Unilever has kicked off a multi-brand partnership for UEFA Euro 2024 with a press release announcing that they will attract a cumulative audience of more than 5 billion people across the tournament. At first glance the mega claim seems far-fetched until you break down the elements of the ‘cume’ – the estimated total number of … Read More
When Mediacells consults with a new football club client the first question we ask is, who are you trying to engage with and how big is the audience you are going after? Football clubs know their fans as intimately as local newspapers know their readership. They know their interests, which buttons to press in order … Read More
The Grudge Match has been the punchy storyline for boxing audiences since Muhammad Ali’s famous pre-fight tussle with Ernie Terrell in 1967 when the ‘Octopus’ called Ali by his forsaken name, Cassius Clay. The spat set the scene for Ali outpointing Terrell comprehensively over 15 rounds in what was arguably the most outstanding performance in … Read More
It is International Women’s Day and the Accelerate Progress campaign theme is passionately framed in the arena of sports audiences. Earlier this year, USA Today reported on a study claiming Gen Z audiences don’t care about sports, with only 23% of them describing themselves as passionate sports fans compared to 42% of millennials. These digital … Read More
The creative world is on a precipice if we are to believe entertainment and media commentators on the effect text-to-video AI modelling tool Sora will have on the creative visual world. Gary Lineker-owned All the Rest is Entertainment podcast hosts considered the disastrous macro impact of AI on media and entertainment industries, “Really tough times … Read More
Audiences are returning to live award shows like the BAFTAs and Golden Globes after several slump years – does the mainstream audience enthusiasm for these star-studded, peacocking extravaganzas convert to sport? Latest Sports Fan edition explores new Audience Engineering growth data to find out. We are now deep into the awards season with the Golden … Read More
The latest audience engineering trend is ‘Swift-ization’, the boosting of the Super Bowl audience by sport-adjacent love story between Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop superstar Taylor Swift. It was no massive surprise that the Super Bowl 2024 was the most-watched telecast of all time, hitting 123.4 million viewers (Nielsen and Adobe … Read More
Football managers just don’t matter that much, according to Soccernomics co-author Simon Kuper. On the BBC flagship news show, Today, err today (February 7) the Financial Times journalist and economist said, “Most managers add so little value that it is tempting to think they could be replaced by their secretaries or by stuffed teddy bears … Read More
Last week the undisputed Streaming Wars victor Netflix got Wall Street in a Full Nelson when it announced a $5 billion rights deal with World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Raw. The deal has given Netflix the fireman’s carry it needs to launch an ad-funded smackdown of live, top-of-the-bill WWE shows and specials. Professional wrestling terms aside, … Read More
Forty years ago today Steve Jobs unveiled the very first Mackintosh computer, he took to the stage carrying a beige box, stuck a floppy disk into it and as the theme from Chariots of Fire played the word ‘Mackintosh’ appeared on the computer’s screen. It was the most inspirational product launch the world had ever … Read More
The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ continues to excite global audiences on and off the pitch, despite the Down-Under time differences. The tournament in Australia and New Zealand has been a moment for Women’s football. There are only a few more sleeps until the World Cup final between Spain and England at the Stadium Australia … Read More
The new Wimbledon service will be separate to the BBC’s coverage for the 3 July-16 July tournament and IBM’s AI team claim the technology has been trained in the “unique language of tennis” with the help of the All England Club. IBM said the first set of AI commentary will be available after the first day … Read More
In the latest Black Mirror Netflix Original, Joan is Awful, we are shown an AI nightmare where people’s lives are turned into content, with or without their permission. “It’s designed to keep the viewer in a state of mesmerized horror,” says the mythical Streamberry CEO, “it’s great for engagement.” This burnished technology vision of Black … Read More
After five years R&D development Mediacells has been awarded the trademark for Audience Engineering (AE), a business insights system to inform performance decisions for rights owners and sponsors. To mark the occasion the Mediacells team wanted to use AE to produce a unique, creative identity. We decided to embark on a new creative path for … Read More
Mediacells advises football club clients to think outside of the ground in the context of their fanbase. If a club looks at their fortunes in terms of takings at the stadium, purchases in store, online and physical, plus TV deals – the sponsorship revenue will reflect the club’s mindset. Take Wrexham AFC as an example … Read More
Events in the first three months of 2023 shattered a lot of agency crystal balls about what lies ahead for big tech and sports. The mothernode intersecting the various media agency about-turns and flip-flops can be attributed to the rapid roll-out of fresh generative AI tools, like Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. It was the … Read More
Soccer, football, footy, togga, kickball – the Game of Two Halves has many entries in the sporting lexicon, with Anglo-Saxon keyboard warriors often berating rooky fans from across the pond about the naming of parts. In the context of examining the game’s emerging popularity in the U.S. I’ll be referring to soccer from here on … Read More
The predictions, courtesy of Nielsen’s Gracenote database, are based on over one million simulations that produce estimates of the chance each team reaches a particular stage of the competition. The science behind the above FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Cup modelling is awesome in its crunching and stitching of complex data sets but it doesn’t … Read More
A HUMAN would be forgiven for associating words like scary, absurd, ridiculous, monster, filthy, unfair or freak with negative sentiment. Many shots were reported to have been fired and shade thrown last night after Cristiano Ronaldo ‘stormed’ down the tunnel before the end of Manchester United’s victory over Tottenham. Digital fathoms of doomscrolling opportunities ensue … Read More
Women’s football fan engagement became a mass market story after England’s win against Germany last Sunday. The record-breaking 87,000 fans that packed out Wembley stadium for the final and the 17.4 million viewers who watched the final on the BBC are the two key stats that the world and her granny now know. A lesser-known … Read More