UEFA, with support from its 55 National Associations, is aiming to make football the number one played sport for women across Europe within 5 years. Together #WePlayStrong, introduces a new visual language for women's football, encouraging more girls aged between 13 to 17 to take up the sport. This pan-European, digitally-led integrated campaign will help make that goal a reality.

The Work

Tackling misconceptions about the women’s game head on, our work features a diverse range of girls drawn from across Europe, each demonstrating the confidence that comes from playing football. The year-long campaign was developed from the girl up (not the brand down), and therefore is socially-led, with TV and print support. Our main campaign film, shot across three countries, featured hundreds of girls playing football at all levels, from professionals at Sporting Lisbon to girls who'd just taken up the sport. Already, the film has racked up over 10 million views and counting. 

Built From The Girl Up

We wanted to reach out to girls on channels where they’re active and in ways that they behave. This allows for maximum creativity when engaging with our assets, with girls being able to co-create, participate, and truly make the campaign theirs. From GIFs on Giphy, to content films that live on social media, to an iMessenger sticker pack, the campaign is optimised for the platforms the girls spend their time on and provides a range of creative touchpoints for them to enjoy. 

The Results

Without any traditional above the line media spend, the campaign has had over 200M views andover 1.02billion social media impressions. Much of this is driven by our newer channels; our Giphy channel, for instance, has generated 200.9 million views to date without paid support. Social activity has driven over 250K people through to our website, where they can find their nearest football club and join girls across Europe in the game. Most importantly, 73% of teenage girls who’ve seen the campaign say they’d want to play football.