Bringing 'No Walkers No Game' To UK Football Fans

Ahead of this summer of sport, with an eye firmly on the footballing double whammy of the Champions League Final and UEFA European Championships, crisp brand Walker’s knew it had a major opportunity to drive fan engagement across the nation.

With snacking occasions set to rise, and the English men’s team one of the favourites to win the Euros (Walkers is an official sponsor of the English Football Association), the PepsiCo brand was primed to make the most of two major occasions, which meant doing something equally as special.

And it already had the perfect campaign template ready-made.

A lending hand from Lay's

Earlier this year, US sister stable brand Lay's introduced a major brand campaign targeting soccer fans by surprising 75,000 of them at the San Siro where they had the opportunity to watch the match with legends David Beckham and Thierry Henry. But there was a caveat - they could only do so if they already had a packet of Lay's to share and prove they were fans of the brand.

The 'Chip Cam' stunt, filmed live, was the latest installment of its ‘No Lay's No Game’ brand platform which began last year. It started with Henry, followed by Lionel Messi, practically re-enacting the Daz doorstep challenge, by turning up at the front door and offering to watch a match with a family as long as they could produce a bag of Lay's from around their household. If not, the superstar moved on to the next house instead.

“Henry and Beckham, they were a natural choice. Who else would you team up with?” asked Ciara Dilley, global vice president of Global Brands for Lay's & Quaker. “They epitomise so many of the values of the Lay's brand. They are loved all over the world.”

And so, of course, with two major names who played (arguably) their greatest games in English football, why not bring the campaign here for fans to enjoy?

Adapting the platform for Walker's

In adapting the campaign and the platform, Walkers aimed to bake itself further into football culture while adding a distinctly British sense of humour and developing supporting activity that would appeal to a mass audience.

Working with longtime agency partner VCCP, Walkers put in motion a plan to adapt the campaign with one cunning alteration – ‘No Walkers No Game’ would be the adjustment made across the pond.

“Walkers had permission to make this a truly unique campaign which meant that we were able to be playful and celebrate Walkers' role in British snacking culture, creating messaging that tapped into our objective to show that there is no substitute for Walkers and only Walkers unlocks the best experiences of all time,” outlines Wayne Newton, senior marketing director at Walkers.

“As we were in the football mindset, we had planned for all upcoming football occasions, making sure Walkers was present and reactive in key cultural moments. We wanted to make sure we reflected and captured the mood of the nation and put our support behind our national teams,” he continues.

In May there was an opportunity to test it among British football fans pre-tournament too during the Champions League final, which was set to be hosted at Wembley Stadium for the first time in 11 years.

“This offered Walkers the opportunity to drive brand superiority through the 'No Walkers, No Game' platform and sponsorship,” outlines Newton. “As Britain’s most-loved crisps, it was a no-brainer to ground ourselves in the football snacking occasion and celebrate that there is no substitute for Walkers crisps.”

Ross Cameron, head of planning for VCCP, adds that the agency put its stamp on the campaign by taking it “from good to great”.

He explains that the agency invoked its methodology to ask itself three questions that would meet the challenge of supporting Walkers to 'populate culture' in the build-up.

It aims were to stop people in their tracks by featuring world-class talent and getting them involved. The brand conversation would then continue throughout the Euros through the use of contextual assets.

Alongside the new platform, a competition was launched with the main prize being the opportunity to watch the Champions League final alongside Walkers ambassador and Match of the Day host Gary Lineker in a private pitch-side box.

Henry and Beckham would feature in the on-pack promotion around the final, in which consumers could also win £500 every 90 minutes.

The activity included a national print, digital out-of-home and social media campaign to promote football snacking with an OOH campaign including banners and interactive installations alongside social media activity that was also rolled out around Wembley to capture the attention of attending fans.

“Our aim was to drive contextual association with football in the build-up to and final of UEFA Champions League and beyond, continuing this throughout the summer of football,” continues Newton.

That was followed up at the end of May with the Euros campaign, where the pair surprised fans who entered through social media and thought they had been recruited to take part in a supposed documentary on Walkers, only to appear on the doorstep of one lucky family with a bag of Walkers in hand. This campaign ran from 24 May until 16 July to encapsulate both tournaments.

“For the national moments, we again used reactive print, DOOH, social and PR activations to tap into the mood of the nation and ensure Walkers were front of mind during the big footballing moments,” says Newton.

In the build-up to, and after, the final of the Euros, the brand also released social media messages offering notes of hope or consolation for England fans, showcasing the brand's solidarity.

Its last post within minutes of the final whistle featured a broken England/heart-shaped crip and the message: 'Thank You England. You did us proud." It received over 2,300 likes on the Walkers Instagram page, while the brand did not use its TikTok account to promote the campaign.

And the response, according to System1, was that the 90-second version of the campaign scored highest of the three edits, and was rated as 'exceptional' while generating 'strong' brand recognition.

"Walkers play the brand-building game well by leveraging the celebrity status of David Beckham and Thierry Henry. When its effectively built into a narrative, recognizable hired devices can entertain the masses, especially when there's a cultural tie-in like the Euros," outlines Jess Messenger, head of marketing for System1.

"The football legends inject a dose of humour, leading to intense, positive feelings that drive exceptional short-term sales potential and long-term growth. Walkers also pull off strong brand recognition by centring the story around needing more crisps, ensuring celebrity doesn’t overshadow the product."