THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Industry

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Strategy & Engagement

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Locker Room Confessions with Chase Utley and Alex Curry

Entered in Storytelling

Objective

Building on the success of our previous Locker Room Confessions series—where standout moments like LA Dodgers announcer Joe Davis’s feature drove Instagram engagements +371% above baseline—we leaned into fans’ love for behind-the-scenes content. Recognizing the popularity of the “what’s in my bag” trend, we adapted it for sports fans, focusing specifically on baseball and softball.

Rather than highlighting just gear, we centered the series around personal objects that hold deep meaning to athletes and broadcasters alike. This approach allowed for never-before-heard stories that offered a more personal, humanizing look at the people behind the game. At the same time, this series served as a strategic way to drive traffic to the DIRECTV MLB sales page, ensuring the content remained connected to the brand’s deep ties to baseball.

Strategy

To bring this project to life, we took a strategic approach, refining and evolving the Locker Room Confessions format based on past performance and audience engagement. We analyzed which talent resonated most with fans and brought them back, ensuring we featured personalities who aligned well with DIRECTV’s messaging and MLB’s core audience.

A key part of execution was seamlessly integrating DIRECTV’s MLB positioning into the scripts without it feeling forced. We crafted natural, engaging conversations that kept baseball at the center while allowing talent to share personal, meaningful stories. To enhance authenticity, we also introduced a new format where two people appeared together in the video, creating a more dynamic, conversational flow as they asked each other questions and reacted in real time.

Pre-production was another critical element of our strategy. We conducted calls with each talent beforehand to get to know them better, uncover unique stories, and identify the most compelling angles for their episode. This extra step made a significant impact, helping the final videos feel more natural, personal, and engaging.

By refining the format, bringing back top-performing talent, and prioritizing authenticity, we created a series that felt fresh while staying true to DIRECTV’s brand voice. The result was compelling content that resonated with fans and strengthened DIRECTV’s connection to baseball.

Results

Bringing back Locker Room Confessions as an ongoing series helped solidify it as a recognizable and ownable part of DIRECTV’s brand identity. Familiarity builds connection, and by evolving rather than reinventing, we created content that felt like a natural extension of the brand—something audiences could look forward to and associate with DIRECTV’s presence in baseball.

The updated format delivered impressive results, with Alex Curry and Chase Utley’s segment achieving 57% above our client’s baseline for impressions and 105% above baseline for engagement, making it the campaign’s top performer. Having two people in the video led to more dynamic and natural interactions, which ultimately made for more engaging content.

By refining the format, strategically selecting top-performing talent, and prioritizing authenticity, Locker Room Confessions continued to resonate with fans while reinforcing DIRECTV’s strong connection to baseball.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Rhodes Creative Group, DIRECTV

Link

Entry Credits