Orange Bowl Blitz
A celebration of University of Florida's off-the-field wins. Digital display trucks, billboards, real-time UGC and a hashtag blitz across Miami to own the narrative when Florida met fellow elite public university Virginia in the Orange Bowl.
The goal
Celebrate University of Florida's academic rise — #7 among national public universities, up from #19 in 2012 — at the exact moment Gator Nation had a national stage. The Orange Bowl wasn't just a football matchup: UF was facing the University of Virginia, ranked #4 in the US News rankings. The goal was to own both the cultural moment and the academic narrative, using Miami as the canvas.
The spark
When UF received its Orange Bowl selection, the world was buzzing over Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" a banana duct-taped to a wall in Miami that had just sold for $120,000. The response was instant: kick off the selection with a photograph an orange taped to a wall and utilize the "every day is game day" brand campaign that was running all season.
The blitz ran across Miami in the days leading up to the game on digital billboards. When game day arrived, LED display trucks invaded high-traffic areas touting UF's academic prowess and showing UF's fans celebrating in real-time through the use of the #GoGators hashtag.
The social push
Fan UGC flooded in from across Gator Nation. The social team amplified the best of it in real time, turning the community's excitement into the campaign's fuel.
Game day
Photographing fans, capturing moments, and publishing in real time. A 115-photo Facebook gallery and a stream of Instagram Stories and tweets brought the excitement in Miami to all of Gator Nation. The game itself was a fitting close to the campaign: UF beat Virginia 36–28. The final tweet: "Started with a win against Miami. Ended with a win in Miami. It's great to be a FLORIDA Gator!"
In just over 24 hours — not counting impressions from OOH placements across Miami and personal social accounts:
Two elite public universities. One national stage. Both battled on the field, but only one took it to the streets.