The National Football League has hosted games outside the US annually since 2007, not only providing fans with new access to their teams but also teams with greater access to a growing global fanbase. This season, three games were scheduled for London, the first of which featured the Seattle Seahawks against the Oakland Raiders on October 14th at historic Wembley Stadium.
Not surprisingly, both teams took to their digital platforms to promote their international travels and engage fans both at home and locally. While both did a tremendous job showcasing their adventures on social with both video and photos, what was even more innovative and effective was the Raiders use of mobile for fan engagement.
Their engagement efforts began on Friday, as the Raiders touched down (no pun intended!) on UK soil, promoting their visits to historical monuments across the city, before making their way to their official London bar, the Admiralty Pub. Hundreds of fans showed up for the rare opportunity to hang out with team officials and other passionate fans.
Leveraging Rover, the Raiders promoted their pub event through a strong piece of mobile app content. It highlighted the event details and showcased their limited-edition pint glass that fans could grab in attendance.
So how did the Raiders ensure London-native fans and fans travelling abroad would receive the content? Through contextual targeting. On Thursday, the day prior to their event, they targeted London-area fans and on Friday, they also pushed content to all of their fans who were near the pub itself.
In another effort to engage their UK fans leading up to their big game, the Raiders produced a game day guide. This guide provided helpful information for fans to plan out their gameday with details about how to get to the game, find the tailgate, and seamlessly get through Wembley Stadium security. It also included a stadium map, a link for fans to purchase gear from their online Raiders shop, and a Google Maps experience providing directions to the stadium.
