MTN innovates with Man U competition

By harnessing the power of social networking and empowering fans to be its ambassadors, MTN South Africa is offering its customers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be one of five winners to see football giants Manchester United play live at Old Trafford.

“We sent our Ayoba hero, Ray, together with five friends, to Manchester earlier this year to experience first-hand the highlights and euphoria that our winners, with five of their friends each, will experience on their trip to Manchester. They documented their experiences step-by-step. They subsequently made it live on a combination of social media channels, where followers, friends and fans are able to 'join' them on their adventure,” says Natasha Basson, acting general manager for brand and communications at MTN South Africa.

This kind of campaign strategy that utilises the various social platforms in an integrated fashion is a first for MTN South Africa. The use of social media is creating an exciting buzz for entrants who envisage themselves in Manchester.

“By using social media, our prospective winners and their friends are becoming MTN ambassadors by sharing their experiences with their families, friends and other Manchester United fans. The public will be able to vicariously experience our winners and their friends' journey through our innovative use of social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Google Earth, and YouTube,” continues Basson.

MTN announced its partnership with Manchester United Football Club (MUFC) in 2010, to become the exclusive South African telecommunications partner of the world's best-supported football club.

The competition remains open to MTN subscribers only. To enter, subscribers can simply SMS “Ayoba Man Utd” to 30577 to stand in line to win this truly Ayoba experience.

“MTN is the local touch point for information, content, and experiences from Manchester United. With an estimated global fan base of 333 million people, the Manchester United agreement positions MTN at the forefront of premier league football followers in South Africa,” concludes Basson.

Fans can follow all the action on the following platforms:

http://www.mtnmanutd.co.za/ http://www.facebook.com/mtnmanunited http://twitter.com/MTNManUnited http://foursquare.com/mtnmanunited http://www.flickr.com/mtnmanunited http://www.youtube.com/mtnmanunited