WASHINGTON SPIRIT
Challenge
The Washington Spirit, DC’s women’s soccer team, was coming out of a tumultuous few years. Now under new ownership and with the most players on the national team, they wanted to reposition the Spirit as the leader in the National Women’s Soccer League, and celebrate women’s soccer in general in the run up to World Cup. They also needed to increase at-game attendance by 30%.
Insight
With the World Cup approaching, all eyes would be on women’s soccer.
Washington Spirit has a truly trailblazing owner, more players on the national team than any of their competitors, as well as a unique positioning opportunity:
While all the other teams rep a city, Spirit reps The Nation’s Capital.
Solution
To stand out we needed more than a campaign line. We needed a cohesive brand story that shows all the ways Washington Spirit is changing the world of sports. And how do you start the change? By setting the precedents.
We introduced the new brand platform That’s The Spirit for the summer, which juxtaposed active, deeply human photos of the players with political-campaign tongue-in-cheek copy that equal parts energized and inspired, communicating the core manifesto across all engagement points:
D.C. is where world leaders come to work, winners make the rules, and the future is written.
We play here.
We are game changers, world leaders, female owners and ceiling breakers.
We have scores to settle, statements to make, and boundaries to push.
This isn’t just about women’s soccer, it’s about paving the way for the next generation.
We're doing big things over here ... you better be paying attention.
Results
The team saw unprecedented fandom engagement and growth during the 2023 season - from 90% year-to-year ticket sales growth, to over 100% merch sales growth. #ThatsTheSpirit continues to be the brand platform in 2024.
