The “G-Drive – Best Player” award for the best player of the blue-white-sky blue is a joint project of the football club “Zenit” and the key sponsor of the club – PJSC “Gazprom Neft” and their brand – the network of petrol stations “Gazprom Neft” representing the fuel “G-Drive”.
On 10 April 2020 Zenit fans have chosen by voting on the social network “Vkontakte” Malcom “G-Drive – Best Player” for the month of March.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, following the quarantine, the club found itself in a situation where it was not possible to hand over the branded award personally. Therefore within the framework of a small budget the idea to pass the award with the drone was suggested, causing a great public resonance and creating an association with a modern and technological brand as well as emphasizing the well-known phrase «#It’s powerful» between the club and the sponsor. The club handed over the award to the footballer with a drone that flew through the window of the player’s house with a tied trophy. The club filmed the transmission on video, creating a viral video that spread quickly over the Internet and the media. The video was also branded by the sponsor and at the end of the video the club paraphrased the slogan of the G-Drive brand “It’s powerful” to “It’s important”, as during the spread of the COVID-19 virus it was especially important for fans to be at home. Thus, the Club managed to adapt to the new realities and released the video at a time when there was a lull in digital in sports media.
The achieved results in numbers –
– Media coverage is 19 million people;
– 100 unique publications in media all over the world.
