‘Wrexham United’ social stunt unveiled United Airlines as AFC’s new front of shirt sponsor

To unveil its new 2023/24 season front of shirt sponsor for its men’s and women’s first teams, Wrexham AFC and co-owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds rolled out a comic fake club name change social stunt titled ‘Wrexham United’.

The social-first campaign was initially fronted by co-chairmen Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds on their own social platforms. It kicked-off with an initial Twitter teaser phase which played on the idea that the ‘brash American owners’ were changing the team name to ‘Wrexham United’.

This was then quickly followed by the full reveal announcement video which was again fronted by the Hollywood pair and debuting on their personal platforms before being amplified by the club’s own channels and then supported by the airline too.

https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/1666775474440138752

https://twitter.com/RMcElhenney/status/1666775913302990848

https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/1666792363728199680

https://twitter.com/RMcElhenney/status/1666793873321119744

https://twitter.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1666792783955259393

https://twitter.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1666792913001492481

https://twitter.com/united/status/1666794205841092608

https://twitter.com/united/status/1666801147477204994

The new primary partner unveiling also linked to the pre-sale promotional campaign for next season’s home shirt.

 https://twitter.com/Wrexham_AFC/status/1666885152385949708

The deal itself sees Wrexham AFC, who were recently promoted to the English Football League, work with United on a range of promotional and practical activations and initiatives led by the airline name and logo on the front of the club’s home, away and third shirts.

During the summer, Wrexham AFC will travel across the Atlantic on United flights for a US tour: this will be the first time in the club’s history that the first team squad will travel to the United States.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, the co-chairman of Wrexham AFC, said in a joint PR statement: “We seek out sponsors that match the spirit of both Wrexham Association Football Club and the people of Wrexham. We could think of no better sponsor for the next phase of our quest than United Airlines. The team, town and fans around the world are united as never before and United Airlines is committed to elevating our story and journey.”

Josh Earnest, Chief Communications Officer for United Airlines, added: “The story of Wrexham AFC and their fans represents the best of what professional sports has to offer. The passion and perseverance of this team on the rise has captured the imagination of people in the US and around the world. When the Wrexham AFC players deliver even more heart-pumping moments this season, we couldn’t be prouder that United Airlines will be written across their chests. We’re also excited to partner with the team and their co-chairmen across social media and on their hit TV show as the incredible story of this team and its loyal fans continues to unfold.”

Comment:

Of course, we’ve seen this kind of sponsorship announcement rope/pull social trick a few times before in the sports marketing space, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still engaging or effective.

Plus it generated plenty of media interest and response from Wrexham fans and football supporters of all hues – particularly about the lack of an airport at Wrexham.

This initiative followed on from previous Wrexham AFC related campaigns such as the 2021 ‘TikTok Shirt Sponsorship Unveiling’, 2021’s National League sponsor Vanarama’s ‘Hollywood Sign’ season kick-off stunt, as well as Reynold’s 2023 ‘Mint Mobile Family Plan’ campaign with Wrexham striker Paul Mullin and, of course, the original ‘Welcome To Wrexham’ FX show trailer.

Outcome

This campaign’s initial tease tweet alone generated 20m views on Reynolds own feed, while the reveal video has notched up more than 5.7m views just 48 hours after it was posted.

This case study originally appeared on Activative: which offers clients creative and strategic intelligence to fuel game-changing sports and sponsorship marketing. www.activative.co.uk