Shepherds Friendly, the Manchester-based mutual society, has launched its debut pitch-side advertising campaign with a digital series of adverts being displayed throughout the later stages of rugby league’s Challenge Cup.
In-motion ads highlighting the society’s investment and insurance offering featured in the round of quarter-final matches on 11 and 12 April, the semi-finals on 9 and 10 May and will appear again in the final at Wembley stadium on 30 May.
Wigan Warriors beat Saints 32-0 in the first of the semi-finals, while current champions Hull KR overcame the Warrington Wolves 32-12 to set up the first final clash between Hull KR and Wigan in Challenge Cup history after Warrington’s semi-final defeat ensured there would be no repeat of last year’s final line up. TV viewing figures look set to match those of the 2025 final, which drew in a peak audience of 1.2 million.
The nascent partnership comes in a year of milestones for both the competition and the mutual. The final will be the 125th in the Challenge Cup’s history, while Shepherds Friendly celebrates its 200th anniversary on Christmas Day this year.
To mark the bicentennial, Shepherds Friendly has lined up a series of events throughout the year, and is also planning a Meta, out of home and radio advertising campaign celebrating the anniversary. Linear TV has been added to its advertising schedule this year for the first time, while video-on-demand ads continue on ITVX.
Zac Chetwynd, head of marketing at Shepherds Friendly, said: “Rugby League and Shepherds Friendly were founded less than 30 miles from one another well over a century ago. We felt there could be no better time for Shepherds Friendly to partner with the Challenge Cup than when we are both celebrating milestones, of 200 and 125 years, respectively.
“We hope this campaign will give greater exposure to the mutual, highlight the benefits we provide to our members and act as a strategic accompaniment to our existing marketing campaigns across Meta, OOH, radio and TV.”
The Challenge Cup final will once again be shown live on the BBC.
