Victoria Bitter has kicked off its annual summer marketing campaign with the launch of the VB Live Cricket Watch.

The device is the first of its kind and will deliver up-to-the minute live scores from the Australian Test matches, One-Day games and the ICC World Cup straight to the wrists of Aussie cricket lovers.

VB is the official beer of the Australian cricket team.

VB’s first ever piece of wearable technology will keep hard-working Australian cricket fans across every ball and every moment of Australia’s biggest ever summer of cricket.

There will be 5000 VB Live Cricket Watches up for grabs this summer via an on-pack consumer promotion developed by Apollo Marketing and will be supported by a multi-million dollar, multi-platform campaign leveraging Victoria Bitter’s long association with Australian summers of cricket.

As well as the on and off premise promotion, the campaign includes radio integration, a fully integrated social media and PR campaign, and the launch of TV ad created by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, which will continue to position VB as the “Big Cold Beer of cricket”.

The TV spot, titled Handy, will air during the first Test and showcases how the VB Live Cricket Watch will keep hard working Aussies up to date on the cricket no matter what they are doing this summer.

VB general manager Craig Maclean said: “Last year’s VB Scoreboard was our most successful campaign to date but the VB Live Cricket Watch will take it to the next level. We even beat Apple’s iWatch to market.”

“At VB we want to provide a better cricket experience for Australians and we also want to make sure it results in uplift in volume of sales, high engagement from consumers and gets significant cut-through in the market. We have built a reputation of having really high engaging promotions and we believe this will be bigger and better than ever.”

As well as keeping time (it’s a watch after all), this revolutionary watch will play the VB theme song and vibrate at key events as they happen, like when a wicket falls, when a century is notched up or when someone takes a hat-trick. And keeping track of the score is as easy as glancing at your wrist, with up to the minute scores displayed.

Developed by Zinc, the VB Live Cricket Watch will link to smartphones via a free app and provide updates of the progress of Australia during their four Test series against India, the One-Day series with England and South Africa and World Cup matches, which start in February.

“Our team has been 100% committed in delivering what we know will be one of the best VB Summer promotions yet. Our product design and digital experts combined forces to deliver a solution that is a game changer. Designing and producing both the software and hardware has ensured VB are first to deliver a breakthrough physical and digital innovation, and no doubt we’ll see other brands follow,” Zinc CEO Peter Cleary said.

The VB Live Cricket Watches can be won by buying a case of Victoria Bitter and entering a code on the website. The promotion is open from 10 November 2014 and will close 14 February 2015.

 

Credits:

VB Live Cricket Watch

Developed by Zinc

Zinc designed, developed and produced the VB Live Cricket watch.

TVC

Created by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne

Creative Chairman: James McGrath

ECD: Ant Keough

Senior Creative: Dave Klein

Art Director: Russel Fox

Copywriter: Wayne Ching

Planner: Michael Derapas

Director: Perry Westwood

Production Company: EXIT FILMS

Producer (Agency): Cindy Phillips

Producer (EXIT): Craig Sloane

Editor: Dan Lee (The Butchery)

Post Production: Eugene Richards (The Refinery)

Media: Mediacom

PR: Liquid Ideas

BTL: Apollo