Every MLS season our team tries to come up with the next great idea to out shine our previous one, a fun little challenge of topping ourselves. As we put our creative hats on we looked at the calendar for the next big event, the Seattle vs. Portland game, let the brainstorming begin.
For those of you who aren’t aware, the Sounders and Timbers rivalry is unparalleled in Major League Soccer. The fact these two stadiums are less than 3 hours away from each other allows for massive fan attendance from both sides. Not to mention, both teams have some of the best fans in the sport—in my opinion. Knowing how deep the love/hate relationship between these clubs it made perfect sense to highlight this passion as part of activation. Why not take it all the way back to the beginning and remind fans when it all started. From there, a vision was built.
On Thursday evening, 3 days before the big match, after all businesses were closed, our team of 9 showed up to one of the busiest outdoor plaza’s in downtown Seattle ready to bring our vision to life. After 6 hours of working in the dark our team had finally created our masterpiece. We made sure to keep it under-wraps overnight so the big reveal would come the following morning when people ventured out to start their days.
Friday morning came quickly after the late night setup and our team couldn’t be more excited to see the reactions on peoples faces when they saw what had appeared in Westlake Plaza; our massive Windows 10 locker room paying tribute to the Sounders/Timbers rivalry. Each locker, wrapped in Sounders green, displayed a great moment in Seattle & Portland history dating back to their Inaugural match in 1975—‘10 Great Moments’ to be exact. How fitting since this is the new Windows slogan.
The replica locker room wasn’t enough for our team so we took it one step further and constructed another display piece, a 10 foot wall that would play host to the mosaic Sounders canvas we were going to be developing over the next few days. Our team would be encouraging fans to show their love for the Sounders by uploading photos to social media using the rivalry hashtag in hopes their image would appear within the artwork. The image itself was a mystery to the public only to be revealed by a special guest at the March to the Match on Sunday.
The next two days were filled with thousands of uploaded images and hundreds of fans relishing the moments on the timeline, recounting each step, touch, and spin of the ball that made that game memorable. Chants were heard from passerby’s from dawn to dusk and Sounders green was seen for several city blocks. People were getting ready for the Sunday’s match.
Sunday was here, which meant game day. Supporters from both sides started to make their way towards Century Link. The unveiling of the mosaic wall was quickly approaching as people started to funnel into Occidental Park eager to see the final piece. As the clock struck noon Roger Levesque, Sounders legend, took the stage and the crowd grew silent. In what seemed like a flash, Roger tore back the black curtains to expose the mosaic, there stood 10 feet tall the famous Timbers chop celebration—immediately the crowd erupted. One of the most memorable moments in Sounders history thus far was Roger’s 48 second goal which we brought to life. Horns blew, confetti took flight, and excited cheers filled the air as fans slowly began the march to the stadium gates.
After 4 days of activations it was finally game time and we were ready to add another great moment to our Windows timeline. Scarves up.
Categories: Experiential, Featured, Major League Soccer, Soccer Marketing