Innovation Award 2017

tv & Supponor

Virtual Hybrid digiBOARD is a breakthrough in technology that combines ADI’s industry-leading perimeter LED system (installed at 22 Premier League and EFL clubs) with Supponor’s virtual replacement technology (used in LaLiga and NHL). Now sponsors can significantly increase revenue by commercialising the same perimeter media space multiple times over – delivering different perimeter advertising content to individual broadcast territories, whilst clubs maintain visual LED in stadium.

Perimeter advertising in sport is one of the most high profile and high value media assets a club or federation has, due to its visibility amongst huge viewing audiences. The value of this media space has reached maturity in most sports, however, the emergence of augmented reality perimeter technology is the next great revenue opportunity for clubs and venues.

Clubs have been demanding a virtual replacement solution that integrates with digital LED displays for years and, working together, ADI and Supponor have been able to develop the world’s first Virtual-Hybrid solution.

Emirates FA Cup Story, Mischief PR

The FA identified that young people (16-34) weren’t as engaged with The FA Cup as before. The organisation is skilled at driving traditional press coverage, but this didn’t invigorate youth audiences.

Previous campaigns focused on the ‘adventure’ – David vs Goliath fixtures, visiting far-flung grounds – and this narrative still captivated. But for this season, we focused on the sentiment of ‘adventure’ and how could play out for our target audience.

We tasked fans throughout the season to share their ‘stories’ across social media – because it’s not just about players & teams, every fan has their own story to tell.

In lieu of large budgets, we used money-can’t-buy assets & behind-the-scenes access, leveraging assets alongside relationships with clubs & partners such as the BBC, BT Sport & Emirates to secure high-reaching influencers, allowing us to engage new, younger audiences

We gave global fans exclusive access to the Final, live streaming from Wembley.

In an FA-first, the Alternative Broadcast went live on The FA’s YouTube, charting behind-the-scenes moments & fresh perspectives of the match, presented by YouTube stars Theo Baker and Reev.

Everton FC

Premier League giants Everton Football Club have teamed up with the UK’s internet safety charity to launch a unique educational project aimed at teaching young men about the importance of appropriate online behaviour and online safety.

In a first for British football, the ground-breaking safeguarding initiative is being rolled out across Everton’s youth teams and wider footballing community, including staff and participants at the Club’s award winning charity Everton in the Community.

The central aim of the project is to tackle online issues of inappropriate sexualised behaviours, as well as educate young men to the dangers of being online, through a series of targeted educational workshops.

At a time where historic safeguarding failures of clubs and the game have been in the media spotlight This innovative awareness campaign highlighted the responsibilities and reach football club’s have to encourage behaviour change.

Supported by national government alongside a number safeguarding stakeholders this was the first time a football club was used to deliver such messages to fans.

Everton players took part in a promotional video encouraging people to report child abuse material they stumble upon online and used their home fixture against Burnley to promote behavioural change.

Huddersfield Town FC

The 2016/17 Season Card campaign was one of the most successful in the Huddersfield Town’s history.

Using the hashtag #WagnerRevolution, the campaign focused on the Club’s Head Coach David Wagner and the style of football that the team is producing around a gegenpressing system which has proved popular in Germany.

The pricing structure was purposefully made very simple, based on the values that Chairman Dean Hoyle built his business on, with single set prices for all stands at £179 for adults and seniors, £69 for U18s and £23 for U8s.

The campaign’s immediate promotion saw over 11,000 season cards sold in the first 4 days – a record for the Club.

Season card sales finally reached over 15,000, which in turn created a special atmosphere in the John Smith’s Stadium.

This led to some important home victories, many in the last minute of games, in a season which finished in Play Off success at Wembley this summer and the prize of Premier League football in Huddersfield.

Rangers FC

Rangers’ successfully engaged with their supporters and strengthened their bond with the Club over the course of the season by creating unique and memorable experiences which included from private press conferences with the Manager, surprise doorstep visits from the first team squad and opportunities to play on the hallowed turf at Ibrox Stadium on a matchday. The initiatives carried out within the campaign ensured that supporters were getting added value and rewarded them for their continued loyalty.

The content generated from these experiences resulted in massive engagement with supporters watching nearly 2,500 hours’ worth of content from the campaign on the Club’s YouTube channel alone. The campaign successfully catered for the various demographics included in the Club’s fan base and utilised a variety of touchpoints to engage with supporters in different environments which added authenticity.

Sport Structures

Sport Structures are an established sport consultancy and training provider and it’s that mix that has over the last year provided a high quality, cost effective, innovative and highly successful training and development services to professional football clubs community foundations at little or no cost. Our expertise developed over many years has been applied in a systematic way to enhance the service that foundations provide to their communities. We provide support in this way to fifteen clubs across the Premier and Football League.