And so to the UEFA European Football Championships 2024. Back in Blighty, there has been more advertising and marketing than you can shake a stick at, and, despite neither England nor Scotland exactly setting the competition on fire on the pitch, everywhere you look brands are jumping aboard.
But what about in the other nations which are competing… what is the mood there? In the first of a new series looking at how brands in mainland Europe treat the tournament, we go to one of the favourites, Germany, where brewer Bitburger is taking viewers on a journey through the country.
“Bitte Let’s Celebrate What Brings Us Together” takes us into pubs and gardens, and also living rooms, restaurant kitchens, workshops, mobile homes and market squares, where football is celebrated together (no sitting deep waiting for the opposition to pile in and inevitably score, here. This lot are on the front foot).
Devised by Serviceplan, the campaign features real football fans, not actors, with a rousing ‘cabin speech’ accompanying the film and calling for the celebration of a united football festival. (No club team bitterness or rivalry here, they are united for the national team.)
Within the campaign, the ‘Bitte’ (meaning please in English) is the visual and textual anchor of the communication and introduces the new brand platform, where everything is possible.
The film will be backed by DOOH activity celebrating summer football moments and characteristics of German fan culture. Further campaigns are planned for the coming weeks. (They are obviously confident of progressing in the competition.)
Bitburger Braugruppe chief marketing officer Christoph Weber said: “The Euros are an event for everyone. With Bitburger and our ‘Bitte’ campaign we stand side by side with the fans and we warmly welcome everyone. Our campaign calls for community, lightness and joy and whets the appetite for a great football festival.”
Serviceplan Germany chief creative officer Till Diestel added: “Our campaign authentically shows what football is really about: the fans. We get up close and personal with them as they celebrate their summer football moments. These honest, unvarnished emotions create a connection with all the other football fans out there, inspiring and enthusing.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, first up, there’s not a great deal of humour in this; then again, the German fans have not had 58 years of hurt to cope with. In fact, the German national team is one of the most successful in international competitions, having won four World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996), and one Confederations Cup (2017).
They have also been runners-up three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and a further four third-place finishes at World Cups, while Germany is the only nation to have won both the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
This film is stirring stuff, perhaps a little too serious for British tastes. Then again, they don’t need to do humour; no-one is laughing at them.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “very Germanic” 7 out of 10
