Super Bowl LI Brand Activation

During my time working at HAUS, in partnership with Innocean USA, I lead the UX Design for a web-based brand activation called "Put Your Profile On The Line" for Hyundai - NFL. This gamified experience allowed fans to challenge one another on the outcome of each game throughout the season. Each win would count as an entry to win tickets to Superbowl LI. The app was a bit more complex than a typical campaign site because it needed to integrate with facebook and have it's own notification system. 

The Business + UX Objective:

  • Increase NFL brand engagement across digital channels
  • Generate leads for Hyundai through CRM surveys and user data entry
  • Compete for an NFL fan's attention before, during, and after a game through incentives and earning bragging rights

SEE PROMO VIDEO

DISCOVERY

SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF SPORTS FANS

I started out by examining how traditional media and digital channels deliver value to the average NFL fan. From their favorite apps to the tweets they repost, I wanted to understand their behaviors and expectations. I conducted informal user research by leveraging Innocean's marketing team and conducting a range of user interviews with my inner circle of sport-fanatic friends.

For product inspiration, I looked sports blogs, fantasy apps, and similar football campaigns. I noticed patterns in the tone of messaging and feature set. Ultimately, gamification and animations were a big factor in  pleasant experience and keeping my attention span. I knew the design should be equally as addicting as it was engaging from start to finish.

THE JOURNEY AND TOUCH-POINTS​

I identified where touch-points would happen across the journey to ensure the product design met those expectations. The diagram below illustrates two things. The first is a simple diagram to illustrate the experiences a typical NFL has over the course of the season. What are all the digital and physical touch-points and where do we fit in. The second diagram is focused on the core experience loop, beginning when User A receives a challenge invitation (through Facebook) by User A. 

DESIGN

RESPONSIVE WITH A MOBILE FOCUS 

Since the site was responsive, I created fully speced wireframes for both mobile and desktop, but with a stronger focus on mobile not only because there was a lot of core functionality to fit in, and designing mobile first lends well to that, but more importantly because I knew the majority of users would be using this on-the-go as a dual screen experience as they watch the game at the bar or on their couch.

Since the timeline on this project was less than one month, I needed to rapidly prototype lo-fidelity wireframes to socialize internally at HAUS, with some test users, and ultimately to validate the flow with my co-designer.

Sample prototype demo of the the challenge invite flow

INTEGRATION

I worked closely with developers to anticipate tech constraints, especially when it came to integrating with Facebook's API and handling notifications. They appreciated formal wireframes, but the fun thing about working on a tight schedule is the full on physical collaboration from white-boarding to talking through the user scenarios and potential pain points in the flow.

ENGAGING UI THEME AND ELEMENTS

Lead by designer, Matthew Perdue, the UI was critical to ensuring the gamified experience we were looking for. The black and blue color theme, paired with bold letterman inspired typography represented both brands appropriately (Hyundai - NFL). It was bold enough but neutral enough to put the main focus on the colorful branding of each NFL team. 

LAUNCH AND SUCCESS

Over the course of the season, the following stats were collected:

  • Reached 6.40M people through the loop of sharing and inviting
  • 25.9M ad impressions
  • Roughly 50% of Facebook users recognized the ads after seeing it for the first time
  • 27% increase in brand favorability for Hyundai
Using Format