St. Louis Ambush: By the Numbers
Overview
The Major Arena Soccer League club St. Louis Ambush knows its athletes are the most powerful and influential voices when it comes to reaching fans. The club used Greenfly to collect original short-form player and staff videos to share with fans on social media. This activity was the centerpiece of the “3 Ways You Stay Mentally Strong During the Season” campaign sponsored by new corporate partner Compass Health Network (CHN).
The Ambush team aimed to:
- Engage fans on social media with fresh, authentic content
- Amplify the sponsorship by involving players, coaches and staff in short-form content creation
- Make the mental health message relatable and impactful for fans
Background
The Ambush team understood that forming strong relationships between fans, players and sponsors on social media was crucial to creating deep, lasting connections and value that transcended the pitch. The club leveraged its social channels to authentically showcase and activate sponsors — strengthening these partnerships while benefiting the Ambush community.
The team saw short-form content as a powerful tool to amplify sponsorships across platforms. It allowed them to engage audiences in creative and impactful ways. Club partners were eager to integrate into this content, seeing how quickly it resonated with fans. Authentic player-generated content, in particular, notably boosted social performance for the Ambush, driving higher reach, engagement and click-through rates compared to traditional branded content.
Being part of last year’s campaign was a great experience. Greenfly made it easy for us to share our health tips and connect with fans.
Christian Briggs, St. Louis Ambush Defender, 23/24 St Louis Ambush Fan Vote Defender of the Year
Partnership
Short-form content was key to securing CHN as a new Ambush sponsor.
With full creative freedom from CHN, the Ambush team focused on gathering original, relatable videos from individual players (including Christian Briggs, Robby Kristo and Curtis Kirby), coaches and staff. Their short videos highlighted the three ways they stay mentally fit during the season.
Thanks to Greenfly’s platform, sending out content requests to gather media was a breeze — no more juggling emails, texts or multiple platforms that used to cause delays and confusion. With clear deadlines set, the submissions stayed on track. This new streamlined process saved the team a ton of time and made it easier to deliver a high-quality campaign. All the content was centrally organized in dedicated CHN asset folders, which sped up the video editing process.
The CHN-branded campaign ran throughout the club’s 2023-24 season across platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook Reels and YouTube, and through emails. Players were naturally invested and proudly shared the content on their own social channels through Greenfly, amplifying organic reach to fans!
Greenfly has been instrumental in revolutionizing our approach to content creation. Their platform has not only simplified our processes but also enhanced our ability to engage authentically with fans and sponsors.
Patrick Longo, Chief Communications and Community Relations Officer. St. Louis Ambush
Impact
The Greenfly platform was essential in transforming the Ambush’s content strategy and ability to leverage social-first videos with CHN by streamlining the club’s short-form content workflow. Plus, it empowered players to become more involved in creating content, fostering stronger and more authentic connections with fans.
This initiative boosted overall social engagement for the season. Compass Health Network was thrilled with the campaign’s response and effectiveness and eager to explore future collaborations.
Looking ahead, the St. Louis Ambush club plans to tap into even more innovative partnerships and expand player-focused sponsored content, including off-season opportunities to keep sponsors top of mind with fans all year long.
- 1 new sponsor: Compass Health Network*
- 12 players participated**
- 2-4x season growth in Instagram, TikTok & Twitter followers influenced by the broad impact of the campaign***
Sources: *St. Louis Ambush; **Greenfly; ***St. Louis Ambush, 2023-24 season (Nov 2023-Mar 2024)
