We Are Social has launched its first piece of work for the NRL with a campaign for the Holden State of Origin series.
The #BetterStateDebate taps into the rivalry between Queensland and New South Wales beyond the footy field and features influencers, Michael Beveridge representing his native Queeensland and Neel Kolhatkar repping NSW, debating which state is better overall in a social content series.
The series consists of four different films all launched across the NRL social channels. The launch film introduces the rivalry between Beveridge and Kolhatkar, who play co-workers in an office, and was published a week before the first Origin game.
The first debate film was then released in the run-up to the first game at the MCG, focused on convincing Melbournites to pick a side for Origin.
Debate two, has just been released ahead of game two in Sydney with debate three launching ahead of the final game in Brisbane.
The content is reactive to the results of the game with different variations filmed for each possible outcome. Fans are encouraged to join the debate on social media with the videos touching on a range of subjects such as which state has better music, food, beaches and importantly, celebrities.
The campaign is supported by in-game gifs featuring Beveridge and Kolhatkar that will be utilised across NRL and State of Origin social channels, supporting social content and influencer content with the likes of Betoota Advocate.
Suzie Shaw, We Are Social managing director, said, “State of Origin is a key fixture in the sporting calendar but has more recently been a bit of a one-sided series, so we wanted to really help fuel the conversation around this great sporting rivalry to really get people engaged in this year’s series. Everyone has a bit of state pride in them.”
