Stoking
a feud

HOW GIO WON STATE OF ORIGIN

State of Origin isn’t just a Rugby League series—it’s the most watched sporting event in Australia. It pits two states against each other: Queensland and New South Wales. And the rivalry between them is like nothing else in sports. But by 2014, the annual three-game series had become a little one-sided. Queensland had won it eight years running.

And the memes flowed freely.

As sponsor of the NSW Blues, GIO needed to rally the people of New South Wales behind their team. So instead of ignoring the memes, jokes and barbs of Queensland fans, we turned them into fuel. We reposted their memes, embraced them, and thanked Queensland for them—because they were only motivating us to victory.

The result? NSW won the series, breaking an eight-year drought. I’m not saying that this campaign is the reason the Blues emerged victorious. But I’m not not saying it either.

Then in 2015, we knew we had to take things up a notch. So we asked Blues fans to write the mother of all inspiring team talks. Their words were delivered directly to the players by Origin legend Mark “MG” Geyer, at the very moment the squad was announced. So the first words they heard as a team came from the fans themselves. 

Sadly, the Blues didn’t manage to go back to back in 2015. But GIO had their most engaged social campaign ever. The fans loved it. And the players were really, really, really inspired.

Awards

• The One Show - Merit

• Clio - Silver