How did this concept come to life, what was the impact, what are the next steps going forwards? We caught up with the Alchemy Sports Media team behind the campaign, who couldn't wait to tell us more about the Harrows 9 Dart Challenge:
The Harrows 9 Dart Challenge started life as a single bullet point on a list of creative engagement ideas put forward for consideration to Harrows Darts in 2019. At the time, the darts scene was rapidly growing, seen by millions in venues across the world, with major manufacturers competing for space amongst the crowds. Harrows were one of the big players in this area and wanted to increase their brand awareness among newcomers to the sport and experienced players alike - however, when the world shut down during COVID, the idea was shelved.
Fast-forward to 2024: Alchemy Sports Media (ASM) was established, and at the same time, the darts world exploded with the emergence of a young Englishman, taking the darts world by storm and exponentially increasing the sales and clamour for darts equipment. Suddenly, brand awareness among the big manufacturers in this space was more valuable than ever - it became a 'must' for those wanting to reach and engage with new and existing fans.
The Concept
We wanted to bring darts and football together in a way that had never been done before. We understood the cross over between the sports; anyone sat in the stands at a football stadium could be sat at any venue watching darts and vice versa. We understand sports, we know that fans crave behind-the-scenes footage of their favourite teams and players. The ethos all along is to make sure we capture content that we would want to see. Relaxed, engaging, documentary style footage.
The Harrows 9 Dart Challenge all of a sudden became the top bullet point on the list and it was time to bring something special to life!
Our concept was a refreshing new challenge that the content-space had never seen before. We wanted competition, excitement and the possibility of unmissable moments. The Harrows 9 Dart Challenge works like this:
- Five footballers compete in an eliminator round, leaving three.
- The three join forces to face a Harrows professional darts player.
- Each footballer throws nine darts (27 total), three at a time; the pro gets nine.
- The challenge: can one darts player outscore three footballers?
The results go onto two leaderboards:
- The Club Leaderboard ranks football clubs by their total.
- The Pro Leaderboard ranks Harrows professionals by their 9-dart total.
From Idea to Reality
Our pilot took place with Watford FC, who were performing well in the Championship and made for an exciting first partner. The PDC featured the video shoot on their Sky Sports show The Darts Show, as the full Watford squad watched their players take on world-ranked No. 6, Dave Chisnall.
Learning from the success of that shoot, we approached Ipswich Town FC, newly promoted to the Premier League. IT was a bigger test, featuring players like Liam Delap, Kalvin Phillips, and top-ten darts pro Damon Heta, Australia's No. 1! ASM managed everything - working with the club's commercial, media and partnerships teams to make sure all areas were covered.
The result? The campaign allows us to showcase darts and football content in a refreshing way. Not only is the video focusing on the football club vs darts player; it's also creating a competition between elite-level football clubs. The football clubs involved aren't just battling it out to outscore a darts player, they are trying to outscore other football clubs and be crowned champions of The Harrows 9 Dart Challenge.
Alchemy Sports Media managed the entire process, from outlining the video, liaising plans with the clubs, directing the video shoots, and fully producing the series using the footage captured.
Channels and Partnerships
It was clear from the start that this was a brand awareness campaign utilising multiple channels; YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn to ensure Harrows gained maximum exposure.
- YouTube: full episodes and promo clips through Shorts.
- Instagram: reels, graphics, teasers, announcements and highlight posts, including collaborated posts with clubs, players, and sponsors.
- TikTok: short-form teasers, promos, and highlights.
- LinkedIn: teasers, behind-the-scenes posts, graphics and insights and corporate audiences.
As with most big football clubs, they have multiple partners that, with their investment, are able to gain access to the players media requirements, and with this, be involved with projects such as the Harrows 9 Darts Challenge. Through collaboration with Ipswich Town FC's partner Fleximize, we ensured sponsor visibility at every stage. This enabled both the club partnerships team and one of their partners to feel part of the project.
We created sponsored segments and extra content just for the partners, as well as supplying them with equipment to host their own events in-house. Fleximize were also able to attend the shoot, play with the pros, film their own content, and collaborate on teasers shared on Harrows' channels.
The Impact
Before episode one was uploaded, Harrows had roughly 2,000 YouTube subscribers. The pilot video hit 10,000 views, 300 likes, and 150 comments. Following on from this success, we knew episode two needed to live up to expectations. Episode two delivered:
- +90% increase in views.
- +102% increase in likes.
- +107% increase in comments.
Across all social platforms, the Harrows campaign achieved over 300,000 organic views, with episode two alone seeing a 681% increase in views compared to episode one. Instagram proved to be the most effective channel, driving reach and engagement.
We used our learnings from Watford to produce exciting teasers and announcements, as well as using clips from episode one to help build the hype for episode two. With the success of the follow-up episode it helps set us up for future growth of the series.
This was a new activation for us as a team - an idea we wrote down and truly believed would work. It took years to become reality and when it did we went into the project full of confidence that we could create something special, and this we did.
ASM was built on the back of decades working in sport, so using this knowledge, and our connections, to create a new avenue within our business is something we have worked hard to achieve. The numbers prove this. The client wants more, it has attracted a new audience, and for us, it's just the beginning.
What We Learned
As with every project we take on, there's always new things to learn - from managing multiple brands and departments to refining how we shoot and learning what shot works best for the narrative, to managing personalities and bringing everyone together in a relaxed environment to produce engaging content. We're constantly adding to our spreadsheets and deliverables.
We've learned the importance of staying calm under pressure, keeping backup plans ready, and always maintaining momentum.
Our biggest takeaway? Remain the constant. With so many moving parts, our role is to hold everything together. "Above and beyond" isn't just a phrase at ASM - it's how we operate.
What's Next
Following on from the success of the Harrows 9 Dart Challenge campaign, we're expanding into a series of challenges, inviting professional sports people and clubs to collaborate.
We've gone from chasing our network to be involved, to offering limited slots - creating real FOMO within the industry and opening new doors for our clients. For ASM, it marks a new direction: not just a space to house our past achievements, but a place that holds endless possibilities. The future is really in our own hands, as is proved by the last 18 months.
And yes - Episode Three is coming sooner than you think... filming this November at Craven Cottage. #FFC #H9DC #ASM