OH WHAT A SEPTEMBER
This September, it wasn’t just finals time for the AFL elite; it was a full-on finals series for grassroots footy clubs around the nation. Reaching the pointy end of the season means just as much to local players, coaches, volunteers and supporters as it does to those within the professional ranks, so to cap off Season 2019, Toyota wanted to celebrate Good for Footy Finals Time.
The Toyota Good for Footy Program has helped raise more than six million dollars for grassroots clubs all over the country. We celebrated September with an ‘OH WHAT A FEELING’ theme that was seen through broadcast, social and PR via our unique ‘Superstar Treatment’ campaign, which saw Toyota giving grassroots clubs and their communities a taste of the big time, with three, surprise-and-delight Good for Footy stunts.
The ‘Good for Footy Fire Up’ saw us chose one lucky grassroots club and give them a surprise motivational speech in the lead up to their Grand Final. We recruited legendary AFL coach ‘Lethal’ Leigh Matthews and former Hawks hard-man Campbell Brown to burst into the Surrey Park Panthers’ locker rooms after training and deliver a classic rev-up to the playing group. It was just be what the doctor ordered, with the Panthers going on to win the decider the following Saturday.
In ‘Supersize My Banner’, Toyota gave two suburban junior girls teams the Bulleen Bullants and St Marys Greensborough JFC the opportunity to burst onto the ground like the pros, complete with fireworks, team songs and massive player run through banners, hand crafted by the Western Bulldogs Cheer Squad.
And finally, one massive local grand final got to experience the once-in-a-lifetime feeling of being in the media spotlight, with ‘Community Commentary Crew’. Toyota sent the Channel 7 Footy commentary team to the Seddon Yarraville Eagles Grand Final to create the ultimate ‘live broadcast’ atmosphere. Cameron Ling and Brian Taylor called the game and threw to Matty Richardson on the boundary, who interviewed players, coaches and fans during the breaks.
The Good for Footy theme continued in Grand Final Week at the AFL Fan Zone at the MCG, with the return of Toyota’s now famous Dunkinator! Toyota invited fans to kick at a target to help raise cash for local clubs. If they hit the target, a community football club representative was dunked in a tank of cold water, much to the delight of the gathered fans. Toyota’s CMO Wayne Gabriel also stepped into the Dunkinator hot-seat and managed to raise a cool $10k for women’s grassroots clubs in the process. Nice work, Wayne! Over the week, Toyota raised $20k for clubs in need… now that’s good for footy!
It truly was a September to remember for grassroots footy, thanks to the Toyota Good for Footy program.
PERFORMING ON THE BIGGEST STAGE
Grand Final Week is the culmination of a big season for the AFL’s biggest partner, and this year we went all-in on an OH WHAT A FEELING themed decider.
Thirty-Eight ‘OH WHAT A FEELING’ decaled Toyota HiLux Utes carried the Richmond and GWS players through the streets of Melbourne during the traditional Grand Final Parade. The all new Toyota Supra topped and tailed the parade, catching the eye of fans and players alike. Fourteen HiLuxes also carried retiring legends out to the MCG for the last time in the Toyota Retiring Legend Lap of Honour.
The Toyota marquee in AFL September Club was decorated with ‘OH WHAT A FEELING’ imagery of players from across all 18 AFL clubs, to excite the 120+ guests invited on the day. Lunch was hosted by Ambassador Brad McEwen, and featured panelists Jordan Lewis, Erin Phillips and Shaun Burgoyne who answered questions and entertained invitees.
The Toyota Countdown was highlight of the 2019 AFL Finals series, as well as featuring in the final minute before the bounce on Grand Final Day. It was a sixty second, high-energy montage of brilliant AFL highlights featuring the two teams about to do battle; all the amazing feelings that it took to get there. It showed fans, players and coaches letting their emotions free, jumping for joy… ‘’OH WHAT A FEELING’’ in a nutshell.
