ABOUT THIS ENTRY

As a leader in athlete storytelling, The Players’ Tribune (TPT) has a unique ability to allow brand partners to go deeper into their sports engagement, providing access to sports stories beyond current events - diving into the past and looking to the future through the eyes of the athletes themselves.

In 2021, Roku and TurboTax were both in search of a sports partner who could do just that, aiming to create notable content experiences around the Super Bowl and March Madness that went beyond simple commentary and focused on the sports moments of yesteryear - uncovering lesser-known stories and interesting tidbits all while increasing their brand awareness among sports audiences.

How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

Sports is an industry that is as timeless as it is timely - we know in our hearts that our heroes & legends of the game will never fade, & yet the industry moves so quickly we are usually grappling to get a handle on who the next big player, team, or story is. With this fast pace comes the possibility of missing out on some of the greatest stories of sports - being too busy looking forward, we forget to look back.

What The Players’ Tribune was able to do through this content, was shine a new light on some of the most beloved lore in sports history - giving a voice to some of our favorite athletes of yesterday & allowing them to relive some of their most memorable moments in an exciting & visually stunning format befitting of their story.

By taking the time to look back, TPT proved that the best way to align brands with sports isn’t always focusing on the ‘next big thing’, sometimes it's taking a step back, looking to those moments that made an impact, looking to those who came before us, hearing them out & giving them a chance to step into the new world with us.

Objective: As a leader in athlete storytelling, The Players’ Tribune (TPT) has a unique ability to allow brand partners to go deeper into their sports engagement, providing access to sports stories beyond current events - diving into the past and looking to the future through the eyes of the athletes themselves.

In 2021, Roku and TurboTax were both in search of a sports partner who could do just that, aiming to create notable content experiences around the Super Bowl and March Madness that went beyond simple commentary and focused on the sports moments of yesteryear - uncovering lesser-known stories and interesting tidbits all while increasing their brand awareness among sports audiences.

The specific goals for this partnership were to:
Provide greater visibility to TurboTax during the biggest sports moments of the year
Create content that would resonate strongly on Roku’s channels, increasing the brands association with sports content

With these goals in mind, TPT tapped into their robust athlete community, to create the ‘How It Happened’ series, an animated video experience that looked back at two of the greatest moments around the Super Bowl and March Madness - the Super Bowl Blackout of 2013 and the Duke vs. UNLV face-off of 1991.

Strategy & Execution: The modern sports fan is constantly bombarded with various forms of sports content, especially leading up to & during key events like the Super Bowl & March Madness, making it increasingly difficult for brands to stand out. TPT combatted this by creating content that was not only interesting from a visual perspective - leveraging their award-winning production team to create beautiful animated features - but also a substance perspective by diving into lesser-known stories around these events.

Leveraging their athlete community, TPT received various inside perspectives on both the Super Bowl Blackout of 2013 & the 1991 Duke vs. UNLV face-off - tapping into Ed Reed, Delanie Walker, Michael Crabtree, Dennis Pitta, Christian Laettner, Grant Hill & Greg Anthony - to reveal the inside stories behind these historical events.

In order to make these stories even more dynamic, TPT leveraged their team’s animation skills to give the videos a distinct retro look & feel. Through this animation fans were able to ‘see’ the actual events that transpired during the blackout & the match as well as visualize the inner thoughts of the athletes sharing their stories. By creating this unique animated world, TPT was able to seamlessly integrate TurboTax into the conversation & provide Roku with innovative content for their channels.

Results: Overall, the “How It Happened” content experience was a huge success, resonating strongly with sports audiences including industry insiders as well as sports fans.

From an industry perspective, the partnership garnered media trade interest from publications such as AdWeek and Next TV for its innovative and notable approach to Super Bowl and March Madness.

From a fan engagement perspective, the content garnered over 36,165 minutes of watch time with a 63% VCR - which is 2% higher than the industry benchmark. The storytelling aspect of the content also enabled it to be widely shared across social media, garnering thousands of engagements across The Players’ Tribune channels as well as the athletes’ social accounts as well.

Production

The Players' Tribune
Roku
TurboTax

Credits

Ed Reed
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Delanie Walker
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Michael Crabtree
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Dennis Pitta
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Jack Harbaugh
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Jackie Harbaugh
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Christian Laettner
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Grant Hill
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune

Greg Anthony
The Players' Tribune Contributor
The Players' Tribune