Virgin LineUp Builder

All the football

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Client

Virgin Media

Telephone service company

Year

2016

London, UK

Case Study Overview

The Virgin Lineup Builder is a digital tool that allows football fans to create their ideal team lineups for the 2016 European Championships. The objective of the product was twofold: to foster fan engagement during the tournament and to promote Virgin Media's involvement in football.

Targeting football enthusiasts seeking alternative ways to interact with the event, the lineup builder encouraged users to consider the individual strengths and weaknesses of players and how they would contribute to a winning team.

The success of the product could be quantified by measuring the level of user engagement, such as the number of lineups created and shared on social media. Furthermore, it served as a promotional tool to raise awareness of Virgin Media's brand and its association with football.

Overall, the Virgin Lineup Builder demonstrated an innovative approach for Virgin Media to engage with football fans and reinforce its brand during the 2016 European Championships.



Some information and details are excluded due to confidentiality reasons.

Problem & Opportunity

The Virgin Lineup Builder aims to address two key challenges: driving fan engagement during the 2016 European Championships and increasing brand awareness of Virgin Media's involvement in football.



Main challenge

To achieve this, the product needed to provide highly shareable content that complemented existing fan behaviour, while remaining relevant to football fans beyond the tournament itself. To accomplish this, the lineup builder featured all UEFA European Championship squads, as well as teams from the top five European leagues and the Champions League, providing users with a wide variety of options to create their ideal lineups.

In addition, the product utilized Opta data integration to ensure the accuracy of information and provide users with up-to-date statistics and insights into player performance.

Overall, the Virgin Lineup Builder presented a unique opportunity for Virgin Media to engage with football fans and increase brand awareness by providing an innovative and valuable tool for fans to interact with their favorite teams and players.

My role

Lead User Experience Designer

Solution

The Virgin Lineup Builder is a straightforward and user-friendly digital tool designed to enable football fans to create their ideal team lineups for the 2016 European Championships. The product offers a seamless three-step process that makes it easy for users to get started and build their lineups in no time.

The first step is to select the user's favorite team from the list of available teams, which includes all the UEFA European Championship squads, as well as the top five European leagues and the Champions League. This feature ensures that users have a wide range of options to choose from, allowing them to build lineups for their favorite teams from across Europe.

The second step is to select the desired formation from a range of options available on the platform. This step is crucial, as it determines the tactical approach and style of play that the team will adopt. The lineup builder provides users with various formation options, such as 4-4-2, 3-5-2, or 4-3-3, among others, allowing them to create their desired lineups and experiment with different tactical approaches.

Finally, users are prompted to select the players they want to include in their lineup within their chosen formation. This feature allows users to tailor their lineup to their preferences and create a team that they believe can perform well on the pitch. The product provides up-to-date player information and statistics, sourced from Opta data integration, ensuring that users have accurate information to base their selections on.

Once the user has created their ideal lineup, they are encouraged to share it on social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook or copy the lineup URL to their clipboard. This feature encourages users to share their lineups with their friends and followers, creating a sense of community around the product and promoting further engagement with the Virgin Media brand.

Overall, the Virgin Lineup Builder offers an innovative and valuable solution for football fans seeking to interact with their favorite teams and players during the 2016 European Championships. Its user-friendly interface, wide range of team options, and data-driven approach provide users with an engaging and immersive experience while promoting brand awareness for Virgin Media.


Hight performing content strategy.

Social engagement

User Generated Content across Social media channels.

UGC

Teasing the product.

Advertising

The Project

Approach

Product Audit

The Virgin Lineup Builder is a digital product that provides football fans with a platform to create their ideal team lineups for the 2016 European Championships. The product offers a straightforward three-step process, enabling users to select their preferred team, formation, and players.

One of the key features of the Lineup Builder is its integration with Opta Sports data, which provides users with accurate and up-to-date information on player performance and statistics. This feature ensures that the teams available for selection are current and relevant, reflecting the real-life performance of players during the tournament.

Another notable feature of the Lineup Builder is its emphasis on user engagement and social sharing. After creating their lineups, users are encouraged to share them on social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, thereby promoting further engagement with the product and increasing brand awareness for Virgin Media.

However, one potential limitation of the product is its focus on the 2016 European Championships, which may limit its appeal beyond the tournament itself. While the Lineup Builder includes teams from the top five European leagues and the Champions League, its emphasis on the UEFA European Championship squads may limit its relevance to football fans outside of Europe.

