1. Introduction

The EFL (English Football League) was formed in 1888 and is widely known as the world’s original league football competition. As such, the EFL has often been considered the first template for football leagues all over the world.

The EFL is the largest single body of professional clubs in European football and is responsible for administering and regulating the EFL, the Carabao Cup, the Papa John’s Trophy, and the reserve and youth football.

2. Objectives

• Deliver valuable new content outside of match times
• Satisfy strong fan desire to engage with video content
• Make it timely, relevant and compelling for fans
• Make it easy to manage (automated)

3. Strategy

Deliver an automated service for final match scores and video highlights post-match, delivered at the right time, in the right place, direct to fans with one-click access to watch highlights.

4. Solution

Subscribers will receive an ICYMI (in case you missed it!) entry in their calendar the morning after a match, with the final scores and direct access to highlights, whenever their favourite team wins or draws. The match scores are contained in the event title, with a brief match description and a strong ‘Watch Now!’ ‘call to action’ link, with direct access to the relevant match highlights.

• Entries only placed in calendar when their favourite team wins or draws
• Entries appear in the calendar the 24 hours after kickoff, with an alert at 5 minutes prior to prompt response.

5. Outcomes

• 400% increase in click-through rate;
• 651% increase in clicks from the calendar;
• 2052% increase in total engagement when compared to the same period one year prior;
• ‘Watch Now’ (highlights) is the most clicked link across the EFL Digital Platform (73% of total clicks).

* Two month sample size. 1/8/2021 – 1/10/2021 and  1/8/2022 – 1/10/2022