Unlocking Success: A Deep Dive into the Carling Case Study

Reza Mamodhoussen
4 days ago
2 min read

The internet has changed a lot of things for everyone, and this includes the measure of success for soccer marketing campaigns. Zach Colman states, “For a soccer club marketing plan to be considered productive in the digital marketing landscape, it must have a conducive online presence.” We are going to cover one main topic today:

1. Carling’s Soccer Marketing Case Study

“Going viral is not an outcome; it’s a happening. - Lori Taylor, Founder & CEO – The Produce Moms

Initial Case Study

The Carling Black Label case study wanted to increase traffic through their social media platforms, specifically through Facebook and Twitter. Carling had the brilliant idea of running a mobile campaign inviting South African soccer fans to ‘Be The Coach.’ The article on Digital Training Academy states, “Using mobile voting, users selected the team and made live substitutions in a huge South African soccer game.”

Following the campaign, the results were outstanding. Carling Black Label generated almost a 450% traffic increase to its Facebook page and a 600% Twitter following.

The Carling Black Label audience is mostly a feature phone, prepaid market. The campaign itself won international and local awards, including Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, Global Mobile awards, and Bees Awards.

Let’s look at the campaign in numbers:

- They generated 10,500,000 votes in 7 weeks via the mobile platforms

- They generated 40,000 live substitution SMS votes

- Awarded 11 campaign awards

- Packed stadium (83,000 fans) on Derby Day

- 450% traffic increase to its Facebook page

- A 600% Twitter following

I n-Depth

They wanted to maximize consumer engagement via mobile in a new and innovative way. As stated in the article, “In South Africa, where only 16 percent of mobiles are smart devices, the challenge was to bring the game to the consumer without relying on mobile internet or apps.”

Brandtone used three familiar mobile technologies:

As per the article, “USSD, which allowed consumers to enter a code from a Carling Balck Label bottle and select their team (no charge).”
As per the article, “IVR to engage and excite consumers before the game.”
As per the article, “SMS allowed real-time participation.”

The campaign was a huge success, generating 11,038,605 entries via USSD/, which might be the largest promotion in South Africa. Marketing Director of SAB stated, “Extraordinary – one of the best activations I have ever seen – I was honestly blown away.”

One thing I would have done differently in the strategy is to implement a winning cash prize, this would have generated even more. The winner would have won based on the choice of substitute he/she made and the impact of that substitute (quite like fantasy sports).