A Perspective on the Sky Bet EFL Play-Off Finals

12 September 2023

How OPEN Media’s 3D Perspective offering delivered a winning result for Sky Bet

Introduction

To celebrate the longstanding partnership between Sky Bet and the EFL, in May this year, OPEN Media worked with Sky Bet, media agency Essence Mediacom and DOOH.com to deliver a groundbreaking campaign of firsts, which included:

The first 3D campaign to be activated on OPEN Media’s BOXPARK Wembley site
The first reactive, dynamic and real-time 3D campaign
The first 3D DOOH campaign for Sky Bet, who’d previously not explored the limitless capabilities of 3D DOOH
The first campaign to measure and prove the effectiveness of activating 3D copy on our BOXPARK Wembley site, through data collected via AdMobilize’s audience measurement platform

The Kick Off

Situated in prime position on the approach to the iconic Wembley Stadium, OPEN Media’s BOXPARK Wembley site is one that over time has become synonymous with major cultural and sporting events, through its unparalleled ability to offer brands the chance to get closer to thousands of fans – and the action as a whole. Moreover, with full motion, 3D creative capability, this site also presents boundless opportunities for brands to activate and think creatively.

Being one of two sites in OPEN Media’s current portfolio with an AdMobilize audience and vehicle measurement facility, BOXPARK Wembley not only delivers high quality creative campaign solutions, the site also enables brands to measure the tangible outcomes of their campaigns. However, this is not something that had been done before for a 3D, OPEN Perspective campaign.

Recognising these strengths and the enticing opportunity, we worked with Sky Bet to devise a winning Perspective campaign, with winning results across a memorable weekend of future-deciding football.

The Goal

A key objective for this campaign was to position Sky Bet as integral to the games conversation, as the football played out in real-time. We knew that the overarching media strategy was to be focused on accompanying loyal football fans on their journey to the match – with an extensive OOH campaign planned to consciously target transport environments and our hero site at BOXPARK Wembley marking the final touchpoint in the journey.

Complementing Sky Bet’s wider Step Up campaign, and together in collaboration with DOOH.com, we landed on a compelling campaign concept, which entailed the use of 3D, dynamic, reactive copy (eg: in real-time), across our BOXPARK Wembley site – for the first time ever…

To bring this campaign to life, with support from DOOH.com Sky Bet devised two pieces of 3D campaign copy for the activation; an initial creative showcasing the two relevant teams participating in the match (generating excitement ahead of kick off). Meanwhile, the second iteration of copy was to be revealed post-match to celebrate the final result, championing the winning team’s crest and the Sky Bet EFL Play-Off Finals’ trophy.

But beyond creativity and innovation, we also wanted to measure the effectiveness of running Perspective campaigns.

Being OPEN Media’s first ever 3D campaign at BOXPARK Wembley, this also presented the opportunity for us to understand and demonstrate the real, tangible benefits associated with delivering campaigns which utilise 3D copy – and by way of this, the limitless potential of the OPEN Perspective network.

From the off, owing to the strength of the highly impactful medium of 3D, we firmly believed that – when compared to a standard event day – we would see a notable uplift in reported metrics, further benefiting on this occasion from the contextual relevance of the Sky Bet EFL Play-Off Finals’ copy itself.

The Final Score – A Winning Result…

In addition to the positive traction the campaign received (including being named as The Drum’s Ad of The Day), the campaign has proven the capability and tangible benefits of 3D campaigns. By unlocking data collected via our audience and traffic measurement solution provider, AdMobilize, we were able to determine a number of key uplifts for the Sky Bet campaign, when compared to a standard relative event day campaign using static copy.

The campaign delivered a winning result for Sky Bet, while the findings from AdMobilize reinforce the strength of utilising 3D creative and the OPEN Perspective network offering.

With an average +9% uplift reported in key metrics, it’s clear to see that Perspective campaigns have the potential to combine both creative and media effectiveness.

A +7% reported uplift in number of views.
A +6% reported uplift in Gaze Thru Rate percentage.
A +15% reported uplift in average session time – meaning that audiences were spending more time in front of the site, engaged with the campaign.
A +16% uplift in attention time, meaning that audiences were more actively engaged with the campaign’s content.

“We were proud to be the first to bring a 3D OOH experience to BOXPARK Wembley. By offering this reactive real-time creative, we were able to share moments that really matter to our audiences, and position ourselves as a brand that understands what football is all about.”

Leigh Peacock-GoodwinHead of Brand and Sponsorship, Sky Bet

“Getting Sky Bet to the heart of the action was integral to the media plan, and BOXPARK was the perfect spot to unveil the eye-catching 3D creative which brought the whole OOH campaign together. As the first brand to leverage the possibilities of 3D at this site, Sky Bet reinvented what the visual match day experience looks like”

Hannah CooperOOH Director, EssenceMediacom

“We were delighted to have worked in partnership with Sky Bet to celebrate the milestone 10 year partnership with the EFL. As OPEN Media’s first ever 3D Perspective campaign to be activated on our BOXPARK Wembley site, the campaign further exemplifies our shared commitment to delivering media innovation, while strengthening our association with prominent sporting events and cultural moments”

Mike SmithCEO, OPEN Media.