| Title | HER NAME IS ZENIT! |
| Brand | FOOTBALL CLUB ZENIT |
| Product/Service | ZENIT’S WOMEN'S TEAM |
| Category |
D01. Sports: Film, Series & Audio |
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Entrant
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FC ZENIT Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA
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Idea Creation
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FC ZENIT Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA
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Media Placement
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FC ZENIT Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA
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PR
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FC ZENIT Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA
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Production
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FC ZENIT Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA
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Credits
| Zhanna Dembo |
Football Club Zenit |
Author of PR campaign Her name is Zenit ! |
| Alexandra Kretzan |
Umbra penumbra |
Author of the creative idea of the film Her name is Zenit! |
| Anastasiya Gulyaeva |
Football Club Zenit |
Media officer of PR campaign Her name is Zenit ! |
| Polina Alexandrova |
Football Club Zenit |
Manager of PR campaign Her name is Zenit! |
Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?
Zenit are now more than a team! Unlike most other clubs, our audience has potential for growth. Our audience is the city’s residents and professional community and they expect the club to have major administrative, material and managerial resources at their disposal, which should all contribute to the developming our sporting levels within the club and especially within children and youth sports. Since 2020 Zenit’s corporate social responsibility has continued with women’s football. Growing women’s football is not only for sporting purposes, but also part of St.Petersburg’s entertainment options for both the family and children.
Background
We set ourselves the following goals: to grow the digital audience of the club, to constantly foster and improve a positive image of the club, to increase the recognition of our women's team among the fans, to develop and popularize women's football within Russia, as well as women's youth sports in our local region. Our tasks include increasing the number of subscribers to our women's team on our social media platforms, increasing the volume of traffic to w.fc-zenit.ru and producing popular, interesting and informative content for said site. We also want to participate in the socio-cultural programme of the city and become relevant and mentioned within the media as part of the total volume of references to the club. We aim for neutral or positive coverage within the print, digital and TV media of no lower than 70%.
Describe the creative idea
To present the Zenit women's team through a documentary about how the team lives from match to match, travelling across Russia and showing them experiencing wins and losses. Filming took place during the team’s first historical season and covered the team for almost a year. It was interrupted by the pandemic and so became a mini-series, Zenskoe (a play of words of Zenit and the Russian word for women) Beginning was released in three episodes on the club's YouTube channel and on social media. There is an unusual amount of sincerity and honesty in women's football, so filming it was not easy. The series also included personal stories of the player’s individual successes and failures.
Describe the strategy
Zenit Football Club are the holders of every Russian trophy and European silverware too! The club has the best training facilities in the country, with a top level academy. The club has become a symbol of St.Petersburg, with Zenit being not only a team, but an embodiment of sport. We have Zenit-2, youth teams and even a basketball team. In 2020 the Zenit women’s team were born, with the goal of popularizing women's football in Russia and develop children’s’ interest in women's sports through high-quality PR-support. The team can became the embodiment of the Northern Capital through its authenticity, cultural heritage and forward-looking optimism. This is how the idea was born to make a documentary about the Zenit’s women's team.
Describe the execution
In the spring of 2021 the club launched the PR campaign Her name is Zenit! With the aim of presenting the new squad list for the upcoming season. We’ve done a lot of work to support the future documentary in order to attract more fans from the city’s residents. We organised a photo session for the women's team at the Leningrad metal plant, the place our club was born in the spring of 1925. At the plant we filmed a promo video which we presented at the beginning of March on the club's media resources. On the 10thMarch a teaser of Her name is Zenit! appeared on the social networks of the club and the following day a private screening of the film took place at the Aurora cinema and was attended by the players. On the 12thMarch the national premier of the film was shown on terrestrial channel MatchTV
Describe the outcome
The total coverage was 800,000. 61 publications in the media: 44 with a positive outlook, 17 with a neutral outlook tone, zero with a negative outlook. Within the regional media there were 32 publications, 27 nationally, and two from abroad. The Match TV film premier was watched by 1,426,191 viewers on the 12th March 2021. The promo video on our Vkontakte page received 21,000 views and 20,000 on Instagram. The team's social media following has grown by 25% during this campaign (March-May 2021): https://www.instagram.com/zenitwomen/, https://vk.com/zenitwomen