Premier League football club Watford FC made it through to the final round of this year's FA Cup, battling it out against Manchester City in a historic match at Wembley Stadium on 18th May 2019.

To bring supporters closer to one of the club's biggest moments in recent years, Watford FC wanted to showcase the fan experience across its digital channels.

The challenge

For football fans, attending a live match is an unforgettable experience. The roar of the crowd, the excitement of the game, and the shared passion of supporters make every match day special.

Capturing this energy and emotion online is a challenge, but when done well, it allows fans everywhere to relive the thrill and feel connected to Watford FC, whether in the stadium or at home.

Watford FC could rely on its fans to capture their experiences, but it was searching for a way to bring all of this fan content together under one roof, ensuring every supporter's voice could be seen and celebrated.

The solution

The sights and sounds of Wembley were showcased through a combination of fan-curated content, alongside carefully integrated branded and sponsored material.

Through Amondo's managed service, the best content from each of these streams was curated into an "FA Cup Hub" Gallery, which was embedded on the Watford FC website, as well as shared through social media channels. Watford fans could relive the experience by scrolling through a feed of highlights and interacting with tiles for a closer look.

By encouraging fans to participate through social media channels, the Gallery brought supporters together around Watford's FA Cup run, encouraging content creation while seamlessly incorporating brand partners into the live experience.

The results

Despite losing heavily to Man City, fans displayed an unwavering, fierce pride in their team, refusing to let the defeat crush their spirits or those of the players.

The Gallery was a tribute to this loyalty, capturing the support of Watford's fans in one of the biggest matches in the club's history.

The FA Cup Hub Gallery boosted session length and interaction rate on the Watford FC website. They saw a three times increase in page session length, a 9% brand content interaction rate, and an average of 3.6 content clicks per view.

It's a great example of how to marry digital content with live events. Football is an emotional sport that attracts diehard fans like nothing else, and it's essential to maintain fan loyalty throughout the ups and downs of a team's journey.

Driving fan engagement online strengthens the connection between the club and supporters, while also creating meaningful opportunities for brand partners.

What can we learn from the FA Cup Hub campaign?

A few takeaways to apply to your own experiential marketing campaigns:

• When you’re showcasing an IRL event online, your content shouldn’t just show what happened. Try to capture the energy and atmosphere of the event, and you’ll connect with your audience on a deeper level

• Whether on your website or social media, a mixture of static images, video, GIFs, animations, and text will create a fully immersive experience that keeps fans engaged. You want your attendees to be able to relive the memories, and non-attendees to feel like they were there (and vow to be there next time!)

• Consumers are more savvy and discerning than ever before, so don’t shove sponsored content down their throats! Woven into influencer and user-generated content, sponsored content feels much more natural and relevant

To see more ways football teams are using Amondo, check out our case studies here.