view the statistics. The brand has also started the Facebook page for Irish Rugby supporters where they can to send team jerseys to friends. As for now the page has more than 4,300 fans.
This is definitely only the beginning of the large-scale campaign, dedicated to the start of the World Cup in New Zealand in 2011, where Guinness is sure to be one of the main sponsors.