Vauxhall Drives Fans Closer to International Football

Vauxhall last week empowered the fans to get up close and personal with players, managers and legends from Home Nations football.

The sponsors of Home Nations football delivered a number of exclusive twitter question and answer sessions on their dedicated England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales' twitter handles.

In the first opportunity of its kind with Ashley Cole, ahead of winning his 100th cap, England fans were asked to send in their questions and Cole responded to them directly via a video message which was published on YouTube.

Whilst in Scotland fans were given the chance to quiz new National team coach, Gordon Strachan, before his first game in charge against Estonia.

Strachan took time out of his busy training schedule to answer questions on the selection of his Scotland team and even his preference for steak bakes against pasties!

Twitter reach totalled over 11 million during an international week that also included competitions, a hide and tweet ticket giveaway and a viral video to celebrate Ashley Cole’s 100th cap.

Chris Hornbuckle, Head of Sponsorship at Vauxhall, said; "The response from the fans to our exclusive activity last week has been phenomenal.

"Through our twitter takeover programme we are aiming to get the fans closer to life inside the international camps and give them the chance to put their own questions to players, managers and legends at the heart of Home Nations football.

Working closely with the respective football associations we have been able to deliver a truly unique fan engagement opportunity and look forward to giving the fans a behind the scenes view of international football in the future.”

Vauxhall facilitated twitter takeovers across the four nations on @VauxhallEngland, @VauxhallNI, @VauxhallScot and @Vauxhall_Wales and included question and answer sessions with former international captains Kevin Ratcliffe, David Weir and Gerry Taggart as well as leading journalists John Cross and Henry Winter.

As part of their extended digital programme Vauxhall are offering fans the chance to play at their national stadiums in Vauxhall’s Big Pitch which is in its third year.

Since the launch in 2011 Vauxhall now have over sixty thousand followers on their social media platforms across all nations.

View Ashley Cole’s question and answer session with the England fans - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuaKT-KRNuE

Watch the Ashley Cole 100 caps celebration video - http://po.st/SgfpXt

For more information go to Vauxhall’s dedicated football website www.vauxhallfootball.co.uk

Precision Goalkeeping Represented on International Stage

Precision Goalkeeping's David Forde started for the Republic of Ireland in last week's friendly against Poland.

Ireland's 2-0 victory over Poland in Dublin last week was Forde's fourth clean sheet in his fifth Irish game.

The 31-year-old could start next month’s qualifiers against Sweden and Austria despite never playing in a competitive international match.

Precision Goalkeeping's ambassador Kasper Schmeichel, won his first international cap as Denmark played Macedonia last Wednesday.

Schmeichel's debut in Skopje ended in a 3-0 defeat against Macedonia with all goals conceded in the first half.

He was expected to make his Denmark debut against Turkey back in November, but he was forced to withdraw from the squad due to injury.

Follow Precision Goalkeeping on twitter - click here

Coppinger breaks into Top 20

MANTIS ambassador Stephen Coppinger has become the first South African since the late 70's to break into the top 20, he has moved up 3 positions in the PSA Men's World Rankings to number 20.

The 28 year old made a stunning start to the New Year by reaching the quarter finals of both the Tournament of Champions an Motor City Open, unseeded- in the former upsetting higher-ranked Englishmen Peter Baker and Adrian Grant to make the last eight of a PSA World Series event for the first time.

"It is obviously fantastic for me to get into the top 20 and a sure sign that the hard work is paying off with good results over the last few months," explained the five-time South African national champion. "I am based in Orlando now for a lot of the season, working with David Palmer, and it has been great to be able to work with him and draw on his wealth of experience in the game.

"Rodney Durbach has also been a huge influence over the last five years and continues to help me a lot too. Hopefully with their help, and others around them, I will be able to keep climbing the ladder bit by bit."

Follow MANTIS on Twitter - click here

Become a fan of MANTIS on Facebook - click here

The Future of Scottish Football debated at Soccerex European Forum

Soccerex is pleased to announce that key representatives from the Scottish FA will all be speaking on the ‘The Future of Scottish Football’ panel hosted by David Davies, at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester, 10-11 April.

National Coach Gordon Strachan, Chief Executive Stewart Regan, Second Vice President Rod Petrie and Performance Director Mark Wotte will all discuss the Scottish FA's modernisation plans and outline their vision for the future, relating to the recently published strategic plan, Scotland United.

Looking over the recent challenges as well as the future development of Scottish football, the panel will discuss and analyse the implementation and legacy of the Henry McLeish’s Review of Scottish Football. Published in 2010, the former Scottish First Minister laid out a clear vision for Scottish football with five key elements that needed to bed addressed: Performance, Strong Quality Growth, Governance of the Game, Better Financial Returns and League Reconstruction.

For more information on Soccerex - click here

"Have a Pukka Pie Day" Launches Today

Pukka Pies launch a national television campaign to further drive brand awareness and prompt customers to make a purchase today.

The advert will feature a variety of people from various age groups enjoying their own interpretation of a “Pukka Pie Day!” all in good humour.

Britain’s favourite branded pie, who celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2013, will launch a light hearted national advert on the 11th of February and will run until the 28th February.

The multi-channel campaign will incorporate creative and activation across POS and the ever expanding Pukka Pies’ social media platforms.

Wayne Greensmith, Marketing Manager for Pukka Pies, said; “2013 is a very important year for Pukka Pies being our 50th year in business. The brand continues to go from strength to strength and maintains its position as No.1 brand in hot pie chilled category (Source: AC Nielsen Jan-Dec 2012) and this TV campaign demonstrates our commitment to investing in the brand helping drive sales for all our customers.”

For more details on Pukka Pies - click here

Gordon Strachan Twitter Takeover

Vauxhall, the Scotland team sponsor, hosted a Q & A for new National team coach Gordon Strachan on their twitter page.

Ahead of his first game in charge against Estonia, Strachan answered fans questions directly via the @VauxhallScot twitter account.

Using the hashtag #askGordon, Strachan answered a variety of questions ranging from qualification hopes to what he usually buys in a chip shop!

Read The Telegraph's report - click here

Read the full twitter takeover - click here

Follow @VauxhallScot on twitter - click here

Vauxhall Celebrate Ashley Cole Achievement in ‘Glorious’ Fashion

Vauxhall, the England team sponsor, has released a celebratory video to commemorate Ashley Cole’s 100th cap for his country.

The video, which is available on YouTube (http://po.st/SgfpXt), provides a look back at Ashley Cole singing the national anthem during a number of his 100 appearances for England.

Cole, won his 100th cap against Brazil at Wembley last Wednesday and joins an illustrious list of players with 100 caps including Peter Shilton (125), David Beckham (115), Bobby Moore (108), Bobby Charlton (106) and Billy Wright (105) and current captain Steven Gerrard (100).

England centurion Cole commented, “I am very proud to have received 100 caps for England and grateful to Vauxhall for commemorating it with this video. The national anthem always makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up before the game and I feel honoured to have played for my country.”

Peter Hope, Marketing Director at Vauxhall, said; “As proud sponsors of Home Nations football we are delighted to celebrate Ashley Cole’s achievement with this video and congratulate him on his career for England.”

View the full video - click here