Last week I (Jason Madeley) had the pleasure of attending the Premier League Darts final at The O2.
What an event! The atmosphere was absolutely incredible. Spurred on by 180 cards, 80’s glamour girls, plenty of beer and a true mix of fans, including celebrities (James’ favourite band One Direction were there) and lads dressed as Bully from Jim “Look what you could have won” Bowen’s ultimate Darts quiz show, Bullseye!
Part of the electric atmosphere was driven by the venue, The O2. This made me think, is this one of the best rebrands ever?
Let’s not forget that the Millennium Dome was considered a national joke/white elephant and a symbol of how not to build an entertainment venue. So it was brave or opportune move by O2 to sponsor this disaster?
There is no doubting it works and it is now considered as one of the premier venues in the UK for a variety of events, from sport to music. The O2 link works visually, but also on so many levels.
No one calls it the Dome any more. Yet, ten years on, I still call Starbursts Opal fruits! But that is just me…why has the rebrand worked so well?
On reflection, O2 is quite cool brand. It’s easy to say it fits in terms of the venue shape. But I also believe it comes down to the execution of the rebrand. Hats off to the O2 sponsorship team, the branding and the engagement is first class.
The partnership was one of the first sponsorships to be used actively to engage with customers to increase loyalty and reduce churn. O2 mobile customers can jump the queues and even get served in the O2 exclusive bar, adding to the feel good factor.
When it comes to the crunch, Premier League Dart’s sponsor McCoys could learn a little about customer engagement. Despite plastering their logo everywhere as Phil Power Taylor scooped the title, there was not one tasty crisp on offer for hungry beer drinking fans. I always bring things back to food, as the office will agree but crisps and darts – now there is a brand fit worthy of consideration!
