Content Toolbox | The Squawka Story
Squawka is an online football publisher which cuts through the noise of football media by offering unique statistics, stories and insights that fans deem worth sharing.
Boasting a huge presence on social media, Squawka had access to a wealth of football data from Opta but sought an all-encompassing solution to help them visualise this in the most efficient, engaging manner.
The Twenty3 Content Toolbox, which allows brands to produce insightful, data-driven and – importantly – accurate content, faster, has proved to be that very solution.
Catena Media, which runs Squawka, has also integrated the product across other areas of their business; their Live Tennis Team use it for manual graphics while their Tippinsider brand utilises the product in Germany.
We caught up with Jake Entwistle, Social Media Lead at Squawka, to find out how the Twenty3 Content Toolbox has helped Squawka drive growth and engagement in the last six months.
Could you give a brief description of what Squawka is all about?
Squawka aims to provide football fans around the world with stats and expert analysis on Europe’s top five major leagues and beyond. Using Opta data, we hope to provide previously unknown information about the players every fan is talking about and enrich the match-watching experience by supplying the numbers to help back up what is being seen with the eyes.
What challenges or problems necessitated a change in approach?
Given the ambitious scope of Squawka’s coverage and the relatively small team tasked with delivering it, we needed a further helping hand in reducing as many research hours as feasible whilst also reducing the chances of human errors as much as possible.
Which trends in your industry drove the need to use the Content Toolbox?
The growth of data visualisation and people’s understanding and use of it led to a desire to find an alternative to the Squawka Match Centres which are currently under redevelopment. Also, with more football than ever before, we needed the tools to keep up with the pace of it.
What were you looking for in a solution?
We needed a programme that maximised the efficiency of the data we receive from Opta whilst also allowing us to then visualise this in a variety of different ways.
What made the Content Toolbox stand out over other solutions?
The range of products available as well as the scale of the team behind it. Combine that with the enthusiasm to reach similar goals and it seemed a brilliant partnership that would benefit both parties.
Which feature of the Content Toolbox was most appealing?
A closely-fought battle between Smart Graphics combined with the Football Lab.
How did you implement the Content Toolbox internally?
All members of the team were given a personal log-in to Twenty3 and encouraged to experiment and ask questions. Example videos and demos were provided to help the initial process and I was available to answer any further questions.
Twenty3 were available for any query or question about the Toolbox. I was also given multiple demos before introducing to my team so that I could be fully informed and able to help.
How has the Content Toolbox helped since implementation?
The Content Toolbox has helped elevate Squawka analysis and ideas for social graphics, podcasts and other content formats. It has also indirectly helped develop a clearer and more consistent design identity through the production of templates.
Most importantly, it has enabled the workload to be shared into many hands rather than diverted to one person with a specific skillset – i.e. freelancers without photoshop are able to create graphics even without a Creative Cloud log-in.
In the sixth month period since signing up to Twenty3, Squawka’s Instagram page has grown from 194,902 followers to 282,865.
Has this solution increased productivity?
Definitely.
What have you been most impressed with?
The Football Lab always astounds. Every time I notice a tiny new feature, the amount of information available is brilliant. Having the league ranking in brackets when using the ‘Analyse Players’ section is a particular highlight and I only recently realised just how powerful and intuitive it could be.
What plans do you have to use the Content Toolbox in the future?
I’m looking forward to suggesting new visualisations and spending time to develop specific content formats that incorporate the data provided. Creating transfer shortlists for teams during the summer using a Smart Graphic template and the Football Lab is on the list.
You can find out more about the Twenty3 Content Toolbox or our other products and services here.