Paul Brown Media continues its new editorial interview series called Creative Sparks, featuring some of the top talent in our industry, with Chris Brown, Head of Social at Dugout.
YOUR BACKGROUND
Name
Chris Brown
Position
Head of Social
Work for
Dugout
Previous companies
Cake (Havas), Dentsu Aegis Network, TMW Unlimited, Four Communications
Your first role in the industry
Intern at Four Communications working on the 2015 Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour
YOUR ROLE
Describe your role in one sentence…
Leveraging the relationship Dugout has with partner football clubs such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus and PSG through Social and Digital platforms.
What’s the most important personal quality for working in social?
Creativity. Being able to stand out from the crowd is what inevitably will set you apart from competitors.
What do you love most about working in social?
Being able to collaborate with brands that you admire. I have been fortunate to work with some of my favourite brands and creators and if it hasn’t been through a set client brief, you can kickstart a campaign by simply reaching out to someone and brainstorming ideas.
Favourite channel personally & also professionally?
Personally, it would have to be Instagram, I didn’t think I would say that a few years ago! I use the app for shopping, finding out about events and everything in between.
Professionally, it would be Twitter, it’s great for real time news and jumping on reactive moments – particularly in football.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Your proudest piece of content or campaign on social?
Working across the Premier League Carling Goal of the Month/Season Award for two seasons, from goal shortlist curation to a social led vote for the winner and delivery of the award to Premier League footballers at training grounds and stadia alike. Working on an entity as prestigious as the Goal of the Month/Season Award so early on in my career is something I will always be proud of!
Best piece of content or campaign you’ve seen on social – sport?
Lionesses 2019 World Cup squad announcement. A host of celebrities including James Corden, Emma Watson and David Beckham announced the Lionesses World Cup squad through their personal social profiles. The campaign delivered extensive reach through the network of celebrities and also helped elevate the profile of Women’s football, an area that continues to see extensive growth.
Best piece of content/campaign you’ve seen on social – non sport?
Spotify #2019Wrapped – the end of-year-event where Spotify unveils the listening data of each user from throughout the year. Graphics of your top artists, songs, genres and so on are curated with links through to the app that you could share on any of your social profiles, a great piece of marketing by Spotify.
Which team/organisation/individual is doing it best on social?
Pablo Rochat’s (@pablo.rochat) creativity on Instagram is second to none. If you’re seeking some creative inspiration, he’s your guy.
Three social accounts you check daily?
Dugout, Sky Sports & BBC News.
All three channels keep me up to date with current affairs and news from across the sporting landscape.
In terms of industry peers in social, who do you most admire?
Josh Akers has done a brilliant job at ODDS Bible across a number of major sporting events over the past few years covering football, boxing, F1, horse racing and darts.
YOUR PREDICTIONS
Channel to look out for in 2020?
Art of Football, they are dominating the football culture scene and have been over the past twelve to eighteen months. They rose to fame last summer when they produced a Notting Hill Carnival inspired Arsenal outfit for Adidas and since then they have capitalised on interest, rolling out a product offering that is highly sought after.
What do you expect to be hot social in 2020?
With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of mental health led campaigns, there have been a couple recently from the likes of TikTok with Mind/Carling with Calm Zone and I think we can expect to see a lot more brands working with mental health organisations over the next six months.
Paul Brown 