The Manly Sea Eagles are proud to be the first Australian sporting club to develop a branded content sponsorship with Netflix.
The sponsorship will promote the second season of Daredevil which will premiere on Netflix on March 18, 2016. The TV show is about a blind lawyer-by-day who fights crime at night as the hero Daredevil.
Manly Sea Eagle GM Corporate Luke Byrne said, ‘this is the result of a collaboration of working with some of Australia’s best talent to deliver a unique branded content piece, leveraging some of the NRL’s biggest names.”
Adam Good, a Digital Transformation and Media Executive produced the branded content story on how the Sea Eagles coaching staff took inspiration from the Daredevil character and put the Sea Eagles senior players through a number of sensory training drills as the last drill to pick the round one team against the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The media and activation strategy was delivered by MEC Global office in Sydney.
The story unfolds over two parts running from Friday 25th Feb up until the team announcement on Tuesday 1st of March.
Adam Good said,
“The distinction between brands and publishers is becoming increasingly blurred. Ad campaigns come and go, but stories endure. The opportunity to partner with Netflix and develop a branded content rugby league story has been truly fantastic. Netflix are not only an innovative brand and amazing product they are also innovative in their marketing approach. They really wanted to push their marketing tactics to maintain their position as a disruptive force.”
The Sea Eagles and Daredevil partner to select round 1 squad.
To extend the partnership with Manly, Netflix will give away Daredevil merchandise to fans at the Sea Eagles first home game of the season against the Bulldogs and have a strong presence in each of Channel 9’s NRL telecasts and at stadiums across Australia during the first three rounds of the NRL season leading up to the release of Daredevil Season Two on March 18.
The premise of the branded content idea is Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Coach Trent Barrett has channelled his inner Daredevil by incorporating a a range of unique training techniques in selecting his team for the opening round of the Telstra NRL Premiership.
Trent and his coaching staff got their players to test their ‘sensory skills’ ahead of finalising his team for the blockbuster clash against Canterbury‐Bankstown Bulldogs at Brookvale Oval on Friday, March 4.
Barrett will announce his team on Tuesday afternoon but supporters will be able to watch an exclusive video of Trent’s unique selection methods by clicking here.
“The entire team has worked really hard this off‐season. I just needed one little tweak to put the finishing touches on it,’’ Barrett said.
“I wanted the players to be aware of all their senses and everything that is going on around them.”
Barrett asked Head of Physical Performance, Dan Ferris, to put the players through a final session, describing it as a ‘little unorthodox to test their true instincts’.
Captain Jamie Lyon admitted it was an unusual session.
“It was something different to do at training. It was a lot of fun,’’ Lyon explained.
“I can’t give away too much now of what I and some of the boys like Brett Stewart, Tom Trbojevic, and Marty Taupau had to do, but I will give Trent and the club full marks for thinking outside the square,’’ Lyon said.
“I’m sure our supporters will see the benefits of it when we take on the Bulldogs.”
and now for Part 2.
A journal by Adam Good 