ESPN+ kicked off a new brand campaign at the start of October which revolves around a rallying cry celebrating passionate yet often-underserved groups of sports fans
Created in collaboration with Austin based creative agency Preacher, the new work is based on the rallying cry/tagline – ‘It Exists Because You Do’ – and celebrates passionate yet too often underserved groups of sports fans who love less well known sports and who are being specifically served to a higher degree than ever before across multiple devices and platforms by streaming service ESPN+.
The 30-second anthem spot celebrates multidimensional fandom: it pays homage to ‘the Pittsburgh native supporting a different black and gold’ (Borussia Dortmund) and ‘the fan, a walk away from Wrigley Field, who’s just as drawn to the Octagon’ (UFC).
The hero ad is supported by 15- and 05-second cut down versions.
The commercial debuted during the first weekend of October running across ESPN’s TV and digital properties and the campaign also includes off-channel broadcast and digital.
“At 2.5 years old, ESPN+ is has grown enormously and so has its relationship with fans. We felt now was the right time to launch this campaign, speaking to its fan-centric nature, and celebrating those fans,” said Russell Wolff, EVP & general manager, ESPN+. “Clarity and truth make messages powerful and ‘ESPN+: It exists because you do’ is grounded in the fact that ESPN+ is directly connected to, and growing because of, fans.”
“Fans are at the centre of everything we do at ESPN,” added Laura Gentile, SVP of Marketing at ESPN. “Our new creative captures that reality while communicating all that is distinctive and unique about ESPN+. Through the lens of super passionate fans we spotlight the ease in which they can now access and enjoy their favourite sports via streaming.”
The campaign was created for ESPN+ EVP & General Manager Of ESPN+ Russell Wolff, ESPN CMO Laura Gentile, VP ESPN Marketing Seth Ader, VP DSS Creative Jeremy Manton and ESPN+ Brand Maerketing Team Members Nick Pulito, Peter Mulally, Mikaela Curtin and Joel Kolani with ESPN+ Creatives Deb McGuffey and Alicia Low and ESPN+ Production Matt Cheron and Jon Little by a team at Preacher.
The agency group working on the project included CCO Rob Baird, CEO Krystle Loyland, CSO Seth Gaffney, Creative Director/Copywriter Greg Hunter, Creative Director/Art Director Kellyn Blount, Senior Art Director Melissa Lin, Copywriter Matt Klugman, Art Director Eddy Allen, Designer Candice Balbuena, Brand Director Heath Tavrides, Startegy Director Doug Kleeman, Executive Producer Stacey Higgins, Senior Producer Shane Smith and Business Affairs Manager Miiko Martin.
The production company was Partizan, casting was handled by RMB Casting, the edit house was Rock Paper Scissors, music came from the ESPN Library and the finish house was Arsenal.
Comment:
While the brand has often rolled out marketing promoting its live sports and original series programming in recent years, this latest campaign offers a broader brand-focused initiative and sees ESPN+ double down on a strategy of delivering high-quality live sports and specialised content.
ESPN+ launched in 2018 and since then has steadily grown in terms of subscribers and depth and breadth of live sports and original content programming and hass established itself as one of the global leaders in sports streaming.
Its live sports offering currently spans exclusive UFC events, hundreds of MLB and NHL games, a vast range of college sports (including football, basketball and a dozen other sports from 20 conferences), as well as domestic and international soccer (eg Bundesliga, Serie A, FA Cup, MLS, Copa Del Rey, EFL Championship, Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), plus PGA Tour Golf, Top Rank Boxing, Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket.
While its exclusive original series and studio shows include ESPN+ NFL PrimeTime, Peyton’s Places, The Fantasy Show, Detail, Bettor Days with Mike Greenberg, ESPN FC, Our Time, Dana White’s Contender Series and exclusive access to the entire library of ESPN’s award-winning ‘30 For 30’ films.
Links:
ESPN+
Preacher
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