We took one of the most beloved aspects of fandom – the autograph – and reimagined it. #SignMyTweet presented by XFINITY was a one-of-a-kind live Twitter based autograph session that gave fans the chance to receive a signed, oversize version of their own personal tweet by a famous athlete.
Our objective was to gain authentic credibility with sports fans in the already oversaturated space, and increase positive sentiment for the XFINITY brand.
Within our strategic positioning as 'your home for the most live sports', we knew the only way to do this was to bring fans even closer to the athletes they love, giving them a one of a kind interaction and making live sports even more live.
And it worked. We earned 15 million organic impressions with an 8.7% engagement rate on promoted tweets, which was a 380% boost over Twitter's sports engagement rate benchmark. Throughout the event, the XFINITY brand saw a 450% increase in positive sentiment.
Our Objectives
Our Strategy
XFINITY leads the way with sports programming, but it isn't the only player in the space. To differentiate itself within the crowded entertainment and content category, XFINITY challenged itself to find a way to give fans greater access to the athletes they admire – and to use social media to make live sports more live. The solution? #SignMyTweet presented by XFINITY
Tactics
#SignMyTweet was a first-of-its-kind Twitter autograph session, starring the NFL's All-Time Leading Rusher Emmitt Smith designed to raise the bar on providing the most live sports experience to both casual and avid sports fans. Fans were encouraged to creatively tweet @XFINITYSports with the hashtag #SignMyTweet for the chance to have Emmitt autograph a life-size print out of their own personal tweet.
To further engage fans and drive awareness for the #SignMyTweet event, XFINITY engaged key influencers (and NFL alums), such as Tiki Barber and Ahmad Bradshaw, to tweet their #SignMyTweet requests.
#SignMyTweet was also supported through internal/external PR efforts and a media buy to promote and engage fans on Twitter with content from the live #SignMyTweet session.
How We Did It
Autograph signings used to mean waiting after the game for your favorite player to leave the stadium or standing in line at local event signing. With #SignMyTweet, XFINITY allowed sports fans to use the power of social media for a chance at that highly sought out autograph. For two hours during a Cowboys' Monday Night Football game, Emmitt signed hundreds of life-size prints of fan tweets that we deemed to be the most inspiring or entertaining.
24 hours prior to the autograph session, fans were encouraged to get creative and tweet @XFINITYSports with the hashtag #SignMyTweet for the chance to have their tweets printed out and autographed by Emmitt Smith.
Emmitt read the best and most creative tweets and signed each tweet individually for those fans, all while @XFINITYSports live tweeted the play-by-play. All printed and autographed tweets were shipped to their owners with a certificate of authenticity and shared via @XFINITYSports for extended engagement with the brand.
The success of the first ever #SignMyTweet program will continue to enhance and raise the bar on the live sports experience with live signing sessions at Super Bowl XLIX and around other marquee sports events throughout the 2015 calendar year.
Results
Over the course of 24 hours, @XFINITYSports received nearly 4,000 tweet submissions using the #SignMyTweet hashtag. This drove more than 15 million organic impressions on Twitter, 1,200 retweets, and participation from other professional athletes and sports journalists such NFL Network's Steve Mariucci and Cris Carter, Sporting News and sports fans of all ages. In addition, XFINITY's accompanying promoted Tweet campaign drove an 8.7% engagement rate – a 380% boost over Twitter's usual Sports Engagement Rate benchmark (2-5%). #SignMyTweet also saw a 450% increase in positive social sentiment compared to average XFINITY brand sentiment (11% average positive sentiment).
#SignMyTweet is a revolutionary new platform for fans to interact with athletes that is truly a win-win-win. XFINITY benefits from a massive boost in engagement and positive sentiment, athletes are able to give their fans an authentic piece of memorabilia, and fans get to savour both the digital and physical embodiment of the entire interaction. And given the historical context/sentiment surrounding the XFINITY brand, any activation that has even one person thanking a cable company for providing such a unique and enjoyable experience, let alone framing their logo and hanging it on their wall, is worthy of being deemed a massive success.
