Everton and Angry Birds named best Gaming-Based Sponsorship at UK Sponsorship Awards
Posted by
Everton Football Club’s ground-breaking partnership with Angry Birds was recognised at the UK Sponsorship Awards.
The Club and Rovio beat off competition from DHL’s partnership with esports organiser ESL (Electronic Sports League) and One Plus’s partnership with Fnatic.
The Blues teamed up with Rovio in August 2018 to create a global first when they introduced three Premier League footballers as playable characters in the Angry Birds Evolution game.
Theo Walcott, Cenk Tosun and Gylfi Sigurdsson underwent Angry Birds makeovers to become limited edition characters – the first time real people have been recreated within a Rovio game.
All three were playable in their current form in full Everton kit before evolving into a futuristic version of themselves, then into super versions of the character.
The campaign resulted in a 63% increase in global downloads, allowing both Rovio and the Club to engage with new audiences.
The campaign generated huge international coverage and featured on the back pages of two national newspapers, a rarity for gaming or sponsorship stories.
The social media campaign across Everton and Rovio channels also generated a reach of 4.8 million with over 100,000 engagements.
Mark Rollings, Head of Partnership Management at Everton, said: “The creativity of Rovio, alongside our appetite for innovation, has enabled us to make history in both the technology and football industries. It is fantastic to be recognised for that on the national stage.
“Our partnership with Angry Birds has allowed us to engage with fans across the world – old and new – and position ourselves as a forward-looking club, striving for excellence in all that we do.”
