Over 1 million Tweets were posted about Sunday’s Capital One Cup Final between Manchester City and Liverpool.
Utilising ground-breaking technology for the first time in the UK, the Football League developed two new social engagement campaigns.
The significant engagement for the Capital One Cup Final was driven by The Football League’s innovative #ShirtOfSupport and #FinalCam campaigns which lit up conversation on social media around the world.
A visual map of tweets during the game released by Twitter Data expresses the peaks during the period of the game.
According to data provided by Kantar Media, the match was one of the most talked about sporting events on Twitter across the weekend, attracting more than five times as many tweets as the England v Ireland Six Nations match.
The Football League delivered a range of activity in support of the Final across social media platforms.
The #ShirtOfSupport campaign led the way reaching 48 million people with an engagement rate of 61% as Liverpool and Manchester City fans went head to head in a Twitter battle which Liverpool won by 72% to 28%.
Fans who Tweeted their club’s Twitter handle alongside either #RedsAtWembley or #CityAtWembley receive an instant response containing their club’s shirt personalised with their Twitter handle on the back, as well as a thank you message from the Football League and a fan number.
Further social activity came in the form of #FinalCam, a new matchday activation where fans tweeting @CapitalOne_Cup using the hashtag #WembleyWay received an instant photo reply from a camera snapping real time images of fans moving along ‘Wembley Way’.
In a UK first, during the match fans were able to tweet @CapitalOne_Cup to receive an instant ‘on demand’ photo of their team’s bench and technical area, using either #LFCBench or #MCFCBench. Reaching 8 million people with an engagement rate of 47% this was the first time ever fans have been given the opportunity to see how the two benches react in real time during the game
Each club’s digital support was also given a visible presence at Wembley Stadium Connected by EE on matchday, with the Twitter profile pictures of fans registering for #ShirtOfSupport being used to create a mosaic image displayed on both the giant screen inside Wembley and on the screens in the tunnel.
After the final whistle The Football League sent a congratulations tweet to Manchester City fans who registered for their #ShirtOfSupport, of which 90% retweeted or liked.
Commenting on the success of the Capital One Cup Final, Drew Barrand, Marketing Director at The Football League said: “The Capital One Cup Final has once again attracted a phenomenal reaction from fans on social media.
“The Football League is always looking at innovative ways to enhance the fan experience and we are delighted with the response to our activities around this year’s Final.
“The Capital One Cup Final has developed a reputation as one the best digital experiences in sport thanks to the mass involvement from fans across multiple media platforms.”
For the match itself, The Football League covered the event across social media, delivering content on its official corporate and competition Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest accounts.
The conversation on Twitter peaked as Yaya Toure scored the winning penalty for Manchester City at 7.16pm.
Other Twitter flash points came as Phillipe Coutinho equalised for Liverpool in the dying minutes and as tempers flared after a heavy challenge on Adam Lallana.
