Going Tournamental for the Euros
Challenge
Own the Euros, Sun-style.
The Sun and football go way back. But the Euros was a busy pitch of sponsors, broadcasters and news brands all vying for attention.
The work had to cut through fast, giving hardcore fans and casual watchers a reason to choose The Sun before, during and after the whistle.
Solution
Let's go Tournamental
The campaign revolved around real-time OOH that let The Sun lead the conversation as the Euros unfolded.
Reactive headlines appeared across screens in pubs, stations and high-footfall football spaces, putting The Sun right where fans were watching, travelling, debating and celebrating.
Backed by social, display, talkSPORT, wallcharts, handbooks and daily pullouts, the campaign turned The Sun’s coverage into a live fan platform: fast, loud and proudly tournamental.
The biggest reactive OOH campaign ever
A custom CMS fed responsive creative to more than 700 digital outdoor screens across pubs, stations and roadsides.
Headlines could be written, approved and published within seconds.
The system also allowed different messages to run in different places – and nations – which was an absolute nightmare for us when England played Wales.
Results
Unbelieve-a-Bale numbers
Over four weeks, the campaign produced more than 400 unique headlines, many live within 60 seconds of the moment they responded to.
Paper sales increased by 400,000 across the tournament, while The Sun’s Euros hub attracted 1.44 million unique users.
The campaign reached more than 2.5 million people, with almost 40% of the core audience recalling the advertising — twice the benchmark.
It also delivered The Sun’s highest recorded scores for outdoor message relevance, brand appeal, distinctiveness and enjoyment.
400K
Increase in sales during campaign period
1.44m
Unique visitors
2.5m
UK Reach
Awards
Creative Circle
SILVER – Digital: Best use of DOOH
SILVER – Outdoor: Best Digital Poster (Campaign)
BRONZE – Innovation: Best Innovation/Use of New Technology
BRONZE – Outdoor: Innovative Use of OOH
The Drum DOOH Awards
GRAND PRIX
GOLD: Traditional 48 / 96 Sheet Poster
GOLD: Digital Advert
GOLD: Innovation
HIGHLY-COMMENDED: Digital Campaign
HIGHLY-COMMENDED: Use of Live Updates
HIGHLY-COMMENDED: Craft – Copywriting
NOMINATION: Use of Digital Technologies
Outdoor Media Awards
NOMINATION: The Data Award
NOMINATION: The Innovation Award
Credits
Agency
Pulse Creative – The&Partnership
ECD
Robin Garton
Creatives
Andy Peel
Paul Alderman
Simon Davenport
Greg Milbourne
John Aitchison
Will Grave
Head of Design
Matt Hunt
Media Company
Kinetic Active
© 2009–26 Andy Peel