The Athletic sets up World Cup hotline offering fans expert access
An emergency hotline has been set up for frantic football fans fretting over the minutiae, such as the percentage of comebacks after the 80th minute, ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
The marketing stunt sees a dedicated line set up to sate the statistical needs of fans by furnishing them with all the stats, facts, data and tips they can think to ask for.
Launched by The Athletic, in partnership with brand communication consultancy Harbour, the tongue-in-cheek stunt serves to raise awareness of the subscription-based sports website as a font of football facts and figures.
Manned by the publisher’s handpicked team of football experts, including columnist and football legend Alan Shearer, the 0800 0 433 433 hotline will run throughout the contest with promotional activity across out-of-home (OOH), radio, social media, digital, PR and influencer channels. The mainstream push will be bolstered by guerilla activity including sticker posting, projections and branded phone kiosks.
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Sinead Bunting, international marketing director at The Athletic, said: “We know that the more you know about football, the more you enjoy watching it and sharing the moment with family and friends, so an emergency hotline is the perfect way to help fans of all kinds get the most out of the World Cup.”
Lucy Mart, managing partner at PR agency PrettyGreen, added: “That football is THE most argued about sport in the UK will resonate with so many sports fans during this upcoming period of international competition, and the Emergency Football Hotline is the perfect way to ensure disputes can be resolved, while taking The Athletic’s USP – unrivaled football analysis – to the masses.”
The hotline for knowledge-craving fans is born out of research suggesting that 70% of fans regularly argue with their friends, with 17% falling out permanently over a football-related disagreement. By acting as an independent adjudicator, The Athletic hopes to make arguments in the pub a thing of the past.
The Athletic was purchased at the start of the year by The New York Times in a $550m deal.