Castrol hires OgilvyOne for Uefa website

by Gareth Jones, Marketing 02-Feb-07, 09:45

LONDON - Castrol is preparing to launch a pan-European digital drive to support its headline sponsorship of the Uefa 2008 European Football Championships, being jointly held in Austria and Switzerland.

The global motor oil brand has appointed OgilvyOne to handle the full-service brief, comprising web design & build, online advertising and a range of mobile activity.

Castrol's digital strategy is based around a branded web site where sports fans can view and compare the performance of the 52 teams competing to qualify for the football championships.

When the final 16 teams are selected, Internet users will be able to view a mix of interactive fact sheets, player statistics and video highlights until the tournament reaches its conclusion. The Castrol web site will launch in April this year, with ongoing digital activity until mid-2008.

It is understood that OgivlyOne has been briefed to create a Castrol branded web 2.0 environment around the tournament, allowing consumers to upload user generated content and create their own personalised football blogs. ‘We're planning to use the Uefa 2008 event to significantly improve our digital presence across Europe,' said Robin Middleton, digital manager at Castrol.

Castrol's Uefa 2008 sponsorship deal covers a wide product category including lubricants, oils and fuels. It completes the global sponsorship programme 18 months ahead of the event.

The engine oil brand joins a number of sponsors for Uefa Euro 2008, including Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, JVC, Hyundai-Kia, MasterCard, McDonald's and Adidas. Uefa is currently focusing on the national supporter programme packages for Austria and Switzerland.