The Everyday Tactician

Background: Football Manager 24 (FM24) is historically a PC game but console is now the fastest growing platform, so Xbox is in a race to establish themselves as the first choice for gamers, rather than their competitor PlayStation. Xbox is the brand which “Powers your dreams” so they wanted to empower gamers to unlock the full potential of their football dreams. Xbox Game Pass is Xbox’s subscription service – a ‘Netflix for games’ – that gives players access to hundreds of games for a monthly price. The brief was to make Football Manager fans see Xbox Game Pass as the best place to play. The objectives were to increase the number of Xbox players of FM24 compared to FM23 and to increase Xbox’s brand association with football. Creative Idea: For the launch of FM24 on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox showed the power of gaming. They partnered with Bromley Football Club to announce a job as a football tactician. The only way to apply was through FM24 on Xbox. Nathan Owolabi, a Football Manager fanatic and Wembley Stadium tour guide secured the job. Nathan’s journey from gaming chair to dugout was filmed in a documentary on TNT, the UK’s biggest sports channel. The documentary explored the similarities and differences between the real and virtual worlds as Nathan overcame his shyness and bonded with the team, some of whom initially doubted his gaming credentials. Nathan brought his skills and experience from the game to the team’s backroom working on data-based team selection, opponent analysis and tactics. His work helped the club secure their best league performance in their 130-year history, proving that a gamer can change the game of football. Insights & Strategy: Our campaign CTA was “Get a job as a tactician for Bromley FC just by playing Football Manager.” We chose to target the most dedicated fans of football and Football Manager with a campaign that would offer them a once in a lifetime chance to start a career in football. The campaign directly addressed gamers’ dreams of doing the things they do in game in real life and football fans’ dreams of getting to work in the sport they love. Our approach was to advertise it like any other job at Bromley FC, announcing it via Bromley X/Twitter, the Bromley website and LinkedIn, knowing that because of the innovative application process it would echo out to a larger audience. Execution: To launch FM24 on Xbox GamePass, Bromley FC announced an open job role as a tactician, with applications exclusively through Xbox. Manager Andy Woodman told viewers “it could be you” in a viral press conference video on Bromley’s twitter viewed 2M times. Hundreds of commenters claimed “it’s my time” or tagged friends to apply. Rather than showing a CV, applicants had to gain the Xbox achievement “Championes” by winning a league and submit a 1-minute video telling Bromley FC’s manager why they deserved the job. Outlets spanning BBC Sport, Daily Mail, Hypebeast, The Athletic and foreign press covered it. We also ran targeted ads on social media and LinkedIn. After an intensive selection process Bromley interviewed three gamers and one was given the job. An in-depth documentary followed Nathan Owolabi’s journey, going behind the scenes of Bromley throughout the season as he helped them challenge for promotion. Results: 190% increase in Xbox gamers on FM24 compared to FM23 1.5 billion total campaign impressions 1.2 million people saw the job advertisement FM24 Impressions increased by 416% It was the most played Football Manager game ever Bromley FC had their highest league position, highest points tally and fewest defeats Most successful season in Bromley FC’s 130-year history.