KNHB Kom je buiten spelen?

Creating a new generation of field-hockey players

Client: KNHB
Industry: Sports
Assignment: Marketing strategy, Identity, Copy
Goal: Introducing fieldhockey to a new generation

The Royal Dutch Field Hockey Federation (KNHB) is facing a decline in youth membership. A real problem, with the future of hockey at stake. To turn the tide, the KNHB launched a nationwide recruitment and awareness campaign. As their long time partner, we were asked to create the campaign from scratch. At a breakneck speed we’ve delivered the concept, design and production so that millions of viewers were invited to come out and play, at the hockey club.

The assignment

The goal was to get more kids (4-12) to the hockeyclubs. From market research we confirmed the sense that field hockey has an image problem. It’s seen as very posh, expensive and preppy. So we had to show that hockey is much much more than that. It’s bright, flashy and exciting. The sport is also not very visible in the media landscape, so the campaign doubled as a general awareness campaign.

The slogan

It loosely translates to “Wanna come play outside? At the hockey club!” From many interviews with youth trainers, youth sports policy makers, and youth program designers we’ve come to one major insight. At that young age, kids don’t care about the sport per sé: it is all about having fun! Fun is the key. So let’s make this about play, about fun, about excitement. The word ‘hockey’ is purposely mentioned very late in the campaign slogan, so not to scare off anyone with gut-feeling prejudices about the sport.

Visual identity
We chose a neon bright color palette, and a fun, game-like 3D iconography style to match the colors of the field hockey training balls. It is complemented by a photography and videography style that matches the colors and energy.

Results
The campaign ran for 8 weeks in the fall of 2023, and will reboot twice a year, during the periods when kids can sign up. So far the social media campaign reached well over 2 million views, and the 4 million DOOH plays reached many, many more. As the year progresses we’ll see the data coming in on the youth membership. An extra result is that this campaign sparked excitement at the KNHB to do more outreach and be more visible.