THE FIRST EVER DIGITAL CUP FINAL

Fri 26th Feb 2010 | Marketing & PR

Sunday's Carling Cup Final at Wembley is set to be the first ever digital cup final when Manchester United face Aston Villa.

Carling are giving fans the opportunity to join a digital roll of honour as part of the trophy celebrations, post messages on Wembley Way, create their own personalised banners inside the stadium and take part in the biggest ever live Twitter commentary.

In a first for a cup final, supporters will have the chance to virtually join their team for the trophy lift with the names of 100 supporters celebrated on advertising boards around the stadium at the very moment the winning captain holds the famous trophy aloft.

Other digital initiatives include the converting of the iconic Bobby Moore Bridge into a giant message board for fans, whilst inside Wembley they are to hand over a third of its pitch-side advertising for fans to create their own personalised banners at the final.

To encourage fans to get involved we've pledged to give a £1 donation to the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK for every new banner design or message submitted - and are hoping to raise £10,000.

All activity will be tracked across the social media platform as well as the topics supporters are discussing around the game via a new Tweet-o-Meter which we have created with students at University College London.

Supporters will also be asked to choose some of the music on the day - a shortlist of songs will be posted at the Carling website and the song which receives the most votes will be featured in the post-match celebrations.

Carling Brand Director Martin Coyle said: "Our ambition is always to give fans a bigger voice and get them involved with the competition every step of the way - the great thing about digital activity is that it gives everyone the opportunity to have their say in what should be a superb occasion.

"With all the activity we’ve got lined up on Sunday we genuinely believe that this is the first ever digital cup final. It should be a cracking game and if our activity can add a little more to the overall experience then it’ll be a great way to celebrate 50 years of the competition."

Stephanie Moore MBE added: "I know Bobby would have been very proud to be linked to this fantastic initiative and I am delighted that it is raising money for bowel cancer research in his memory. Bowel cancer claimed his life in 1993 and the disease continues to claim the lives of 44 men and women every day in this country."

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