Leading sportswear brand, New Balance and Italian giants, A.S. Roma unveil their new sponsorship by putting young football fans at the heart of a digital AR launch campaign.
To announce New Balance as A.S. Roma’s official kit supplier, starting from the 21/22 season, the global sports brand have created their first football gaming inspired activation to transport fans into the heart of Rome and enable A.S. Roma’s fanbase to play their part in kicking off the new sponsorship.
As the brand’s first entry into the Italian football club market, New Balance Football collaborated with creative partner, Ear to the Ground and their Fan Intelligence approach to deliver the digital-led campaign aimed at crossing over into global youth football culture.
Using advanced AR development, Run Roma takes fans to the busy city of Rome on Instagram where they can race through the streets, collect club assets and avoid obstacles to unlock the new sponsorship announcement.
Run Roma is supported by a variety of high-profile A.S. Roma fans, such as Riccardo Mandolini, Cecilia Cantarano, and Italian rapper, Gemello, as well as influential grassroots footballers from around the world like East London’s Baiteze Squad.
Nicola Jones, Global Senior Marketing Manager for New Balance Football explains: “This is a landmark sponsorship for us and an extremely exciting moment for New Balance Football. At New Balance we always think and act uniquely, ensuring fans are at the heart of everything we do. Tapping into Fan Intelligence allowed us to enter a new space with A.S. Roma from the outset; reinventing how to announce a new club sponsorship on social whilst injecting fun into the campaign. We look forward to launching the first ever New Balance and A.S. Roma bespoke kits in the summer”.
Independent creative agency, Ear to the Ground, was appointed back in 2020 to lead New Balance Football’s global strategies and creative. Using their Fan Intelligence model to consult and co-create ideas with the culturally led fans, Richard Adelsberg, Managing Director at Ear to the Ground, added:
“Engagement with AR game filters has rocketed amongst youth audiences in recent months and off the back of Fan Intelligence, we realised that we needed to bring A.S. Roma fans closer to the city and club they miss greatly – so we landed on a digital idea ‘Run Roma’ which is grounded in the streets of Rome and connects the club’s vast fanbase around the world”.
The official announcement launched at 9AM on 16th February 2021, with the game being accessed through A.S. Roma’s official Instagram channel.
The multi-year agreement, effective from Summer 2021, comes off the back of the recent announcement that New Balance will also sponsor FC Tokyo, as the brand continue their ambitious global football growth plans.
