Title	SUPPORT 24/7
Brand	IFK GÖTEBORG
Product/Service	FOOTBALL CLUB
Category	G05. Cultural Insight
Entrant	FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Idea Creation	FORSMAN & BODENFORS Gothenburg, SWEDEN
Production	LUNDGREN+LINDQVIST AB Göteborg, SWEDEN

Name	Company	Position
Sophia Lindholm	Forsman & Bodenfors	Art Director
Karl Risenfors	Forsman & Bodenfors	Art Director
Gustav Johansson	Forsman & Bodenfors	Copywriter
Marie Murphy	Forsman & Bodenfors	Client Director
Anna Börve	Forsman & Bodenfors	Account Executive
Christopher Ek	Forsman & Bodenfors	Designer
Peter Gaudiano	Forsman & Bodenfors	Digital strategist
Lundgren+Lindqvist AB Lundgren+Lindqvist AB	Lundgren+Lindqvist AB	Web Design
CUTBACK STUDIO CUTBACK STUDIO	CUTBACK STUDIO	Case study production
TMP TMP	TMP	Sound design case study

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

In a time where football fans couldn’t attend live games or experience the atmosphere of a full stadium first hand, we managed to bring the atmosphere to them – wherever they were and directly to their mobile devices, tablets or laptops.

Background

Sports got weird when covid hit. Teams had to play in empty stadiums and fans had to watch silent games on TV. Completely losing out on one of the best things about live sports: the atmosphere. IFK Gothenburg is one of Swedens most popular and successful football teams. They wanted to find a way to connect with their fans even when they couldn’t come see their favorite team play.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Support 24/7 is the first ever radio channel that broadcasts crowd chants every hour of the day, every day of the week. Fans could turn on the radio while watching a game on TV. Or at any other time during the day. And on game days, the stream would sync with https://www.api-football.com/ and adapt to what happened on the pitch. With the crowd getting louder if IFK played well and celebrations breaking out if IFK scored. Fans could also add their own chants by simply recording them and posting them to our admin who would then add them to the audio mix.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We wanted to connect with IFK fans in Gothenburg and from all over the country. Most of them were stuck at home during the pandemic and with little to no budget we had to rely on a completely digital launch – from the online radio itself to the social posts promoting it.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

We gathered hundreds of recordings from IFK games by searching hi and low in places like YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram and on fan forums for the best clips of IFK crowds singing and chanting. We then cleared them and converted them to audio files. Our sound technicians then built a player that would seamlessly mix all of these different files into a smooth and never-ending audio stream. On game days, the stream would sync with https://www.api-football.com/ and adapt to what happened on the pitch. Fans could also add their own chants by recording them and posting them to our admin who would add them to the mix. And the radio itself could be easily accessed on mobile. The only channel used for the launch was IFK’s Instagram, where a few posts and stories was enough to reach the hardcore fans, who would then spread the word further into the fan community.

List the results (30% of vote)

Fans from all over the country tuned in to experience the atmosphere. Around 20 000 people have listened to the radio, roughly equivalent to a full stadium (IFK’s Gamla Ullevi Arena seats around 18 500).

Please tell us about the cultural insight that inspired the work

”Football is nothing without the fans” – Sir Matt Busby For IFK fans, the atmosphere is sometimes even more important than what happens on the pitch. So when the atmosphere got lost, so did the closeness to the team.