Overall, the Virgin Lineup Builder is a well-designed and engaging product that provides football fans with a valuable tool for interacting with their favorite teams and players during the 2016 European Championships. Its integration with Opta Sports data ensures the accuracy and relevance of the teams available for selection, while its emphasis on social sharing promotes further engagement with the product and the Virgin Media brand.

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Opta Sports

The integration of Opta Sports data into the Lineup Builder is a key aspect of the product that sets it apart from other similar tools available to football fans. Opta Sports is a leading provider of sports data, and its inclusion in the Lineup Builder ensures that the teams available for selection are accurate and up-to-date.

By leveraging the wealth of data and insights provided by Opta Sports, the Lineup Builder is able to offer users a comprehensive and accurate picture of the performance and statistics of individual players and teams. This information allows users to make informed decisions when selecting their team lineups, taking into account factors such as player form, injuries, and tactical considerations.

The integration of Opta Sports data also provides an additional layer of engagement for users, who are able to explore and analyze the performance of different players and teams throughout the tournament. This feature enables users to gain a deeper understanding of the game and its players, and to interact with the product in a more meaningful way.

Overall, the integration of Opta Sports data into the Lineup Builder is a valuable feature that enhances the accuracy, relevance, and engagement of the product. By providing users with access to high-quality data and insights, the Lineup Builder is able to deliver a more compelling and rewarding experience for football fans during the 2016 European Championships.

Research

To develop an effective content strategy that embodies the OMFG approach and helps Virgin Media own the conversation with football fans during major football occasions, it's important to understand key data around awareness, credibility, and engagement.

Awareness: To increase awareness of Virgin Media's involvement in football, the content strategy should focus on delivering high-quality, informative, and engaging content that highlights the brand's commitment to football and its unique offerings for football fans. This could include behind-the-scenes access to major football events, exclusive interviews with players and coaches, and analysis and commentary on key games and moments.

Credibility: To establish credibility with football fans, the content strategy should prioritize accuracy, transparency, and a deep understanding of the game and its players. This could involve partnering with respected football analysts and commentators, incorporating data and insights from trusted sources such as Opta Sports, and leveraging the expertise of Virgin Media's own football experts.

Engagement: To drive engagement with football fans, the content strategy should aim to provide fans with "ALL THE FOOTBALL" - comprehensive coverage of all the major football events, from the European Championships to the World Cup and beyond. This could involve creating a variety of content formats, such as articles, videos, podcasts, and interactive tools, that cater to different fan preferences and interests. Additionally, the content strategy should prioritize social media engagement, encouraging fans to share their thoughts, opinions, and content around major football events and leveraging user-generated content to build a sense of community and engagement.

To help users complete all their tasks and share their content, the most performing task model could be a simple, intuitive, and mobile-friendly interface that guides users through the process of building their ideal lineup. The model could involve a streamlined three-step process similar to the existing Lineup Builder, where users select their team, formation, and players. Once the lineup is complete, the model could prompt users to share their lineup on social media or copy the URL to their clipboard. Additionally, the model could incorporate features such as a search function to make it easier for users to find specific teams and players, and a save function to enable users to come back to their lineup at a later time.

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UX Architecture

Task models and Scenarios

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UX Design

Screen design overview

UI Production

Guide Line and Documentation

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Learnings, results and output

Learnings: Football fans are looking for ways to engage with major football events beyond just watching the games. Providing fans with tools to create and share their own content can increase engagement and foster a sense of community among fans. Integrating accurate and reliable data from trusted sources can enhance the credibility of a football-related product or service.

Outcomes: The Virgin Lineup Builder may have driven increased engagement among football fans during the 2016 European Championships. The product may have helped to increase brand awareness of Virgin Media's involvement in football. The Lineup Builder may have provided valuable insights into the preferences and behaviours of football fans, which could inform future content and product strategies.

Overall, the product was successful in driving engagement and generating interest among football fans. The 12 Twitter trends and 7x industry engagement rate suggest that the Lineup Builder was able to capture the attention of a significant number of people and generate a high level of interest and activity.

The specific outcomes of the Twitter trends and engagement rate will depend on the context and goals of the campaign, but some potential benefits could include:

Increased brand visibility and awareness among the target audience
Improved perception of Virgin Media's involvement and expertise in football
Greater social media following and engagement with Virgin Media's accounts
Increased traffic and user engagement with the Lineup Builder product itself

The Twitter trends and industry engagement rate suggest that the Virgin Lineup Builder was successful in achieving its goals of driving engagement and increasing brand awareness during the 2016 European Championships.

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