Problem
By trying to reach everybody, the NFL lost its grip on its core audience: avid football fans. It needed a return to pure fandom celebrating its truest followers.
Solution
We made Sundays special again using random Instagram influencers who just happened to be huge football fans. We spoke to Gen Z and millennials in their second-screen language—poking the bear with inside jokes, taunts, and moments only real fans would understand. AKA “Purists.”
By trying to reach everybody, the NFL lost its grip on its core audience: avid football fans. It needed a return to pure fandom celebrating its truest followers.
Solution
We made Sundays special again using random Instagram influencers who just happened to be huge football fans. We spoke to Gen Z and millennials in their second-screen language—poking the bear with inside jokes, taunts, and moments only real fans would understand. AKA “Purists.”
Results
As recorded by our benchmarking agency at the time, the campaign delivered:
- 26% lift in tune in (target audiences watching the game)
- 3x higher conversion than average engagement
- 11.6% higher engagement than paid media
At the time, it became the most successful organic social media brand campaign in the NFL’s history (but if we’re being honest that record has probably long since been broken).
As recorded by our benchmarking agency at the time, the campaign delivered:
- 26% lift in tune in (target audiences watching the game)
- 3x higher conversion than average engagement
- 11.6% higher engagement than paid media
At the time, it became the most successful organic social media brand campaign in the NFL’s history (but if we’re being honest that record has probably long since been broken).
