As the Emirates FA Cup’s third round fixtures kick-off in early January, The Football Association (The FA) unveiled a new team of creatives and influencers picked to promote the competition through the season across a dark social WhatsApp group.
This hand-picked team of young and influential creatives were offered exclusive behind-the-scenes access to provide the group, called the #CupCollective, with material and inspiration to collaborate on creative outputs and partnerships around the tournament.
They will share this tournament themed content across their own network of followers: the idea being that they will offer a fresh perspective of football’s oldest competition and engage a new audience too.
The collective includes Poet and YouTuber (like David ‘Vuj’ Vujanic), as well as artists and presenters.
COOL ANNOUNCEMENT TINGS! I’ve partnered with the @EmiratesFACup this year all the way till the final at Wembley! Shout out my brother @poetscornerUK who will be on the journey with me + some other special guests! Enjoy the Third Round weekend & keep it #CupCollective #ad pic.twitter.com/NjKZ6eNjqL
— VUJ (@DavidVujanic) January 5, 2018
The objective is to produce ‘fan-first content’ expressing what The Emirates FA Cup means to them and to football fans across the UK.
What a Third Round weekend that was for the @EmiratesFACup! Excited to have launched the #CupCollective with @PoetsCornerUK & @DavidVujanic. Read more about it here https://t.co/zDrv5kURUa pic.twitter.com/l36SzILKwC
— Mischief (@mischiefpr) January 8, 2018
The FA’s head of marketing, Georgina Lewis, commented that the rights-holders is excited to be working with the creatives of the #CupCollective and explained that the aim was for ‘their influence and passion points from music and fashion, to design and gaming to take the Emirates FA Cup beyond the pitch and reach the younger generation of football fans”.
“Growing up, The FA Cup was always a competition I enjoyed following. As a Liverpool fan, I still fondly remember Alonso’s goal from the halfway against Luton, and that special Gerrard performance in the 2006 final, which I believe is one of the Cup’s greatest moments,” commented Vuj at the announcement.
“Then there’s the romantic underdog narrative that shines a light on places and clubs that haven’t been in the spotlight before. It really is a unique competition that brings together every aspect of the footballing world. Working with fellow creators and my mate Poet to get a closer look at the cup through some cool access and opportunities leading up all the way to the final should be a lot of fun. All I can hope for now is a repeat of the 2001 final, which I’m sure Poet remembers well!”
“The Emirates FA Cup is a competition that, as an Arsenal fan, I very much love. Going to my first FA Cup final last year was a moment that will live with me for a long time – especially as we got our hands on the trophy! Being asked to work with this competition is really exciting,” added Poet.
“Marry that with the fact I’m working with my best friend Vuj, it is a really exciting opportunity to merge our lifestyle with football and create some really cool content.”
Comment:
The phrase ‘dark social’ has been a key marketing buzzword for several months, so it is little surprise that rights-holders and property-owners with somewhat old-school reputations are jumping on the bandwagon.
We look forward to the creative itself before offering any judgements.
Links:
The FA
