In Italy, Serie A football gets all the media attention. All other sports have no visibility, which means no sponsors and no money. Dacia, main sponsor of Serie A football team Udinese Calcio, wanted to help sidelined sport teams in need by demonstrating closeness to people who reach great results with few resources. Which is basically what Dacia offers as a brand with its range of best value-for-money cars in the market.

Challenge: To raise public awareness for the growing problem of Italy becoming a football mono-culture in which there is no place for other, minor sports.

Objective: For Dacia to become the value-for-money car brand of choice by demonstrating closeness to sports enthusiasts and their needs.

Strategy: To give side-lined sports teams the public exposure they never receive and never could afford in a football dominated media world.

Execution: The split – Dacia Sponsor Day: an online contest that gives minor sports teams the opportunity to share the visibility of a Serie A football team.

Outcome: 2.396 team participated in the online contest

Nearly 2 million people watched the games

99% of national TV and press covered the story in over 500 news stories.

#sponsorday in the Top 1 Italian trending topics

A contest was launched online and supported by direct e-mailing campaign to all sports federations and leagues in Italy. A print and display campaign was aired for two weeks on main sports newspapers. PR activities further increased contest visibility.

The winning team became the protagonists of an unprecedented media event. During one Serie A league game, the Serie A football team Udinese Calcio played in a special jersey: half Udinese and half a penniless, minor sports team. This way Dacia made Udinese not only split its jersey but all its publicity in print, tv, web, social media and inside the stadium. This event was the perfect opportunity to launch a new Dacia limited edition in co-marketing with Italy’s biggest sports newspaper: Gazzetta dello Sport.

2.396 teams participated in the online contest

Nearly 2 million people watched the games

99% of national TV and press covered the story

Media impressions: over 100.000.000

Growth of Dacia Facebook fans: +23%

Growth of Dacia Twitter followers: +19%

Impressions #sponsorday 3.000.000

#sponsorday in the Top 1 Italian trending topics