How Four'N Twenty uses sports partnerships to sell pies
How Four'N Twenty uses sports partnerships to sell pies
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If you’re Australian, you’ll know about Four’N Twenty. A subsidiary of Patties Foods, they’re an iconic Australian brand famous for the humble meat pie. Showcased in its most recent TVC, Four’N Twenty has shared 75+ years of rich history alongside Australia’s famous sporting moments and the brand has been successfully built through a variety of sports partnerships and associations. Here’s how they’ve achieved success over time…
“Australia’s original fan food”
An extensive sports partnership portfolio has allowed Four’N Twenty to associate their brand, and distribute their products with the thing that Australian’s are most passionate about - sport.
Using a mixture of interconnecting, cross-code sports partnerships, Four’N Twenty’s sports partnerships have:
Reflected their brand values
Reinforced their brand strategy and positioning as an iconic Australian brand
Supported their global expansion strategies
Sports partnerships with ambassadors, teams, leagues and media have enabled them to reach and connect with sports fans on every level - from professional sport, down to the community, building strong associations, salience and brand equity.
Four’N Twenty have built their brand story through sport. Here’s a taste of their (past & present) chunky portfolio of sports partnerships …
Ambassador partnerships - Jonathan Brown, Tayla Harris, Ben Simmons. Many other Australian icons and legends have been affiliated with Four’N Twenty in recent times, including George Gregan, Steven Bradbury and Jordan Mailata.
Team partnerships - Sydney Swans FC, Port Adelaide FC and Philadelphia 76ers. In addition to their local sports partnerships, Four’N Twenty also partnered with the Philadelphia 76ers. This coincided with their partnership with Ben Simmons and formed part of their expansion into the USA. As part of this partnership, Four’N Twenty were given naming rights to the “Australian Heritage Game”.
League and governing body partnerships - AFL and NSW Rugby Union. Arguably the most iconic sports association Four’N Twenty have, is with arguably Australia’s most popular sport, AFL.
Stadium partnerships - Marvel Stadium. Four’N Twenty stadium partnerships not only ensures strong visibility on match day, it creates a distribution opportunity for Four’N Twenty to put pies in the mouths of fans whilst they’re watching their team.
Media partnerships – Fox Footy. The “Pie Night” has been a long standing tradition for local football clubs and through their partnership with Fox Footy, Four’N Twenty are able to reinforce this unique tradition to the masses, enabling it to further embed itself into the rituals and routines of sports fans, clubs and communities all across Australia, at scale.
Ambush. Sports partnerships are often expensive, and there are limitations on how large brands can build their portfolio’s. Four’N Twenty have often adopted creative tactics to ambush other sporting codes and properties to build and strengthen associations to the sports that they don’t sponsor.
How do sports partnerships and associations build brands? A meat pie case study…
Mental availability - there is no escape for your senses!
At any given moment, some thoughts are more top of mind, or more accessible than others, some thoughts are chronically embedded, and others are triggered by the surrounding environment. There is no shortage of meat pie-triggers when Australian fans attend live sport - Stadium signage, integration on the big screen, experiential concourse activations, or even the smell of a warm pie wafting through the inner concourse from the many food outlets located around the stadium… The more meat pie triggers fans are exposed to, the more frequently they will be triggered to act and purchase a pie - Everyone knows the feeling. Consistent and constantly used associations such as a “pie at the footy”, create distinctive memory structures that bring Four’N Twenty front of mind when people are engaged with sport, whether it be at the professional or community level, at the game, or on the screen.
Physical availability - I’ll have a pie, please.
Once triggered by the thought, sight or smell of a meat pie, a quick purchase is usually easily available on game day - Four’N Twenty pies are stocked throughout most Australian stadiums and if it isn’t convenient enough to get off your seat at half time to walk a few meters, at many stadiums they can delivered straight to your seat… maybe even by Jordan Mailata.
The convenience of buying a meat pie can be the difference between buying one or not. At the community level, they’re a staple at many local sport clubs’ canteen’s and for many local players, it’s a ritual to reward yourself with a pie following the game. Four’N Twenty’s pie distribution strategy aligns perfectly with it’s advertising.
A cultural habit or tradition? Or both? Either way, no trip to the footy is complete without a pie
Four’N Twenty has managed to embed itself into the rituals and routines of Australian sport thanks to it’s long standing ties to Australian sport… The book, “The Power of Habit” explains how this meat pie phenomenon has been created - The author, Charles Duhigg believes:
“Cravings are what drives habits”
and habits are created by a simple action loop that consists of a cue, a routine, and a reward. Through their sports partnerships and associations, Four’N Twenty have built strong cue’s (Australian’s are triggered to think of a meat pie when they attend, participate or think about sport), that drives a routine (purchasing a meat pie) which yields a reward (eating a hot pie whilst watching sport). The craving is created because Four’N Twenty pies are so delicious and this is what drives the loop.
The Affect Transfer - Australian’s love sport… and pie’s.
Australian’s are passionate about sport, and there is a phenomenon known as ‘affect transfer’ that explains why aligning to things people are passionate about, can positively impact brand equity. In this article, Professor Hume Winzar from the Macquarie Business School explains that:
“…your emotions towards one object becomes associated with another object.”
Four’N Twenty have built a strong brand moat through associating with the sports and teams that Australian’s love, and thanks to the affect transfer, for many people they’re the near-only option considered when selecting which type of pie to purchase.
Continued growth through sports partnerships…
The Four’N Twenty brand has captured the hearts and mouths of Australian’s, and has ambitions to expand internationally. Early signs indicate that they’re adopting a similar growth model to the one they’ve successfully implemented within Australia - associating themselves with sport through partnerships, to build their brand and sell pies.
