Principality Building Society (PBS) took the headline sponsorship of the 2023 Cardiff Half Marathon. The focus of the partnership was to increase brand awareness and brand consideration amongst first time buyers and runners participating in the Cardiff Half Marathon.

Orchard’s brief was to maximise the sponsorship/event as part of an integrated campaign to reach first-time buyers and to launch a competition for one lucky first-time buyer to win a 10% deposit (using the PBS HPI) to help buy their first home.

Solution

Our response was a pan-Wales multichannel media campaign and brand activation within the Sponsor’s Village, at the heart of the Cardiff Half Marathon. Collectively, we developed the theme Healthy Habits which was inspired by the similarities in the healthy training habits practiced before a race and committing to good financial habits.

The activation was presented via a giant inflatable cube which was branded and constructed to look like a house, offering a homely feel inside and out, illustrating Principality’s strapline Where Home Matters.

To reach our target audience (predominantly under 35s), Media Insights lead us towards a combination of Audio, OOH and Digital. This included airtime across Capital, Heart and Nation channels, plus DAX (Digital Audio Exchange) specifically targeted to reach U35s across Wales.

Result

The competition was launched via digital and social channels with supporting local press coverage around the wider Cardiff Half partnership. OOH allowed the brand to visually dominate the city over the race weekend and rotate messaging/creative around the Cardiff Half partnership, Healthy Habits and the competition itself.

The cube dominated the village, providing fantastic standout for the brand. Consumers were encouraged to relax in the space pre- and post-race, with our team handing out more than 400x smoothies highlighting the Healthy Habits theme whilst encouraging competition entries from all first-time-buyers who met the criteria.

To support PBS’ partnership with Pride Cymru, the Principality Cube provided a performance space for some of the Pride Acts over the weekend, including drag queen ADA – HD who came along to deliver children’s Storytime, mingling with PBS’ mascot Dylan The Dragon providing many photo opportunities with the branding and campaign features in the background.

9,000 Eligible competition entries generated from target audience.

55,000 Footfall over the weekend around Principality Cube, offering opportunities for data collection, brand engagement and awareness.