I am a Chicago Bear
The 6th Annual Awards
- Best Website
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
"I am a Chicago Bear" is a dynamic digital experience that showcases some of the Chicago Bear's most passionate fans using captured voice and imagery. Combining unique polaroid photos with the power of voice, the team was able to depict what it means to be a fan and to be a Chicago Bear.
How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?
This experience shows that innovation is a constant. We had a nugget of an idea at the beginning of the year to capture fan voices, but we had no idea where they would end up. Through months of ideating and brainstorming, we finally figured out how to marry the ”power of voice” with these distinct handwritten polaroids. This idea was proof that fans want to be heard and want to be involved with the organization on a deeply personalized level. It was a heavy lift to coordinate so many assets throughout the entire season, but the project wouldn’t have been as effective without all of these diverse responses.
This project has already inspired our industry just from conversations we’ve had with our peers across the NFL in the past few months. Many teams came to us with questions on how we were able to pull off such a monumental and powerful piece of work that took full advantage of our most valuable asset, our fans.
Objective
The creation of this work stemmed from a desire to celebrate the profound connection between the Chicago Bears and their diverse, dedicated fanbase. Initiated ahead of the Fan Appreciation game against the Falcons, the interactive digital experience aimed to highlight what it truly means to be a Chicago Bear. By engaging fans in conversations about their personal affiliations with the team, the project sought to encapsulate the deep-rooted sense of community, family, and tradition associated with being a Bears fan.
Hearing our fan’s voices lent itself to a lot of diversity goals: age, gender, backgrounds, languages. We celebrated their differences by uniting them with their Bears fandom.
Strategy & Execution
The Bears’ digital team connected with fans at Soldier Field and on the road in cities across the country. At those games, the team also captured Polaroid photos of each fan who responded, which features their own handwriting.
The team also gave fans a chance to answer a Question of the Day each week via push notifications through the Chicago Bears Official App, allowing them to tell their stories from their homes, fan caves and more.
The website was designed for web in collaboration with the creative services team and was developed for desktop and mobile by the digital media team.
Small but effective touches were added to the site such as polaroid camera sound effects and a stitched together rendition of ”Bear Down Chicago Bears” using fan submissions. These features humanized the project even further and captured the essence of what it means to be a Chicago Bears fan.
The team also created an entire in-game ”Thank you Bears fans” campaign around this project which incorporated the overall design and the polaroid element throughout the stadium. This included a large banner at the main gate, videoboard assets, digital outdoor assets, a polaroid booth, and a digital in-app keepsake.
Organizations
- Chicago Bears
- Anecdote (formerly Nodeio)
Links
Credits
Austin Huette
Web Designer
Chicago Bears
Bryan Greenaway
Senior Applications Engineer
Chicago Bears
Gabby Hajduk
Digital Media Associate
Chicago Bears
Ghada Yousef
Manager of Brand Creative
Chicago Bears
John Conroy
Director of Brand Creative
Chicago Bears
Kelley Jacobsen
Graphic Designer
Chicago Bears
Kevin Meyers
Digital Copy Editor
Chicago Bears
Lorne Chan
Vice President of Content and Innovation
Chicago Bears
Molly Brown
Digital Product Coordinator
Chicago Bears
Pooja Van Dyke
Director of Digital Media
Chicago Bears
Scott Hagel
SVP of Marketing and Communications
Chicago Bears
Sudip Ray
Senior Engineer
Anecdote (Nodeio)
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 6th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 6, 2024 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
