Title	EARN THE JERSEY
Brand	ADIDAS
Product/Service	SWEDISH NATIONAL TEAM JERSEY (ADIDAS)
Category	F01. Integrated Campaign led by PR
Entrant	M&C SAATCHI Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation	M&C SAATCHI Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR	PART PROJECTS Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production	CROSBY Stockholm, SWEDEN
Post Production	CROSBY Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company	ADIDAS Solna, SWEDEN
Additional Company 2	STREAM NORDIC Stokholm, SWEDEN

Name	Company	Position
Kristina Annehed	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Account Director
Linus Larsson	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Account Manager
Klara Eide	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Executive Strategy Director
Linda Elers	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Creative Director
Henrik Almqvist	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Creative Director
Arvid Klintberg	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Art Director
Fanny Klefelt	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Copywriter
Yrla Persson	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Social Media Manager
Josefin Löfgren	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Social Media Manager
Alexander Hedström	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Graphic Designer
Anton Hååg	M&C Saatchi Stockholm	Graphic Designer
Qaroline Nähl	Adidas	Nordic Brand Communications Manager - Football
Henrik Hallberg	Adidas	Nordic Senior PR & Newsroom Manager - Football
Anders Goding	Adidas	Sports Marketing Manager - Football
Karolina Lander	Adidas	PR & Content Manager - Sweden
Petrus Olsson	Crosby	Director/Photographer
Caroline Sandberg	Crosby	Executive Producer
Mattias Nilsson	Crosby	Photographer
Gabriel Söderbladh	Crosby	Photographer
Max Larsson	Crosby	DOP
Arttu Kontkanen	Crosby	Sound Design
Christian Johansson	Crosby	Production Assistant
Kristoffer Lindskog	Crosby	Editor
John Buddee	Crosby	Grading
Sari Bohlin	Crosby	Retouch
Misha Klim	Red pipe	Sound Production
Joanna Sundström	Part Projects	PR
Hedda Nyström	Part Projects	PR
Jonas Edholm	Stream Nordic	Factor
John Müllersdorf	Stream Nordic	Factor

Why is this work relevant for PR?

With zero media budget, this whole campaign was relying on PR. We needed to create buzz and engagement around the new National team jersey for Sweden, but quickly realized that we needed to do something more interesting than just showing the new design. Instead, we made the jersey into a statement and something people would want to be associated with, taking a stand against a current issue in Sweden and the football/supporter culture. Our plan worked. We had a media reach of over 26 million in Sweden alone and received massive attention and acknowledgement globally.

Background

With EURO 2020 coming up, adidas needed a campaign to create hype around the release of the new Swedish national team jersey - and adidas as a brand. With no media budget, they asked for an activating PR based idea that could spread organically among supporters. It had to be something aligned with adidas as an inclusive brand, and it had to be interesting and engaging enough to spread by itself - without being too political or provocative. In the last years, Swedish football has been shook by reports of violence, hatred and threats against players, referees and supporters - often with racist motifs. We decided to address the issue. As a diverse country, we can all unite by celebrating our National team. And it felt more important and right than ever, since EURO for the first time ever would be hosted by 12 different countries together.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Our creative idea was based on two insights: 1. A true supporter should actually be supportive. 2. The players need to earn the right to wear a National team jersey. But supporters can just buy it. And behave badly while wearing it. That lead to our thought: what if you only got to wear the jersey if you would honor it? We decided that we'd launch a jersey that comes with terms and conditions - so that you had to accept them before being able to buy it. The terms and conditions were printed on the tag and communicated through a film where key players read the conditions out loud and promised to agree to them. We deliberately made it very low key, far from ordinary "cool sports commercials". We also provided headlines for retailers to use: A TRUE SUPPORTER SUPPORTS, OUR DIFFERENCES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE, EARN THE JERSEY.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

Since EURO is not only for hardcore football fans, but something that engages the whole nation, we wanted a broad and including theme - but interesting enough to be spread organically. We needed an engaging idea, that was controversial without being excluding, and that people would want to be part of. In order to reach a broad audience, we had to get three target groups on board: retailers, journalists and, of course, our players. And we needed to create material that could easily be used in media and spread socially. To get the players onboard, we presented the idea in person - and since it was a message they were happy to stand behind, they agreed to participate. And with high profile players in the campaign, it was easier getting both retailers to use the material and journalists to write about it. We also seeded jerseys to a few influencers.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Our timeline was based on three phases, starting with the first phase in November 2019, where the jersey would be launched. The two following phases would be closer to EURO 2020, but since the championship was postponed due to Covid-19, they weren't realized. Around the launch, we released the film, seeded jerseys to influencers and created a PR kit and material for retailers to use. We posted the film online and our players helped spread it. Then it was liked and spread by fans. The PR-kit was picked up by numerous reporters, who didn't only help us launch the jersey but actually spread the important message behind it. The coach of the National team, Janne Andersson, were interviewed about the campaign on TV and praised it, and several of the highly profiled players also talked warmly about it in interviews. The campaign was hugely appreciated both in and outside Sweden.

List the results (30% of vote)

The media investment was close to zero. In Sweden alone (a country of 10 million people), we reached 26 million impressions, with a value of more than 11 million SEK. We managed to get 9 out of 10 of the titles on adidas’ wish list to pick up the story and write about it. And may of the influences we approached chose to post about the campaign, even though they weren't compensated for it. However, due to the fact that EURO 2020 was postponed, we haven't seen the results of the campaign fully yet regarding sales, brand heat etc.