Mongoose head of creative Matt Hocken speaks to the Broadcast Sport Podcast about its work on the NFL UK & Ireland TikTok channel

Matt Hocken Mongoose(2)

Mongoose head of creative Matt Hocken joined the Broadcast Sport Podcast for its latest episode, speaking about the company’s work on the NFL UK & Ireland TikTok channel during the recent Super Bowl. 

You can listen to the full conversation below, and search the Broadcast Sport Podcast on all major podcast platforms to subscribe. 

A team of nine people produced 70 pieces of content on the night, working from four locations - on the ground in the US, at a watch party in London, at the NFL UK offices - and one editor dialling in remotely. This helped the account to acheive 8,000 new followers, 2.4 million new viewers and eight million views overall. 

However, given the game happens in the early hours of Monday morning for UK fans, it wasn’t just the live coverage that was important. Hocken said, “We’re almost part of the highlights package, but it’s the highlights of the experience rather than the highlights of the game.

“It’s what are the feelings around it? What were the reactions to it? What were people saying online? How can we lean into that to become part of that conversation? Rather than sort of being a broadcast partner. It’s how do we talk with the community and having that conversation online.

“So the pre and the post are really important for us. A lot of our content goes out live as well but it sees the pickup in the morning when everyone’s checking in.” 

Hocken also discussed the build up to the Super Bowl, and how American football has developed as a sport over the past two decades. He said, “If we just focused on the live it puts the NFL and the Super Bowl back in the position of being a spectacle, rather than a sport which over the last nearly 20 years has landed as a part of UK sports culture

“Our in-season work is doing all of the leg work, trying to say, ‘Hey, you’re not waiting for that moment at the end anymore, that one culmination of the Super Bowl and look at this Americana.’ We are now a sport that is here. There are games here. There are academies here.

“So our job is that full season leading up to the moment and not making it seem like a spectacle. It is almost like the Champions League final.” 

You can listen to the full conversation below,where Hocken also gives insight into the impact of victorious British coach Aden Durde, the benefits of having a long off-season, the entertainment side of the event, working with brands on content, and plenty more.