The Front Row project was seen live during the worldwide TV broadcast of Manchester United vs Liverpool on 16th March, 2014. Restrictions on branding did not apply to our project during the live broadcast. However, due to the ownership of in-match footage by the Premier League, we were unable to show any of this in our wrap up film that was shared online to tell the story of the event. Finally, as it was a live broadcast, we had a moderation team in place to ensure we adhered to best practice guidelines.
Results
Google+ offers people the chance to get closer to the things they love. We wanted to show football fans how the platform could help them connect to their favourite club, and we began with the world’s most supported football club - Manchester United.
United has 650m fans worldwide, who are devoted to supporting the club - but less than 1% live in the UK, so very few get the chance to visit Old Trafford and show their support pitchside.
The hoardings at major football stadiums are often just used to communicate brand messages, but, in a world first, we turned Old Trafford’s into a virtual front row for Manchester United vs Liverpool on March 16th.
We recruited superfans across the globe via a social campaign on Google+, promoted with a film and online advertising. Once we had our fans, we also created a film telling their story, and what it meant to be involved in Front Row.
On match day, fans all over the world could be seen, live, supporting their team at the pitchside, via Google+ Hangout. The project transformed what it means to be a global sports fan, whilst raising awareness of Google+ and Manchester United’s profile on the platform.
Recruitment for the campaign took place through a social campaign on Google+, promoted with a film and online advertising. Manchester United and Google promoted the project on their social channels, reaching 70 million people, and two teaser films were released to drum up excitement before the match.
On the day, the project was announced in the stadium prior to kick off. Over 100 million viewers watched the fans appear on the pitchside hoardings via global TV broadcasts. Finally, we released a film that told the story of the fans behind Front Row.
The project reached a huge audience, with over 100 million viewers watching the fans appear on the pitchside hoardings during Manchester United vs Liverpool on March 16th.
A huge amount of buzz was created, with #MUFrontRow the top trending topic on Google worldwide, and over 350 press and blog articles written on what was happening.
Manchester United saw a 250% increase in the growth rate of their Google+ page, making it fastest growing page on the platform.
The project has also gained industry recognition by winning the following awards: a Bronze Outdoor Cannes Lion, a Bronze Promo & Activation Cannes Lion and a Silver Innovative Media CLIO.
Front Row now exists as a global online platform that can be rolled out in the future, bringing fans closer to the things they love.