Being born in Leicester used to be something I kept to myself. It's not exactly the greatest of places and no one really knew anything about it. That was all until Leicester City Football Club decided to defy the 5000/1 odds to win the Premier League 15/16. 'To put that in context, the odds of Kim Kardashian becoming the US President and Elvis being found alive were both 2,000-1.'*

The season before they were newly promoted and, like most teams who come up, battling relegation back to the Championship. Then came the revival. They kept themselves from going down, and kept the momentum. The following season the unthinkable happened.
But it's not just the sporting victory that caught my eye. It's the successful marketing they have taken on since their achievement.

Captain Morgan
'Captain Morgan, a rum brand, played a blinder. The spirit brand released a limited edition bottle of their rum honouring Leicester’s triumphant captain,Wes Morgan, who also rather handily captains the Jamaica national team.  The bottle features the Morgan adorned in nautical Leicester colour blue and white robes.'* Fans were keen to get to get their hands on the limited edition bottle and Twitter erupted with the hashtag, #OnlyOneCaptainMorgan, even Wes Morgan got involved.


Walkers
Crisps brand Walkers is an institution in the UK and was founded in 1948 in Leicester. Its long-time brand ambassador, former footballer turned TV personality Gary Linker, is one of Leicester’s most famous sons, and famously pledged to present Match of the Day in his pants if his beloved Leicester managed to win the league.When Leicester completed their remarkable feat, Walkers took out a full-page ad featuring Linker superimposed on a muscular frame with L.C.F.C tattooed across his chest and wearing nothing but underwear, holding a special bag of Salt and Victory flavour Walkers crisps. These commemorative bags were sold in local shops and all profits went to the Leicester’s charity foundation. 


#Fearless
Leicester City have branded themselves as the Fearless Foxes with the hashtag being encouraged during match days. But it's not just social media that took on this branding. A whole exhibition was put together.
'Fearless Foxes The Exhibition paid tribute to City’s magnificent 2015/16 title-winning campaign by collating video footage, photography and memorabilia to take you back through the Club’s stunning turnaround in fortunes.  
A timeline of the season starts with the Foxes’ opening-day win over Sunderland and runs right the way through to the Premier League trophy lift, with all the magical moments in between.'**


Jamie Vardy Masks
Jamie Vardy was, no doubt, the star of Leicester City's victories and quickly became a household name and favourite. He stuck to the club that gave him his chance and turned down many big money offers in the process. The club however did repay him for his loyalty on Boxing Day. Jamie 'Vardy may have been suspended for Leicester's Boxing Day clash against Everton, but the club made sure his face was certainly not missed at the King Power Stadium! That's because the Premier League champions left 30,000 Vardy face masks on the seats for the home supporters to wear.'*** Even Vardy himself was spotted wearing one.


Walkers
The fantasy dream is still strong this season. They may have sacked their manager and be struggling again in the Premier League, but last night they did something that Arsenal haven't been able to do for the past seven seasons - qualify to the last 8 of the Champions League and Walkers made sure they were right there again for another twist in their incredible story.
Special edition 'Snap and Share’ packs – appropriately named ‘Cheers & Onion’ were made over with the Leicester City iconic fox mascot, in celebration of the match.The special edition packs were handed out to fans upon entry to the stadium to help them get into the match spirit. Fans in the stadium can light up their social media channels with the packs, which gave them the chance to win a signed LCFC shirt, courtesy of Walkers. Fans are being encouraged to take a picture combining their face and the fox’s and upload it to Twitter or Instagram using #Fearless and #Walkers by 15th March 2017, to be entered into the draw. For those unable to make the match, Walkers’ new ‘Snap and Share’ sharing packs are available across the country featuring cheering football faces',**** which were originally launched in collaboration with the Champions League. 

All the activations have all been super successful in keeping the clubs name worldwide, and that's without mentioning the book deals and even potential films that are being lined up. Leicester have become everyone's favourite second team and even when the hype potentially dies down, I'm sure we won't forget the crazy victories of Leicester City.




*http://www.marketing-interactive.com/real-time-marketing-lessons-leicester-city-football-club/
**http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/2016-17/ranieri-visits-fearless-foxes-exhibition-3356836.aspx
***http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11712/10708117/leicester-fans-to-don-30000-jamie-vardy-masks