Inside the Lions Camp: The Business End
If there was a song which defined this week, then it’s Tiesto’s lyrics of “Let’s get down to business.” In the context of preparation for a Lions Series, this is the equivalent of reaching Everest Base Camp. We’ve come a long way and worked hard, but the business end of the tour is now looming.
We landed in Cape Town on Sunday after a spectacular descent over the soaring mountains, glistening ocean and buildings of Cape Town. After the parched brown earth of Gauteng, the green grass and lush vegetation was a surprise.
After settling into our new camp, we sat down to watch the finals of the EUROs. I had the surreal experience of watching it with the likes of Kyle Sinckler – aka the most passionate England fan ever – but also receiving texts from the Fifty Digital crew on-the-ground creating content for partners at the stadium and fan zones. Meanwhile, I was sat watching Kyle’s eruptions as Shaw put us into the lead. Then the penalties came…
On the field, we faced South Africa ‘A’ with 18 Rugby World Cup winners in their side at the ultra-modern Cape Town Stadium. I sound like a geek but man, their Wifi was rapid which makes real-time content coverage so much easier. From downloading in-game clips to publishing or reviewing motions edits to going live from the stadium, rapid Wifi is integral to reliable on-the-ground output.
The mood in camp is confident and determined as the mission is clear – win the series.
We shot another episode- Episode 5 – of our vodcast, Inside the Bubble, where Jonny Hill gave a glorious and impassioned assessment of his favourite biscuit. Turns out he doesn’t like Christmas Dinner as he’s sick from smashing down a box of biscuits for breakfast. The purpose of the vodcast is to illustrate life inside the Lions bubble and to get to know the players as people. It offers fans a deeper engagement opportunity with the stars of the tour.
Engagement is high on this show and The Ultimate Test, with us posting across multiple platforms tailoring content outputs to their algorithmic preferences. This often means teasers driving content to YouTube from Twitter, the same approach from IG Stories to IGTV or YouTube as well, then full edits on Facebook, IGTV and YouTube.
Alongside this, we’re pushing hard on immersive, behind the scenes and real-time video content to help build the narrative of the tour. For example, I’ve found myself waiting outside the dressing room as the players emerge for the match, to capture their emotions and demonstrate what it means to fans for these men to live their Lions dreams.
We rounded off the week with a 49-3 win over the DHL Stormers at Cape Town Stadium. It was a slick performance and one final chance for the players to put their hands up for selection for the First Test.
A Test week is always a unique experience with emotions running high and fans’ appetite for content growing. We generally ramp back any excessive shoots or filming requirements to give the players space to focus.
The key focus for the upcoming week is now to create content which showcases the camp build up and final days of preparation before we embark on the first series in South Africa since 2009 and our first series since 2017.
Stay tuned for more updates after the First Test and fingers crossed for a victory!
