Action Idea
TSS Rovers - "the first Canadian soccer club to welcome its supporters as co-owners" - now aspires to empower them to take ownership of this opportunity by getting involved in the club's efforts and sharing their voices, their stories, and their dreams as ambassadors of the club to future supporters and sponsors, thereby promoting the club's growth and sustainability.
Goals
- Activate ownership in the co-owners so that they bring in new supporters and sponsors by sharing their stories and experiences as supporters: Supporters => Ambassadors for Growth.
- Empower the co-owners so that they believe that their voices are heard and that they can make a change in the running of the club: Plain words => Physical proof.
- Create spaces for supporters to interact and experience a shared sense of community and belonging: TSS => TOGETHER STANDING STRONG. TOGETHER ONE.
Strategies
- Ambassadors need to know and understand the bigger story that they are a part of in order to share that with others: A STORY TO RELATE TO, CONNECT WITH, AND SHARE WITH SPONSORS AND FUTURE SUPPORTERS.
- "Your voice will be heard!" is an overdone cliché that lacks meaning and power in today's world. Co-owners need to have physical evidence of this claim. They need a clear, connected, direct platform to interact with and engage in the growth of the club: A TOOL TO UNITE AND EMPOWER SUPPORTERS.
- We need to turn the spotlight back on the supporters themselves, and give them an opportunity to share their personal experiences, stories, and dreams: A PROMPT TO INSPIRE CREATIVITY, VULNERABILITY, AND COMMUNITY.
Proposal
- THE OFFICIAL APP OF THE TSS ROVERS FC: Free iOS and Android App.
- TOGETHER STANDING STRONG: A 3-Part Documentary Series available on Netflix and YouTube.
- BEYOND THE DOCUMENTARY: Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
Target Audience
= (Present co-owners and supporters) + (Future supporters, co-owners, and sponsors).
Key Questions
"What do we want our audience to feel through this campaign?"
- Satisfied with their decision to become supporters/co-owners of the club.
- Confident that they made the right choice in supporting the efforts of the club.
- Empowered to create change and influence the club's future direction.
- Valued for their participation in the club's efforts.
- Heard and understood in their expressions of concerns, feedback, and criticism.
- Supported in their journeys as they pursue their own dreams.
- A sense of belonging in the community that they have become a part of.
"What actions do we want our audience to take through this campaign?"
- Sharing their experiences with future supporters and sponsors to promote the growth and sustainability of the club.
- Raising awareness of the club's efforts in supporting the dreams of the nation's youth.
- Getting involved and offering their time, resources and/or attention to the club's efforts.
- Being honest and courageous in sharing their opinions, stories, and perspectives.
"What will our audience receive in return through their engagement in this campaign?"
- The opportunity to invest in the futures of the nation's youth and guard their dreams.
- The club's attention and direct channels of communicating their opinions and feedback.
- The motivation to pursue their own dreams with the encouragement of a supportive community.
- A platform to share their stories on and an audience that is ready to listen.
- A tool to connect with the community, provide feedback, access media, and stay updated on events - all in one place.
Engagement Strategy
THE OFFICIAL APP OF THE ROVERS FC
"Why make an app?"
Affordances of the Medium
- Collecting and displaying every relevant piece of information in one place instead of spreading it across several platforms.
- Receiving notifications when a game is happening or when a livestream has begun.
- Making payments for tickets to games.
- Adding accessibility, privacy, and other important features.
- Collecting feedback and other messages directly from the users.
- Creating a sense of membership and ownership by providing direct access to a unique community with a shared interest and passion.
Features
- Community: A forum for discussion and interaction with supporters.
- Calendar: The go-to spot for dates to games and ticket purchases.
- Media: An archive of all forms of media produced by and on the club.
- Feedback: A place to directly share individual opinions and feedback to the club.
App Prototype and Design (Using Adobe XD)
TOGETHER STANDING STRONG - A DOCUMENTARY SERIES
"Why make a documentary?"
Affordances of the Medium
- The beauty of storytelling combined with the authenticity of capturing a real moment in time to convey a powerful message.
- Hopefully not superficial or shallow, when compared to some forms of bite-sized social media video content.
- Requires a greater attention span and focus, but the audience is prepared, and even looking for, that kind of immersive, elaborate experience. They don't go in expecting 30 seconds of entertainment.
