This week is the week where we’ll get to taste the sensation of one of National football’s biggest competitions, the Euros! Social media has been going crazy over Euro2020, particularly with the new wave of squad announcements. They’ve been over-the-top, innovative and eye-catching, all winning ingredients for a classy content strategy. We’ll be going through which announcements caught our eye and why.
England: the call-up ft. Wretch 32
Wretch isn’t a stranger to the football scene. He previously narrated the UEFA Champions League Final in 2019, which saw Liverpool claim victory against Spurs 2-0 in Madrid for BT Sport. He’s appeared on football pundit shows like Soccer AM and AFTV. While becoming a prominent footballing voice, the England team did a great job reaching out to the rapper to announce their 23-man squad for the Euros.
England made sure they used Wretch’s voice to shine a light on the community spirit of England. It was showing that the team is nothing without its fans by capturing them in the footage. The small clip of trading cards was key to illustrate the culture that will occur close to the competition, particularly amongst young people.
Essentially, while watching this video, it represents the image and tone the national team want other countries to think of when we sing England’s praises during the Euros.
Denmark Euro2020, Let’s go
Denmark’s national team had cultural sensitivity at the heart of their announcement campaign. Each player announcement is communicated so diversely to each other, which proved effective for viewer engagement.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg’s announcement stood out as a tennis player featured in the short clip. It shows Denmark is attempting to draw in the whole sports community to follow the national team’s Euros campaign. Plus, they had clips of the military forces, delivery drivers and other community members involved during the shoot. It displays the diversity amongst the nation and the level of support they have competing.
Great job, guys; all the best!
Scotland; nothing matters more
So many boxes were ticked throughout this campaign! They followed their nations branding guidelines throughout, nailed the tone-of-voice for the watching experience. The animated player announcements were a good switch up of graphics from the real-time footage filmed. Getting a JD Sports shoot was a proactive initiative to integrate their partners in the video.
The campaign also captured Scottish culture and community spirit. It was essential to get a shot in a local chippy, the hallmark of a traditional match-day meal! Getting upcoming streamers and creators to feature was awesome as they’ll be a pivotal voice throughout the competition from a punditry standpoint.
Good work Scotland smashed it!
Wales: Together, stronger
The Land of Castles went for a slightly different approach for their announcement via a YouTube live stream. It was just over an hour-long, and it had punditry throughout on a batch of announcements for each position.
Streaming is an effective way to capture live interactions and engagements from your audience. The video is one of their most-watched content pieces in the last two months, and it’s evident why it’s a major moment for the nation as they’ll replicate their efforts from the 2016 tournament.
What even was this by Italy?!
We don’t even know where to begin! If Italy were planning to have the most random announcement campaign ahead of the Euros, well then, congratulations!
From the catwalk, the frying pan and the squad having a sing-song, they’ve surely caught a lot of attention across the globe. Perhaps they’re simply wanting to have a laugh coming into the Euros; you can blame them!
That’s a wrap! So, what made these announcements so great? Firstly, the variety of footage mixed with real-time animation and quick transitions keeps viewership time lengthy. Secondly, cultural sensitivity played a role to show that these nations aren’t just representing football; they’re expressing their communities. Thirdly, they all thought outside the box!
Written by Stoke & Dagger contributor Ashwyn Lall (Twitter: AshsSportsTalk1).