Last night saw my friend and fellow social media advocate Daan and myself invited to Wembley to watch the England v Wales Euro Championship qualifier.  What was the social media twist you may ask….

A few weeks ago I wrote about The FA’s Facebook Row competition which originally was run around the England v Holland friendly game.  Unfortunately due to the London Riots the game was called off and the prize winners then invited back to the next game at Wembley Stadium.

There were some great elements from the night which I am sure all in the stadium and also those of you who watched on TV caught a glimpse of.  Firstly we were all given oversized Facebook hands to wave around before and during the game (I kept mine and grabbed another so have two – one for home and one for work!).

Secondly, and the more unique twist, was the use of the digital advertising boards.  You can see from the pics that the Facebook Row was heavily shown and included the profile pics of the winners.  How cool was it for them to see their face on the boards behind both goals all night! 

All the fans there were really passionate and created a great atmosphere.  They loved being shown on the big screen prior to the game and had a great night. 

Overall it was a great use of online which rewarded fans in the real world.  This online/offline activity is becoming more prevalent in campaigns but still doesn’t happen very often in sport.  Great work by The FA and the social team lead by Andy Smith.

Were you there?  What did you think of it?