What the brand needed
With an estimated combined player value of over 11 billion euros, the Premier League has flourished to become the wealthiest football league in the world. However, every division below it has fewer resources on an exponentially decreasing scale. Less money, for instance, means lower quality in terms of players, coaching staff, and a myriad of other factors.
Every sports fan believes they can do a better job, but gamers get to actually play out that dream with a closely related gaming franchise – Football Manager. What if their gaming skills could level the playing field in real life, though? This sparked the idea for ‘The Everyday Tactician,’ a campaign to find a Football Analyst for Bromley FC, a team stuck in the National League, four divisions below the Premier League.
Football Manager 2024, the latest edition in the popular management franchise, was due for launch on 6 November 2023. More importantly, though, was the fact that it would be available from day one on Game Pass – Xbox’s subscription service akin to Netflix, giving subscribers access to hundreds of titles for a monthly fee. ‘The Everyday Tactician’ would tie in with its release period, neatly driving awareness around the gameplay mechanics that allow gamers to test their mettle as a manager.
Insights and execution
Football is a universally understood sport, followed and loved by millions, making ‘The Everyday Tactician’ a fascinating story to follow, regardless of its Football Manager 2024 tie-in (which would specifically appeal to gamers). Meanwhile, the paid partnership with Bromley FC would create real stakes and credibility, offering fans the opportunity to live out the dream of being part of a club’s management team.
‘The Everyday Tactician’ was a complex campaign, requiring close collaboration between multiple stakeholders to pull off its one-of-a-kind “job application”. The launch of Football Manager 2024, available day one on Xbox Game Pass, was shortly followed by an announcement from Bromley FC’s manager, Andy Woodman, to formally kick things off.
Gamers were excited by the opportunity, but how could they apply for the role? This was our part in the campaign – simplifying and streamlining the complex entry process through a slick website. Bromley were on the hunt for serious talent, after all, so there were several prerequisites that needed to be communicated clearly and facilitated seamlessly to ensure only the best pool of potential candidates were considered.
Applicants, for instance, needed to unlock an achievement in Football Manager 2024, as well as create and share a 1-minute video. These requirements, and more, were managed through the page, which drove interest around the campaign, housed important information, and collated crucial entry material, all the while adhering to Microsoft’s strict, albeit highly necessary privacy and data policies.
The results
Exclusive to the United Kingdom, ‘The Everyday Tactician’ ran for just under a month, after which a candidate – Nathan Owalabi – was chosen and offered a paid, six-month contract. Before his success though, our website had already scored several goals:
of fans applied after visiting the page
page visits in under a month
of applications done on mobile in under a minute
The overall campaign had an unbelievable, fairy-tale ending, with Bromley FC having their best season in their 130-year history, including a promotion to League Two. This was all preceded by other huge wins:
pieces of digital coverage
combined reach
increase in football manager players
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