Standard Chartered celebrates ‘King’ Kenny Dalglish in Liverpool FC campaign

Posters, sticker albums, and now YouTube montages. These are the mediums that spring to mind when it comes to celebrating sporting heroes.

As such, Standard Chartered’s latest campaign for global sporting super brand Liverpool FC’s 125th birthday—the bank is the club’s main sponsor—has a certain appeal for going against the grain.

It is well known that young people are the ones who actively, some might say fervently, celebrate their sports heroes. So to produce a children’s e-book to commemorate one of Liverpool FC’s greatest ever players is both a sweet tribute and a canny piece of marketing.

‘Number 7 – King Kenny’ can be accessed for free, either as a pdf or online both visually and in audio format, and tells the story of Dalglish from humble beginnings to 1970s football genius and finally bona fide legend.

A limited number of hard copies are available to those who participate in Standard Chartered and LFC promotions throughout the year, expertly ticking both the 'continued engagement' and 'offer something exclusive' marketing boxes. 

That the campaign was produced in Asia-Pacific, by IPG’s sports marketing unit Octagon in Singapore, speaks to the huge following Liverpool FC have in these parts, which Standard Chartered has sensibly capitalised on.

The e-book is available in six languages: English, traditional and simplified Chinese, Bahasa Melayu, Bahasa Indonesia, Vietnamese and Korean. A short film, produced by IPG’s Milkmoney, promotes the campaign. Wistful and rather pat, it nonetheless gets across the concept of the e-book and King Kenny’s exalted status that to this day, young Liverpool FC fans genuinely still know about.

It’s also a clever theme for Standard Chartered to highlight, that of legacy. As Emma Sheller, global head of brand and marketing, states: “Kenny Dalglish is a man who has inspired LFC and its fans across generations. It’s the type of legacy Standard Chartered wants to support our clients to leave behind for their own generations to come.”

This campaign is part of the bank’s season-long LFC content series ‘The Power of Numbers’, which includes other players and highlights meaningful numbers in the club’s history.

As LFC’s main sponsor, Standard Chartered has a wealth of inspiring and engaging stories to choose from, of which this is an innovative example.