- A greater depth and variety of information expressed across different timelines and perspectives.
- The ability to take people on a journey of growth, perseverance, and change in one (or more) sitting(s).
Structure & Storyline
Together Standing Strong: 3-Part Documentary Series
- The Spirit of the Rovers: Dream On - What does it mean to be the "the first Canadian soccer club to welcome its supporters as co-owners"? The goals they have, the challenges they face, and the memories they make...as they pave a new path for Canadian soccer.
- Swanguardians: Guarding Dreams - The stories of the supporters, who guard the dreams of the nation's youth while gaining the courage to pursue their own.
- TSS Rovers: Beyond Dreaming - Young, Canadian soccer lovers and players share what they've learnt about the game and life through the Rovers experience and how they've grown from the struggles and victories they've faced on the road to making their dreams a reality.
BEYOND THE DOCUMENTARY
"What about my dreams?"
Hashtags
#togetherstandingstrong (=TSS) | #guardingmydreams | #dream_on
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Instagram Reels
Rewind Replay: Referencing language used while watching soccer games, this will be a reel (or post) format combining a flashback to the past (old photo albums, home videos, archives, etc.) with a fast-forward to the present (photos, videos, etc., from today), drawing on parallels or contrasts existing between the two periods of time. These can be made by supporters or players, with the hopes of sharing the beginning and final stages of a dream: either becoming reality or remaining a dream (with the possibility that they have found a new one).
Behind the Ball: Behind-the-scenes footage of team efforts and the blood, sweat, and tears poured into practice before a game, in a reel format.
On the Pitch: Interviews with players and supporters sitting on the soccer field and sharing their thoughts before and after a game. It could also be a chance for them to share areas of strength and growth and areas of improvement that they would like to see as they work towards their dreams.
YouTube Shorts
Mini-Documentaries: Meaningful and powerful, shorter pieces of the documentary uploaded in this format to hopefully reach and attract potentially otherwise inaccessible viewers. They could also become YouTube ads on the documentary.
Analytics Plan
Success Criteria
- The App
Since the official app will be a new addition to their set of existing social media platforms, there will not be a previous record to base success off of. There will be several test runs with the target audience before officially releasing it to the world, and the feedback received then from them (on whether or not the app will be realistically useful to them) will play a significant role in determining success in the initial stages of the app development.
- The Documentary
Similar to the app, the documentary will be a newly released form of media. The primary purpose of the documentary is to show the supporters the bigger story they are a part of within Canadian soccer, and to also give them a powerful story that they can easily share with potential sponsors and future supporters.
- So, the first way of determining success would be seeing increased engagement within the community from existing supporters and co-owners.
- Secondly, our goal is that they would share and recommend the documentary to yet-to-be supporters and potential sponsors, and that this would bring the sponsors into the story so that they would want to invest in its progress.
Success will therefore be determined by the supporter's desire to share the story with others, and how that will hopefully contribute to gaining more supporters and sponsors to finance future growth.
- Beyond The Documentary
The hashtags and reels series' are meant to act as channels for supporters to share their stories, express their creativity, and engage in the community. All forms of genuine engagement and community interaction within these platforms portray success, as the ultimate goal is to unite supporters to encourage and cheer for each other as they pursue their individual dreams.
Measurement Tools
- The App:
iOS & Android - App Analytics: To track user engagement, downloads, feedback, etc.
- The Documentary:
YouTube Analytics: To track reach, engagement, audience, etc.
- Other Platforms:
Instagram Analytics: To track engagement, reach, interactions, etc.
Purpose
To GUARD Dreams:
Grow - Individually, in various spheres of life, but also as a community, working towards a clear goal. The club's growth requires the support of sponsors, who we hope to reach though this campaign.
Unite - Create and inspire change within the club and the soccer world by coming together and supporting each other.
Act - Reach out and share the story with others.
Relate - Find your place in the story and express that experience.
Dream On.
By Candace Genesis
Credits:
Created with images by sutadimages - "soccer ball drops on the Soccer field.3d rendering." • Augustas Cetkauskas - "Closeup of soccer ball on green grass" • Mariusz Blach - "Tradition soccer ball illuminated by stadium lights" • nateejindakum - "A ball for street soccer football under the sunset ray light. Film picture style."