Background
In 2018, I approached Matchroom Boxing to discuss the food delivery opportunity, in and around Saturday Night Live Boxing on SKY Sports or Sky Box Office. It was felt that a largely male in home audience would gather together and order food in-time for the Big Fight.
The Process
Meetings were set up with a Pizza Delivery company and Deliveroo. The opportunity for event branding and venue activation was new territory, versus the traditional media buying of “spot times” during the regular commercial breaks. Boxing was entering a new golden age with the likes of AJ, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder as well as some exciting GB boxers, challenging for belts. On the basis that Deliveroo were considering brand partnerships and Matchroom were keen to explore the food delivery category, a 2 fight test was set up in Spring 2019. It was a chance for both the rights owner and brand to create a new experience for boxing fans, watching the show in the arena or at home. The main event was in Liverpool at the M&S Bank Arena and also a smaller “Next Gen” event in Cardiff was selected.
The Result
Deliveroo received significant visibility on the boxing ring floor and on the ropes. They also took over a VIP lounge whereby guests were encouraged to download the Deliveroo app and order food from selected restaurant partners. Outside the venue, Deliveroo had a food truck to acquire more new customers. An added bonus was to provide Deliveroo with post-fight access to the boxers within the dressing rooms and also at the media conference. This included the delivery of meals to the boxers and their team. Matchroom and Deliveroo both felt that the test had worked well enough for future discussions for future UK Saturday Night Boxing. Matchroom now has a case study for one of the most dynamic categories in terms of partnerships whilst Deliveroo had experienced another sport besides football that might provide them with a different option, going forward.
2020 is set to be another big year for boxing, so watch this space.
