Times Takes On Telegraph With Fantasy Football
Times Online has announced a deal with Eidos, the UK’s largest video games publisher, to create its Fantasy Football championship offering readers the chance to win a slice of its £100,000 prize fund.
The promotion will go head to head with the Telegraph‘s twelfth year of Fantasy Football, launched last week with support from BUPA and promoted through a wide ranging cross-media campaign (see Telegraph Kicks Off Fantasy Football Marketing Push).
Dubbed TheFantasyGame, the competition will be supported by a dedicated section of the Times Online at www.timesonline.co.uk/fantasyfootball, as well as through email and in-paper activity in The Times and The Sunday Times.
In return for sponsorship of the contest, Eidos will receive season-long promotion of its football management game Championship Manager through TheFantasyGame website.
This year will mark the contest’s seventh year of successful operation, attracting around 70,000 entrants each year. The newspaper claims that Eidos’ sponsorship through Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times will reach an audience of over 47% of men between 15 and 54 with an interest in football and who own a PC.
Commenting on this year’s competition, Annelies Van den Belt, deputy advertisement sales director and Times Online digital director, said: “Eidos’ sponsorship perfectly complements our fantasy football game. Times Online attracts a community of active, passionate football fans following some of the best coverage in the country from The Times and The Sunday Times.”
John Webb, brand director for Championship Manager at Eidos added: “We are delighted to announce the coming together of two of the biggest names in football. Our sponsorship of Times Online‘s Fantasy Football championship will deliver outstanding levels of consumer recognition and further increase the awareness of the Championship Manager brand among all football fans.”
Earlier this month the Times announced a break in publication for its weekly football supplement, The Game, replacing it with a series of special publications dedicated to a number of different sports (see Times Calls A Halt To The Game For Summer Break).
The Times recently launched a trade advertising campaign based on the latest ABC circulation reports, although closer scrutiny reveals that the publication has lost 1% year on year in the six months to May (see Times Launches Trade Campaign Following ABC Results).
The Times: 020 7782 5000 www.timesonline.co.uk
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