Increase awareness amongst sports fans for DIRECTV’s exclusive AUDIENCE Network, and the original sports programming it offers, including The Dan Patrick Show, The Rich Eisen Show, Undeniable with Joe Buck and original series such as MMA drama, Kingdom and Religion of Sports.

The Brand Amp began by developing a sub-brand and devoted social media channels for “AUDIENCE Sports” on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In order to drive a significant influx of fans and followers to the channels, we decided to leverage the attention around Super Bowl week in San Francisco and bring in a prominent NFL influencer, Pro Bowl wide receiver Brandon Marshall to takeover the channels that week. Marshall was utilized as a field reporter for the AUDIENCE Sports social channels, interviewing the wide array of NFL players and celebrities in San Francisco that week, and as a media spokesperson delivering an overt call-to-action to millions of sports fans during a media tour that featured interviews with top national sports TV, print and radio media. With significant on-camera experience as a weekly cast member on Showtime’s Inside the NFL and a strong social media following, Marshall was ideal for handling the dual-purpose role.

The combined PR and social media campaign with Brandon Marshall proved highly effective. An onslaught of media coverage was highlighted by ESPN Sportscenter, ESPN First Take, USA Today, New York Daily News, New York Post, Denver Post and Bleacher Report among others. Fueled by the social media takeover, a paid social media buy and the significant media coverage, the social media campaign reached over 5.5 million consumers, generating over a 1,000 percent increase in Facebook followers, 151 percent increase on Twitter and 45 percent increase on Instagram.