The technology company that’s part of the DICK’S family won big for taking a cinematic approach to its explainer videos that connect youth sports teams and the fans rooting them on.
When the GameChanger team initially began discussing the approach for their mobile app explainer videos, some in the room cracked that the first step should be to make sure they aren’t terrible.
The videos were far from it, and GameChanger now has an award to prove it.
The videos claimed a Telly Award thanks to their vivid cinematography and storytelling that took what can be an uneventful endeavor – explaining the functionality of an app – and turned it into a captivating visual that also informs people of the app’s features and benefits. The GameChanger team took home the gold Telly Award in a field of 20 for the general, non-broadcast category for the videos covering baseball/softball, basketball and soccer.
"The visual storytelling that the team achieved in such limited time windows is nothing short of remarkable," said Sameer Ahuja, President of GameChanger. "A lot of research and hard work went into creating these videos, and I'm incredibly proud of the team for bringing home the gold. It's well deserved."
GameChanger is a technology company that is part of the DICK’S Sporting Goods family. Its mobile app and website provide scorekeeping, stats, video streaming, and recap stories to teams and fans across the country.
The Telly Awards, first established in 1979, annually showcases the best work created within television and across video, for all screens.
The award-winning GameChanger videos were produced after a three-day shoot that also resulted in the GameChanger brand anthem and other projects completed with creative partner Marketsmith.
There was a kernel of truth in those cracks about making a video that didn’t lack excitement. Oftentimes, explainer videos can be dry and focus too heavily on what the product is and not why it’s being utilized. Sports bring people together, make them better and elicit joy. Capturing those elements was crucial, along with incorporating masterful shots that produced thrilling game action and highlighted the bond between players, coaches and families.
“We are a purpose-driven brand and company,” said Ken Strnad, GameChanger’s vice president of marketing. “The reason people want to work here is the people factor. You might think we’re all sports nuts, but that's not true. What really gets us out of bed in the morning is the way we connect people.”
The GameChanger team went big because the people who rely on the app deserve it. The company produces innovative technology, but at its heart, it’s all about bringing people together to enjoy the sports they love and the games featuring the people who matter most. To that point, the first goal entered in a soccer match can be both a statistic as well as the only way a soldier stationed overseas can share in the excitement the first time their child finds the back of the net. The game-winning home run in a softball game can complete the box score and also be streamed to grandparents unable to make the big game.
“For millions of users the most important game of the week is not the one featuring LeBron, Brady, Serena, Trout, or Ronaldo, but rather it is the one your child is playing in,” said Strnad.
GameChanger’s talented teams of product managers, engineers, CX, UX, QA, and data scientists continuously improve the product, which updates every two weeks. With the recent additions of live video streaming, automatic highlights, player profiles, and launching into over 20 new sports, GameChanger has proven to be agile and responsive to the needs of users.
That commitment to their users reflects the popularity of the app. GameChanger is the No. 1 rated scorekeeping app and ranks in the top five among all sports with a five-star rating in the app store. The app has more than five million registered users, and 550,000 registered teams, with more than 27 million games scored. In 2021 alone, there were six million hours of user-generated content. On an average Saturday in June, the number of GameChanger users could sell out Madison Square Garden 30 times over. GameChanger also landed on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies list for 2022 and was nominated for Sports Business Journal's 'Best in Sports Tech' award.
“We honestly just wanted to make the most engaging explainer videos possible,” said Strnad. “Because the more people adopt the product, the more we have a positive impact on youth sports.”