How does a household name like Lidl continue increasing its market share after 30 years of stunning growth?
In retrospect, the answer is simple: by creating a fan-centric campaign around its sponsorship of UEFA’s flagship football tournament and leading the field in sponsorship recognition.
But what seems obvious now was anything but simple when Lidl asked Sid Lee London to activate its sponsorship of UEFA EURO 2024.
The brand had never sponsored football or any property this big before. Now, it was rubbing shoulders with the giants of the sports sponsorship world, competing for share of voice during a noisy tournament and share of wallet in a ruthlessly competitive category.
The agency developed a two-phase, multichannel, fully integrated campaign that saw Lidl activate its sponsorship across 31 European markets, reaching hundreds of millions of people.
Its advertising creative was judged to be on a par with adidas’s famous “Hey Jude” ad, and audiences across Europe enthusiastically received every element of the campaign.
Lidl set a new gold standard for sport sponsorship activation at UEFA EURO 2024. It not only succeeded in establishing its relationship with football in consumers’ minds and smashing its 1m target for app user acquisition but also achieved the highest sponsor recognition of all UEFA EURO 2024 sponsors.
This superb case study is a testament to Lidl’s commitment to viewing sponsorship as a platform, not just another media channel.
