The Athletic Launches Emergency Football Hotline for Knowledge-Hungry World Cup Fans

Sports publisher The Athletic has launched the first ever emergency football hotline, for World Cup 2022. The initiative was developed in partnership with brand communication consultancy Harbour.

In order to break through the noise this World Cup season, The Athletic tasked Harbour with developing a fame-driving campaign to raise awareness of the publisher as the go-to source of unrivalled football insight and knowledge throughout the tournament, amongst everyone from die-hard football fans to casual World Cup viewers.

Based on the insight that the more you know football, the more you enjoy football, Harbour has collaborated with The Athletic to develop the first ever World Cup hotline, to feed both the football fanatics and fledglings with the latest stats, facts, data, news and tips to help them enjoy the World Cup and shine amongst their peers. 

The hotline number, 0800 0 433 433, which is being promoted in a multichannel campaign running across out-of-home, projections, radio, social media, digital, PR and influencer channels, takes callers to a call centre manned by The Athletic’s football experts, who are set to answer any question they might have. The hotline will enable callers to top up their football knowledge, resolve debates with family, and garner killer insights from the experts.  

The Athletic and Harbour worked with PR agency PrettyGreen and its sister influencer marketing agency What They Said to amplify the campaign and develop PR insights. 

With new research revealing 70% of fans regularly argue about football with friends – and 17% even admitting to having fallen out with someone permanently over a football disagreement – The Athletic Emergency Football Hotline will act as a key adjudicator for the public, helping to dispel any impending feuds. Not only this, the hotline will also serve the purpose of enabling fans to brush up on everything from the simple to the obscure, as 42% of fans admitted to ‘cramming’ before a match to be ‘in the know’ and outwit their mates’ football knowledge, with 50% stating that knowing more about the game makes watching more enjoyable.

The campaign kicks off with a launch film heroing famous football face Mauricio Pochettino, and videos that bring conversations from the hotline to life.  As part of the campaign, English football legend and the Athletic columnist Alan Shearer is also appearing on top UK news channels to promote the hotline and sitting alongside The Athletics’ experts, to help answer the questions of eager fans.    

A variety of well-known influencers will be sharing content featuring themselves taking part in a 2022 World Cup themed quiz.  In order to answer the toughest questions, they will call the Emergency Football Hotline for help. 

The push is supported by guerrilla activity including sticker posting, sky and building projections as well as The Athletic branded phone kiosks.  

The hotline will be available from Monday 14th November to Sunday 18th December, to coincide with the dates of the tournament. 

Sinead Bunting, international marketing director, The Athletic, said: “During the World Cup, football is everywhere. It’s a global event that is enjoyed not just by avid football fans, but also those who turn up every four years for the big tournaments. And we know that the more you know about football, the more you enjoy watching it and sharing the moment with family and friends, so an emergency hotline is the perfect way to help fans of all kinds get the most out of the World Cup.

“This is a brilliantly ownable idea with the potential to drive maximum fame and word of mouth, all rooted in the product truth that The Athletic delivers unparalleled football expertise.” 

Yann-Gael Cobigo, creative director, Harbour, said: “Thanks to our amazing client and the team around us, it’s a real pleasure to keep building this iconic brand in the UK, this time by manifesting its very own unrivalled football analysis in fun but savvy ways. We wanted to develop a big idea that resonated with everyone, and find the most original and impactful way to involve them all.”

Thibault Michal, creative director, Harbour, added: “During this year’s World Cup, we want to ensure that no football question goes unanswered, and no debate goes unresolved. And that is now possible thanks to The Athletic Emergency Football Hotline.”

Lucy Mart, managing partner, PrettyGreen, said: “We’ve loved taking The Athletic to a wider football audience through this fun campaign which is rooted in what is so important for successful PR – a genuine insight solved by a creative execution.

That football is THE most argued about sport in the UK will resonate with so many sports fans during this upcoming period of international competition, and the Emergency Football Hotline is the perfect way to ensure disputes can be resolved, whilst taking The Athletic’s USP – unrivalled football analysis – to the masses.”

Harbour is an independent brand communication consultancy that sits at the heart of a collective of specialist agencies. It was launched in 2017 by Paul Hammersley (Managing Partner) who was joined by Mick Mahoney (Creative Partner) and Kev Chesters (Strategy Partner) in 2019. Its unique structure and client offering are designed as a contemporary alternative to the large legacy agency groups. Clients include McCarthy Stone, Tilney Smith & Williamson, The Athletic, BT, Match.com, Fitbit and John Lewis.