Intuit QuickBooks Brings West Ham Fans Together With Pie & Mash

FCB London installed a giant, 12-foot high pie and mash dispenser at West Ham United’s London Stadium as part of an activation for the team’s Official Accounting Software Partner, Intuit QuickBooks. The campaign also included a chance to win a VIP, business growth themed hospitality experience, offering the lucky winners personalized business advice.

West Ham United fans over-index on small business owners and small traders, with one in four fans running their own enterprises, making the club the perfect fit for financial software company Intuit QuickBooks.

FCB’s activation is the first for QuickBooks since signing the deal this summer. The oversized pie vending machine distributed hundreds of pies outside the team’s home ground in Stratford, East London, all made by local business, Tony’s Pie & Mash, whose own business received a boost as part of the deal. Former West Ham United striker Marlon Harewood was among the fans grabbing one of QuickBooks’ pies.

Each pie came with a QR code that could be used to enter a competition to win a VIP match day experience at the West Ham United vs Arsenal FC game on 30th November. Winners gain free access to financial and business growth advisors, ready to help small business owners in managing their taxes simply and easily, so they have more time to grow their business / pie.

FCB went all-out on connecting fans, not only with Tony’s delicious pies, but primarily with QuickBooks. With 71 per cent of small business owners believing that taxes are too complex and confusing, QuickBooks wanted to show people how they can help them get a better grasp of taxes and grow their own share of the pie.

By building an accessible and light-hearted activation, QuickBooks was able to get across its more serious message in an engaging way: the role of technology in making life easier for sole traders, micro and small businesses and the impact that working with an accountant or bookkeeper can have on growth and profitability

Michael Benjamin, director of marketing at Intuit QuickBooks said: “We’re excited to partner with West Ham United to bring our fun take on accounting to life. It's a unique opportunity for West Ham fans who are business owners to see how QuickBooks can help them grow and manage their businesses with ease. At QuickBooks, we know that growing a business is no small feat, which is why our simple, smart accounting software is designed to provide the rich insights, task automation, and cash flow control that businesses need from day one. This activation is about more than just numbers—it’s about empowering business owners to take control of their financial future and make growing their business as ‘easy as pie’. We’re proud to support the West Ham business community and look forward to seeing how this initiative and our recently launched Hammers Business Network will help local businesses thrive and unlock new opportunities for growth.”

 Rob Farren, creative director at FCB London, said: “QuickBooks are great at helping small business owners to grow their pie & mash (cash), so we wanted an idea that lived up to that. 

“In true West Ham style, we went MASSIVE for the occasion and took one of the things fans love the most in the run up to a big game, pies. We knew that 1 in 4 West Ham fans are small business owners, so collaborating with ‘Tony’s Pie & Mash’ we built a massive 12-foot-tall pie vending machine that could be seen far and wide and placed it in front of the London Stadium.

“We have plenty more irons in the fire off the back of the activation, as some lucky business owners will get the chance to win a VIP matchday experience whilst getting first hand business advice from professionals before the West Ham United vs Arsenal game.”

FCB London also created social media content to fuel the activation ahead of and after the event, and will be on hand to capture winners’ VIP, business growth themed hospitality experience at the Arsenal match later this month.

Credits

Executive Creative Director: Kyle Harman-Turner

Creative Director: Rob Farren

Creative Director: Ben Usher

Creative: Gerard Roda

Business Director: Katie Savelli

Account Director: Michael Freeman

Account Manager: Elizabeth Martin

Senior Strategist : Anna Green

Agency Producer: Dai Davison

Photographer: Alex Dunning

Production Co: We Make Stuff Happen

Editor: Charlie Coombes

DoP: Andrew Muir

QuickBooks Head of Sponsorship: Martin Dyhouse

QuickBooks Sponsorship Manager: Betty Moseley

QuickBooks Principal Brand Strategy Manager : Louise Gaffney