‘Zmagovalni servis’ campaign celebrated at this year’s SPORTO conference

While the volleyball euphoria has slowly died down, the ‘Zmagovalni servis’ (Winning service) campaign through which Petrol activated its sponsorship of this year’s European volleyball championship continues to score victories – this time at the SPORTO sports marketing awards, where the innovative sponsorship activation received two main awards.

At the 2019 SPORTO Awards, which took place on 21 and 22 November in Portorož, Petrol’s ‘Zmagovalni servis’ campaign beat off competition from other regional sports marketing projects to win two awards at the gala ceremony. The campaign was named best project in the SPORTO Sponsorship Award category, and also bagged top spot in the SPORTO Digital Award category as a result of the exceptional online successes enjoyed by the campaign.

The ‘Zmagovalni servis’ activation project included activities divided into three winning series which, connected into a whole, created a winning combination. In addition to the classic rights that usually ensue from sponsorship agreements, Petrol took a central role in the sale of EuroVolley tickets, provided catering services to visitors to Stožice for the period of the championships, and turning its focus on the customer into a fully integrated experience via its innovative ‘Service to your seat’ solution, which enabled spectators to order food and drink and have it delivered to their seat. This integrated and well-considered approach placed the entire campaign among the top 5% of Slovenian campaigns of the last five years as measured by effectiveness of communication.

The strategic approach, the well-designed activation activities, the measurable targets set, the commitment and hard work of the in-house team, and the excellent cooperation with the organisers and agencies were all key factors in the success of the ‘Zmagovalni servis’ campaign. And if the fans that packed into the Stožice Arena ended up being called the seventh member of the Slovenian team, the players themselves were, without doubt, the seventh player in Petrol’s ‘winning service’.