Sports Network Receives Best Real-Time Engagement Award for Iniesta #FarewellJersey Campaign
(l-r): Juan di Polo, Senior Digital Director and Antonio Briceño, Deputy Managing Director of beIN SPORTS USA and Canada
beIN SPORTS, the world-class sports network, announced they are the 2019 winners of Hashtag Sports’s annual Real-Time Engagement Award for their Andrés Iniesta #FarewellJersey campaign, the first commemorative jersey signed by fans through an innovative use of Instagram, created in partnership with VMLY&R Miami.
The Hashtag Sports’s “Best Real-Time Engagement” award recognizes an organization for an outstanding interaction with fans on social media which was a direct response to a live game, current event, or cultural phenomenon. The Farewell Jersey campaign received top honors amid a field of top competitors including the NFL, ESPN, Bleacher Report, SportsCastr and Atlanta United FC.
beIN SPORTS’s #FarewellJersey commemorated Andres Iniesta’s 21 years with famed soccer club FC Barcelona through a fully integrated and organic social media campaign. Throughout the course of the program, beIN SPORTS encouraged fans to bid Iniesta farewell by adding their signature to theFarewell Jersey through Instagram Stories. Of the total signatures received, only one thousand fans were lucky enough to have theirs included on the one-of-a-kind jersey which was presented to Andres Iniesta as a gift on behalf of beIN SPORTS, fans and viewers.
Each year the Hashtag Sports Awards set the benchmark for effective engagement recognizing winners at their annual New York City conference which invites more than 120 expert speakers and 1,200 attendees to learn, network, and celebrate the future of fan engagement. The winners of The Hashtag Sports Awards are selected by The Engagement Academy of Sports & Entertainment, comprised of industry leaders and engagement experts across the global sports media and marketing ecosystem.
“We are extremely grateful to receive this honor for our efforts in connecting Iniesta with our passionate viewers, his fans, and give them a unique opportunity to personally recognize this amazing player,” said Antonio Briceño, Deputy Managing Director of beIN SPORTS USA and Canada, “As the sole broadcaster of LaLiga featuring FC Barcelona, we knew we had to create an experience unlike any other and we did. This successful campaign broke our Engagement Rate benchmark by 95%.”
Julian Roca, VP Managing Director of VMLY&R Miami stated, “Iniesta’s retirement was a major cultural event and we wanted to connect fans with their idol through one of their preferred social platforms. This was a truly connected brand experience.” Federico Hauri, VP Executive Creative Director of VMLY&R Miami added, “Farewell Jersey is one of those special, social-first ideas that lives in the intersection of creativity, culture, and technology. We are very proud of this work.”
About beIN SPORTS USA
Launched in 2012, beIN SPORTS offers viewers world-class sports content and entertainment across multiple platforms including TV channels beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español and live streaming on beIN SPORTS CONNECT. A cornerstone of beIN SPORTS is its unrivaled live soccer coverage, which includes live matches from LaLiga, Ligue 1, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Recopa Sudamericana, Copa del Rey, Coupe de France, Turkish Süper Lig, Africa Cup of Nations, CAF Confederation Cup, CAF Champions League and International Friendlies as well as news and in-depth analysis of all the top leagues from around the world. In addition to soccer, beIN SPORTS serves as a haven for fans of motorsports, tennis, boxing,wrestling, mixed martial arts (MMA), track & field, swimming, skiing and handball, among others. Through beIN SPORTS CONNECT, authenticated subscribers can also enjoy all the exciting action from the two networks and stream live overflow matches offered in HD on their computer, tablet or smartphone. For more information, visit www.beinsports.com.
