Many people enhance their everyday lives with the help of leading-edge technology. But very few know that a small, inconspicuous sovereign state in East Asia called Taiwan plays a huge role in the development of their technical devices.
In order to boost media coverage and draw attention to Taiwan’s tech innovation prowess, ITMS carried out three large-scale marketing campaigns for the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) between April and September of this year. This entailed the organization of major events as well as the execution of diverse marketing and public relations initiatives. The marketing campaigns focused on three international sports-related mega events: the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Eurobike in Friedrichshafen and the 2018 BMW Berlin Marathon.
Nelson Mandela once remarked that “sport has the power to change the world”. And ITMS has gained similar insight. “The agency has been engaged in promoting top-level sports since its beginnings and is engaged in the marketing of both recreational and professional sports,” explains Executive Director George S. Pascal. ITMS has, among other projects, handled the marketing of the sport of baseball and promotion of Major League Baseball in Europe since 1996. Moreover, Pascal’s team has managed a series of famous athletes and organized major figure skating events in Germany for many years. “Sport can have an unbelievable impact on marketing a brand,” says the New York native. “Campaigns have the ability to capture the hearts and minds of millions of fans – especially in the scope of global events.” Pascal further points out that “if brands effectively activate their sponsorships to engage with passionate fans on different levels, they will be able to increase the value of their investments exponentially. Emotionally-charged moments on the field will have a profound positive impact on the brands.”
The campaigns aimed to ride along the wave of sports enthusiasm – especially as the excitement usually spills over to trigger a technical euphoria. Many fans buy a new TV or a camera with a better zoom effect as the start of the World Cup approaches. Technical breakthroughs from Taiwan – such as smartphones, drones, VR glasses and the like – have a significant impact on the way in which we experience football. Accordingly, the agency’s marketing strategists decided to make use of the FIFA World Cup as a kick-off event for the first campaign. ITMS developed an animated film clip. It circulated online during the one-month tournament and was also shown in excerpts on Sport1, where it highlighted the advantages of Taiwanese technology.
As part of the second campaign, ITMS drew attention to another sport and its intensified experience potential via Taiwanese technology: Taiwan is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-end bicycles. ITMS organized a press conference at the Eurobike trade fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany to highlight the newest products from Taiwan and draw attention to the Taipei Cycle Show. In order to generate high media interest, the agency made use of its network of media contacts in the bike industry, an industry in which it has been extremely active in for over ten years. Key editors were contacted, informed and supplied with press packages produced by the agency. Ultimately, top writers and photographers from a total of 52 publications attended the press conference.
Finally, ITMS used the BMW Berlin Marathon as the framework for a campaign with influencer components. A multi-level campaign was created to reach the sports-minded general public, running fans and tech-savvy individuals. Online ads were placed in the popular running publications. More than 330 candidates applied for one of eight coveted spots on Taiwan’s Excellence marathon team. The selected runners, all very active on social media with large fan bases, continuously activated the motivational campaign #ReachYourExcellence campaign across their social media channels in the build up to the race. Moreover, it was essential that they had an inspiring story to tell concerning their motivation to run in the marathon. These stories were pitched to the media. The campaign was transported via ads, outdoor advertising, public relations, storytelling techniques, social media, and at different venues during the Berlin marathon. Red running shoe laces with #ReachYourExcellence branding were used throughout the campaign and very popular giveaways during the marathon weekend. The 46,000 starters in the race received Taiwan Excellence branded goody bags. Effectively reaching a very broad public, the campaign had a strong impact on increasing overall awareness for Taiwan Excellence and stood out among the other brands sponsoring the Berlin marathon.
Read more about ITMSs campaigns for Taiwan Excellence in the agency’s Portfolio section on its website – itms.com.
