The genesis of the campaign was born from an interview Matthews filmed with Herald Sun journalist Mike Sheahan on Fox Sports’ Open Mike program (screened 28 March 2011).
In the interview, Matthews spoke about his strong alignment with Hawthorn Football Club despite having achieved premiership success as senior coach at Collingwood and Brisbane Lions since his playing career with the Hawks.
“Hawthorn’s been the opposition for 25 years, but the Club you played for is the one that embraces you as part of them much more than the teams that you’ve coached,” Matthews said on the program.
“I’ll always feel a bit more aligned to Hawthorn than the other clubs I’ve been heavily involved with.”
The concept of the highly emotive campaign is that every Hawks player, member, past player, official and supporter can recall the moment they became ALWAYS HAWTHORN.
As part of the campaign, Matthews recorded a video message to members and supporters, passionately describing what makes him ALWAYS HAWTHORN.
The campaign features past players Gary Ayres and Peter Knights, number one female ticket holder Helen Kapalos, passionate Hawthorn members Andrew and six year old daughter Jessica, primary school student Lucas, and Cheersquad member Trevor.
Captain Luke Hodge, along with Lance Franklin and Cyril Rioli also took part in the campaign, outlining the moment they became ALWAYS HAWTHORN.
The campaign, conceptualised and produced with Thirst Creative, features a portrait photograph of the ten ambassadors involved.
The striking images are uniform, which has been a deliberate design consideration to signify that every ALWAYS HAWTHORN story is as important as the next; regardless of whether it’s Lance Franklin speaking about becoming ALWAYS HAWTHORN when he was presented with the No. 23 guernsey, or Cheersquad member Trevor declaring he signed up his granddaughter as a member before she was born.
Hawthorn CEO Stuart Fox is calling on all Hawks supporters to show they’re ALWAYS HAWTHORN by becoming a 2012 member.
“Our team is much more than the players who are so talented and dedicated, the coaches who are so committed to the game, our staff and volunteers who work so hard off-field - it includes all of our members who wear the brown and gold and cheer so passionately at every game,” Fox said.
“We achieved a record 56,224 members in 2011, which included a record-high 8,499 Tassie Hawk members, and I encourage every Hawthorn member and supporter to embrace this campaign, recall the moment they became ALWAYS HAWTHORN and help the Club achieve 60,000 members in 2012.”
“With our Round 1 match up against Grand Finalist Collingwood, I suggest every Hawks supporter sign up as a 2012 member to ensure their seat at what promises to be a blockbuster season opener and an exciting year for our Club.”
The 2012 campaign has multiple elements to it, including a highly interactive online campaign, match-day promotions and experiences, and downloadable wallpaper and profile art. 2012 members can also expect a compelling TVC, which is coming soon.
To view the first ten ALWAYS HAWTHORN stories, visit the Club’s membership website membership.hawthornfc.com.au
2012 Hawks members - download your ALWAYS HAWTHORN wallpaper, iPhone background, facebook profile picture and twibbon
