• Loading stock data...
Monday, June 2, 2025

From Pinball to Darts, How Chelsea Has Revamped Their Instagram Strategy

Photos via @ChelseaFC

Photos via @ChelseaFC

Creative storytelling is essential in the fast-moving and constantly changing field of social media. Entering the 2017-2018 Premier League season, Chelsea FC took this to heart, rethinking the way they shared match recaps on their Instagram Stories. The end result was not what you would expect.

With the objective of entertaining the club’s Instagram audience with a new take on traditional Instagram Stories, Chelsea changed their social media strategy, documenting Premier League games through a series of cartoon graphics resembling old-school arcade games, including Pac-Man and Pinball, recreational sports, such as darts, and even activities like pottery.

This change of strategy quickly brought in results for Chelsea’s social media team, with the click-through rate from frame to frame staying fairly consistent across posts, showing continuous engagement from the club’s fans.

Chase McCaskill, a digital analyst at U.S. Soccer weighed in on the club’s new strategy.

“It’s a unique strategy,” he says. “Speaking as a fan, I found it engaging.”

No story is the same, which creates a surprise for fans at the culmination of every Premier League game. The club’s intention was to stand out from other teams across the crowded and popular soccer space by creating something innovative, unexpected, and entertaining, that would draw fans back.

It’s working.

“Looking through the posts, I was very curious as to what the next match creative might be. They totally span from one spectrum to the other. You have pinball on one and you have divers on another,” says McCaskill.

Photos via @ChelseaFC

Following the implementation of this strategy, Chelsea has seen a 120% average increase in traffic to the match report. Throughout the story, there has been a 95% retention between 3-5 frames on a 45-60 second story.

While there have been some questions, on channels like Twitter, about how the stories relate to soccer, most of the responses have been positive. Many fans have expressed their excitement around the stories across social platforms, demonstrating the effective way in which Chelsea has successfully been able to tell match stories in an outside-the-box manner.

As storytelling platforms, like Instagram and Twitter, continue to develop, a large amount of experimentation and trial and error are used to determine what type of content is successful. For Chelsea, taking a risk at untraditional animated storytelling, that was unrelated to soccer, worked.

Photos via @ChelseaFC

It appears this method may be gaining traction. Last week, Bleacher Report created an animation featuring a Pokémon battle to announce which soccer teams made the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

“Any time you are able to take a sport and relate it to another sport or activity, you are linking and expanding your fan bases,” says McCaskill.

As Chelsea continues their successful new Instagram Story strategy. Only one question remains: what will they come up with next?

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

PSG and the City of Paris Can Join European Soccer’s Elite

What a maiden Champions League title would mean for the French club.
Rangers Football Club

49ers Venture Arm Buys 2nd Soccer Team With Rangers FC Deal

49ers Enterprises also owns Premier League club Leeds United.

How the Champions League Anthem Took on a Life of Its Own

The composer didn’t know he wrote a timeless hit three decades ago.

Featured Today

How Rolex Paved the Way for Luxury’s Love Affair With Tennis

“It’s almost impossible to think about tennis without thinking about Rolex.”
Mar 23, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Alexandra Eala (PHI) reacts after winning a point against Madison Keys (USA)(not pictured) on day six of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium.
May 24, 2025

Alex Eala Is Defying Her Country’s Odds to Make French Open History

The Philippines native has overcome a unique set of financial odds.
May 24, 2025

Indiana Is the Center of the Basketball Universe—Thanks to Both Pro Teams

The Fever and Pacers are thriving at the same time.
Around the Horn - October 26, 2020
May 23, 2025

‘Quirky, Nutty, Bombastic’: 10 ‘Around the Horn’ Faces on Their Top Moments

“A quirky, nutty, bombastic, mostly wrong, sometimes right, crazy sports family.”
FIFA

Saudis Awarded 2034 World Cup in Uncontested Vote

Saudi Arabia was the only option after Australia decided not to bid.
May 20, 2024

Top Sports Business Jobs This Week (May 2024)

Each week, our staff combs through the thousands of job listings from…
The stands at the Solheim Cup
September 13, 2024

LPGA Apologizes for Solheim Cup Fan Bus Debacle That Left Stands Half-Empty

The USA-Europe women’s team golf event teed off Friday morning.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

In Episode 7 of Portfolio Players, go inside the boardroom with Avenue Capital CEO and former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry on Giannis’s future, women’s sports, and upstart leagues like TGL and Unrivaled. 
October 3, 2022

Real Madrid President Renews Call for Super League

Real Madrid’s president believes that soccer is losing ground.
August 10, 2022

PGA Tour Touts Projected Earnings to Keep Players

The PGA Tour is asking its players to consider their potential futures.
August 10, 2022

Bayern Munich to Make Growth Push in U.S. Market

Bayern Munich is looking to expand its reach in the U.S.
Nintendo-logo
August 3, 2022

Nintendo Profits Underwhelm, Switch Sales Decline

Nintendo failed to meet expectations in the company’s latest earnings report.