E.on, FA Cup and David James – Social Responsibility and Sport

E.on is an energy company that sponsors the FA Cup and found a very clever way to leverage this association.

The company created a campaign that explores a word play with “save”, using Portsmouth and England international goalkeeper David James (image above) to embrace a class of players often forgotten by the main sponsors: the goalkeepers (with a few exceptions, such asOliver Kahn and Peter Czech).

The campaign encourages people to share their energy savings practices, rewarding the best with a trip to the FA Cup final as a mascot, with pitch access (a priceless prize). It is supported by an excellent website that plays the whole time with “save”, honouring the great keepers that took part in the British competition, with videos such as the Jim Montgomery’s below.

With this strategy, E.on not only activates its FA Cup partnership, but appropriates a category of players almost forgotten by most companies.