Betfair Stunt Is A Cut Above The Rest

A few weeks ago we blogged about a great stunt from Betfair who at the time were coding women’s’ behinds, but they might have just gone one better with their latest stunt.

The betting site are now backing FA Cup underdogs Bromley FC during their match against League One side Leyton Orient tomorrow. How I hear you cry? By trimming QR codes into the hair on the Bromley's starting line-up's heads which when scanned with a smartphone will take the user directly to the Betfair site.

And who would you recruit to do such an intricate and demanding task? Why Daniel Thomas of course, the main behind a host of Premiership trims including the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Jermaine Defoe.

Johnson said: “I'm used to styling footballers' hair - and trust me I've had some weird requests from them before - but this was in a different league.

“The QR cuts certainly put my skills to the test.”

Make no mistake this is another fantastic piece of PR for the betting site, but it is also of benefit to the club, something their boss, Mark Goldberg, understands.

He said: “This is a great tie up for the club, a little unconventional, but great nonetheless.

“The lads were shocked when I asked them to take part but they know what this could mean for the club and they're looking forward to showing them off in our biggest game of the season on Saturday.”

There are a number of reasons why this stunt caught my eye, the first one being, well, that it caught my eye with some truly unique and striking images.

Secondly as far as I’m aware it’s the first time anything like this has been done, which is always a great way to maximise press impact.

Another great aspect of the stunt is that it doesn’t stray from what either party (the site or the club) are about. Betfair are a betting site, cutting footballers’ hair during a classic cup tie which will be watched by thousands. There’s nothing cryptic about it yet the association raises the profile of both site and club simultaneously.

Bringing in a celeb trimmer, especially one who was responsible for the most talked about footballing hair this season – Wayne Rooney’s – adds that little bit of extra detail to the story.

The fact that they chose to do the stunt with a club outside the football league also reinforces the message that they aren’t just interested in top level sports, they’re interested in all sports, which will always play well with diehard fans.

Finally, this is not an expensive stunt and therefore the return on investment in terms of media coverage achieved will have been huge.

Once again hats (or should it be hair) off to Betfair who have come up with a memorable stunt that’s a real cut above the rest.