To celebrate the return of Fall football, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America is teaming up with The Athletic, the world’s leading digital sports media company, to explore the world of (ir)rational fan love through the Fall Football Superstition Swap campaign.
Until September 30th 2024, football fans can share what they do to bring good luck to their favourite teams at theathletic.com/superstitionswap in return for complimentary access to the “All 32” feature article, offering a scoop on every team based on Senior NFL Insider Dianna Russini’s insight and the in-depth reporting of The Athletic’s dozens of full-time local NFL team beat writers.
Whether it be the jersey that’s never been washed or a team fight song played every single pregame, game day rituals and superstitions are as core to the football season as advanced statistics, behind-the-scenes reporting, and playoff predictions. So, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment North America helped The Athletic honour simple good luck and fan dedication through the following elements:
Supporting Statistics Via Commissioned Survey
Prior to kick-off, the team commissioned a survey through OnePoll to illustrate the powerful relationship between the head and the heart in football fandom. The results found that over 70% of football fans who do game-day rituals for good luck truly believe they DO make their team play better, and more than a third (37%) of fantasy players change their lineups based on whether they have done their game day ritual.
Leveraging the Authenticity of Celebrity Fandom
We turned to some familiar faces - including The Athletic subscribers and die-hard football fans Kylie Kelce, Anthony Ramos and Sam Richardson - to share their long-held-and-hardly-known superstitions, including caps and jerseys worn every game, to encourage fans to be loud and proud of their game day rituals. These superstitions were then illustrated by The New York times and featured in OOH in Philadelphia, New York and Detroit.
Engaging Consumers In Key Target Markets
The Athletic is also hosting watch parties with its NFL editorial talent to gather as much good luck as possible in a single space for key games at the start of the season in major football-centric cities throughout September.
September 5th: Baltimore @ Kansas City hosted by The Athletic Football Show
September 19th: New England @ New York hosted by Scoop City and Anthony Ramos
September 30th: Seattle @ Detroit
The balance of the emotional and analytical is exactly what The Athletic delivers for football fans, so merging game-day rituals with expert analysis for the brand was a no brainer. After implementing a strategic media relations approach consisting of embargo outreach, exclusive talent interviews, targeted regional and national pitches, the team has secured 133 PR placements reaching 4B+ impressions, along with nine broadcast segments and 20 earned social posts to date!
