The recent Ricky Hatton Vs Manny Pacquiao fight was surrounded in hype as the nation’s expectations weighed down on the Mancunian fighter. It was one of the highlights in the Sky Sports calendar, with a key goal for the campaign being building box office revenue in the 48 hours leading up to the fight.  

Manchester and London were key audiences, and it was critical we hit as many eyeballs as possible in these cities in the 48 hours prior to the bout. The obvious choice was to go digital, as it offers the flexibility, dynamism, and cut-through we required.  

We bought key digital sites on the London transport network, and iconic sites in Manchester (Hatton’s hometown), to offer both scale and impact. To maximise value, we used the underground in the evening which targeted guys heading back from their after work drinks. Overall it was a very successful campaign. 

Whilst the fight may not have lived up to the hype, it did allow ipm to deliver another knockout campaign.

By Craig Barber