The Ask:
With 450 independently owned stores in communities throughout the country, Centra has deep rooted traditional values and strong local support, traits perfectly akin to the GAA. Centra has been title sponsor of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship since 2010, so, after six years of running a successful sponsorship, Centra wanted to refresh the campaign and in early 2017 the team at FH were challenged to create an entirely new strategy and direction for the sponsorship that could live across multiple mediums and talk to multiple audiences and stakeholders while continually highlighting Centra’s enviable community spirit.
The Response:
In May 2017 #WeAreHurling was born. The campaign was designed as a springboard to reinvigorate hurling in the hearts and minds of Irish people. The concept showcased the passion of the hurling community across the nation, not just the senior players on the pitch but everyone else who works tirelessly in the background. The Centra team of 15 was created, each of whom represented various demographics of Ireland’s hurling community; players, fans, parents, referees, aspiring players and groundkeepers. The campaign came to life through an innovative PR launch, a new TV ad and an emotive video content series.
The Results:
The campaign has been an outstanding success, bringing the game far beyond the hurling community. It brings hurling, and more importantly the passion behind hurling, to the entire nation. Every strand of the campaign from concept to design, TV production, launch, ambassadors and video content series was created by the team at FH. The campaign has delivered outstanding results for the brand such as 39% awareness via Red C research, an 18% increase on 2016 and the highest in the history of their partnership with the GAA. The entire campaign reached over 21.3 million people.
