The nation really got behind The London 2012 Paralympic Games, in what was a truly inspiring event.
Sponsor Sainsbury’s was looking for a way to harness this energy and engage its 150,000 employees with the Games.
Their idea? To be part of the torch procession journey to the Olympic Stadium. The solution? Promohire’s Citroen H-Van was to lead the way and promote Sainsbury’s support of the Games...
The scale of Sainsbury’s ‘Paralympics Activation Programme’ was vast, and it’s ultimate aim was to encourage Sainsbury’s employees to pass on this baton of inspiration by way of delivering great customer service, raise public awareness and excite Sainsbury’s customers about this incredible sporting occasion.
DRP Group appointed Promohire to help get client Sainsbury’s on the road to being a part of this exciting journey. We wrapped the entire support vehicle to showcase the official Games and Sainsbury’s branding, which was eye-catching and the perfect canvas to convey key messaging.
But we didn’t stop there. The Paralympic torch relay involved 145 nominated customers and Sainsbury’s employees as Torchbearers, and Promohire was thrilled to provide a support team to drive the van and follow the procession during its 27 hours. We saw every single one of Sainsbury’s 550 superstores visited as part of the procession, giving thousands of customers the chance to experience the thrill of holding the Paralympic Torch! Promohire also helped spread the goodwill by handing out free goodies to supporters along the way. It was important that Sainsbury’s could reach out to everyone en-route to leverage the euphoria of the moment, and so a state-of-the-art AV system was installed to engage the crowds along the procession route.
The Torch was carried in towns and cities in each of UK’s four countries, with our van making its final leg from Stoke Mandeville (the birthplace of the Paralympics) to the Olympic Park. Aflame with excitement, the Citroen H-van arrived at the stadium for the thrilling opening to the Paralympic Games.
The whole Programme, of which the torch relay was a part, raised the profile of the Sainsbury’s brand and its sponsorship of the Paralympic Games, generating national and media coverage.
Justin King, Sainsbury’s CEO at the time, said:
“The [return on investment] will not just be measured in pure marketing terms – although I'm sure that will be great too – but in changing social perceptions of disability and in our relationships with customers.”
Richard Clark, MD at Promohire, added:
“We thoroughly enjoyed bringing our expertise to this exciting project. At such a high profile event, Sainsbury’s would have without doubt enjoyed maximum exposure as their brand was put in front of millions of people. Our clients definitely benefit from the all round service we can provide, and by hiring our support team throughout, Sainsbury’s would have been able to really focus on delivering a memorable campaign”.
