Mumbai: Thanks to one of the most innovative marketing campaigns of the summer, residents of the city of Valencia have become very aware of the launch of the new Valencia CF home and away kits for the 2023/24 LALIGA EA SPORTS season. The club collaborated with the city and with Puma, its official kit supplier, to transform a number of bus stops and to make them Mestalla-themed.
The walls and roofs of the selected bus shelters were decorated to make these bus stops look and feel like the stands of Mestalla, complete with seats like the ones in the stadium’s stands. The 2023/24 Valencia CF kits were also displayed at these bus stops, with lights even highlighting the new designs at nighttime.
The initiative came about thanks to PUMA’s close collaboration with the club. As the kit manufacturer explained: “Each season’s launch of the new Valencia CF kits is planned with several objectives in mind: to present the new kits to Valencia CF fans in an original, different and eye-catching way, connecting sentimentally and emotionally; to maximise the visibility of these kits with actions that have great repercussion and impact at a local level, trying to integrate the fans in some way into that experience so that they become part of it; and to get involved with the club, the city, its people and its traditions and customs. We believe that the sum of all these points helps to improve the perception of the new kits and increase the willingness to acquire them.”
The fans of the club were definitely made to feel involved, while men’s team player Thierry Rendall and women’s team player Marta Carro also visited one of the Valencia CF-themed bus shelters to enjoy the unique experience. Discussing the initiative, Thierry Rendall said: “I think it’s a very good idea, as the fans can feel like they’re at Mestalla, even inside the dressing room as if they were players.”
In the words of the club: “Bringing Valencia CF out of the stadium with this marketing campaign and into moments in our fans’ daily lives, such as waiting for the bus or taking a walk through the city centre and finding a representation of Mestalla, is something that reinforces our emotional connection with the fans. It’s a shot of identification.”
The club continued: “The same reaction that we saw in Thierry Rendall and Marta Carro when they saw the themed bus stops is what we’ve noticed in our fans and also in the tourists who visit Valencia at this time of year. They can enjoy an exciting and different experience while discovering all the secrets of our jerseys, which are on display at the bus stops. The action has been very well received in the media, giving great exposure to the club and PUMA, as well as among our fans.”
Valencia CF and PUMA: A partnership based on constant collaboration
This is simply the latest example of Valencia CF and PUMA working together to ensure fans of Los Che know about and are excited about the arrival of the new kit. In previous years, they’ve organised other street marketing campaigns, such as placing giant replica shirts around the city or organising photo machines with QR codes to allow fans to download an image of themselves wearing the new shirt. Last season, they even worked together on a New York streetstyle photo shoot in front of some of the most iconic landmarks of the Big Apple, making an impact in that international market.
On the partnership, the club said: “Every year, together with PUMA, we carry out actions that usually involve the DNA and life of the city to present our shirts. This season they have very strong narratives: a tribute to the Mediterranean lifestyle (Home Kit); a concept of design, creativity and the future projection of our city (Away Kit); and a nod to the streets of the city of Valencia with a representation of the neighbourhood that surrounds Mestalla (Third Kit). We feel that the street marketing campaign of Valencia CF and PUMA is more and more appreciated each year, achieving greater identification from our fans.”
It’s not just in summer at the time of the kit launch that the marketing departments of Valencia CF and PUMA work together. “The connection and work with PUMA is daily, so that the garments made for the club, the stores and all the merchandising breathe the VCF identity,” the club’s marketing and commercial director Jorge García pointed out.
The club added: “Our way of working is based on fortnightly meetings, and thanks to a consolidated dynamic between both teams. Working with technical brands on a long-term basis – we’ve been with PUMA for five seasons and are building a great relationship – allows clubs to share with them the club values and culture, which leads to fans perceiving the stores as spaces where the shopping experience is very emotional.”
By converting daily spaces such as bus stops into another source of pride for Valencia CF supporters, the club has certainly made an emotional impact with its fanbase with this year’s kit launch.
