DMA Grand Prix: BT Sport organic creativity to spur growth

Against a backdrop of steep budget cuts, UK-based pay-TV brand BT Sport was able to create and ride a wave of conversation by writing the script of the 2019/20 football season using AI, growing subscriptions by almost a third.

Why it matters: The channel, a relatively young challenger in the British sport broadcasting game, and its work reflects the value of a conversation-starting creative idea to force-multiply media spend.   

Details:

• The plan, hatched by agency Wunderman Thompson, was to create a 60-page dossier – a script of the season – compiled in association with data titans like Google Cloud, Opta and Squawka.
• Opta sports data, modelled analysis by Squawka and Google Cloud's platform worked with Wunderman Thompson to write and design the script.
• It was released to pundits, players, influencers, journalists – and the nation – before any paid advertising went out.
• The paid media activation was an Unscripted DOOH campaign, sparking huge conversation up and down the land.

Bottom line:

With vast amounts of organic coverage, doubling the paid media budget, and engagement, BT Sport was able to grow its subscriptions 30% year-on-year.