Preseason content that bridged the gap
05 September 2023
Ahh preseason, the long weeks and months where we all stare at a wall and try to fill the void our favorite sports leave whilst everyone goes on a well-deserved summer break.
Even though there’s little on field action, teams usually prepare a suite of content to keep fans dialed in, and have we seen some content teams flexing their muscles this year.
Now our marketing team has consumed different things here and there, across multiple leagues and countries so, we put our heads together to pick our favorite pieces of off-season content that helped us bridge the gap.
Togetherness by Arsenal Women
A key talking point of the FIFA Women’s World Cup was how those in women’s football would use the tournament as a launchpad for their own growth. Well, the North London powerhouse decided a 5-part docuseries was the way to go, and it delivered.
The five episodes cover the 2022/23 season, including their chase for the WSL title, a Champions League run that culminated in a sold-out Emirates semi-final, and the devastating ACL blows to superstars Beth Mead, Leah Williamson, Laura Wienroither and Vivianne Miedema.
Timing was everything for the series, as the club now looks to capitalize on the World Cup and the peaked interest in their players, including Australian pair Caitlin Foord and Steph Cately, who have seen undeniable spikes in popularity from the tournament.
The McLaren intern turns into Lando
Personally, I love the idea of someone pitching this to the broader marketing team, asking if they could borrow the race suits and helmets of both drivers to walk around the McLaren Technology Center (bonus points if it was the intern).
Anyhow, McLaren captured every F1 fan’s mood as we all sat around and (not so) patiently waited for the summer break to end. The video was the cherry on top of a much broader content strategy throughout the entire summer break which McLaren delivered seamlessly.
The team nailed their posts with clips from previous races, behind the scenes action, old challenge videos and continued being the first to hop on a viral trend.
Trust me when we say it made those 4 weeks feel very short indeed, and yes we know this is technically a mid-season break, but the clip was too good to go without a mention.
Atlanta Falcons showcase their skills
Preseason is when the players are refining their skills, so why shouldn’t fans do it too?
Enter the Atlanta Falcons and their One Minute Drill series, where the senior coaches explain the drills seen across their preseason camp.
We’ve seen fans interact with their team around strategy and tactical decisions on the field. This could look like evaluating starting lineups or dissecting plays to within an inch of their life.
As much as it is about inspiring kids to train like an NFL athlete, these One Minute Play videos can help uncover some more of the tactical decision-making efforts that don’t give away an entire game plan, meeting fans needs in the process.
We’ve also spoken about all this and more with their content master Scott Kegley before.
Madden NFL 24 player rankings
Now this is a niche of content we love. There’s nothing better than players reacting to their rankings and this year’s Madden NFL 24 ones were no different.
It’s also worth mentioning that the game is always released in the summer, so it’s another way for fans to fill their time during the offseason. Now player rankings naturally stir a little debate between fans and the players themselves, and of course every team’s media department captures the players reaction to learning their rankings each and every year.
Thinking about it now, no one’s ever been upset about their rating being too high? What a surprise.
