A first of its kind partnership between Sela, RNID and Newcastle United culminated in Unsilence The Crowd, a groundbreaking campaign, which delivered the world-first use of new technology designed to increase accessibility to football for deaf fans.
Research conducted by Sela and charity partner RNID revealed 71% believe new technology can be implemented to make live sports events more accessible. Sela identified the opportunity to use their technological capabilities to bring the electricity and roar of St. James Park to the incredibly passionate, yet underrepresented community of NUFC fans who are deaf or have hearing loss.
Working in partnership with RNID and NUFC, Sela set out to design a case study that was relevant to all sports, with the objectives to set a new benchmark for accessibility in sports and entertainment and encourage wider adoption of the technology.
Firstly, for the community and fans, Sela sought to revolutionise accessibility to enhance fans experiences of a live sports event. As a new entity in UK and European sports, Sela also set out to enhance its reputation as a value additive partner amongst rights holders in one of Europe’s most competitive leagues. Lastly, Sela’s brand visibility across the global football community was siloed to countries across the Middle East and NUFC fans. Sela used the campaign to position itself across targeted earned and paid media as a leading club sponsor to fans of other clubs, global sports media outlets and prominent stakeholders, setting the new standard in sponsorship activations.
Inspired by the insight from research which showed 55% of people enjoy watching live sport events less due to their hearing loss, Sela sought to incorporate new technologies for fans who are deaf or have hearing loss to enhance their experience of the atmosphere at St. James’ Park.
Sela and technology provider, CuteCircuit, incorporated haptic technology into replica NUFC match shirts that transform the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensations, allowing deaf fans and fans with hearing loss to experience the atmosphere of a live football match like never before. The entire soundscape came to life as a language composed of a series of touch-like sensations across the torso of the person wearing the shirt.
The Sela SoundShirt features 28 micro-actuators embedded in the fabric. These actuators receive wirelessly the sound of the stadium which is transformed into data that is captured on the stage while the live game is action in real-time. In this way, the atmosphere can be felt creating a fully immersive feeling for a deaf spectator.
The technology debuted at NUFC’s Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur in front of 50,000 people, with millions more on TV and with a match take over to bring the campaign to life.
Junior Deaf Football Club children were given a surprise invite to be mascots on game day from two Newcastle United players. The children taught the players how to celebrate in sign language, with Dan Burn going on to enact the celebration during the game on live global broadcast. The footage went viral, showcasing the impact of Sela’s campaign beyond just the technology itself.
Key media were briefed in advance to trail the news, which was split up into ‘tentpole’ moments including: the logo donation, the name of the charity partner, the haptic shirt technology and the key protagonists who would be wearing them. Key broadcast media were briefed ahead of match day with live pitchside translators and interviews with key spokespeople.
Deaf fan, David Wilson commented: “What a game, what a day, what a shirt. I felt part of the singing, part of the stadium. The vibrations just continued through the full game. We felt involved in all the goals and all the singing, so I just want to say thank you.”
Sela also donated its sponsorship for the match to RNID - a historic occasion marking the first time a hearing loss charity has been promoted on a Premier League front-of-shirt.
Sela collaborated with local supporters’ group Wor Flags to fill the stadium with a flag emblazoned with words that perfectly captured the essence of the campaign: “It’s the noise, the passion, the feeling of belonging.”
Fans in the stadium and viewers at home saw the RNID branding displayed across the pitch-side monitors, raising awareness for the campaign.
Representatives from the world’s largest football institutions travelled to witness the technology first-hand and explore how the technology can be incorporated into wider football.
The impact of this use of breakthrough technology is already being seen throughout global football. The world’s largest football institutions including the UK Government, UEFA and FIFA accepted invites to travel to Newcastle to witness the technology first-hand. With every attendee giving rousing endorsement of the initiative, Sela are now working to ensure mass adoption of the technology across world of sport. The legacy is only in its infancy and there are already commitments from several major European football leagues to introduce the technology including: the English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.
With consistent messaging and tone of voice, complimented by the match day activation, the result was a compelling and credible story to tell the media, fans and the industry at large. The campaign was covered by a total of 771 media outlets across 37 countries, which saw Sela rise to become the lead share of voice vs top six EPL club sponsors. Overall, the campaign achieved a consolidated reach of 5.08 billion, spearheaded by the virality of Dan Burn’s celebration in sign language. This ultimately resulted in a 523.924% increase in views to Sela social media channels, increased the visibility of RNID globally and showcased NUFC’s commitment to delivering fan experiences and increasing accessibility.
More widely, the campaign delivered on Sela’s strategic sponsorship activation pillars – to be seen, be known, be loved - building positive sentiment and capability reputation, whilst driving visibility, understanding, resonance and credibility of the Sela brand within global football.
