Five Things To Know About ESPN’s UFC 300 Marketing Creative with Rodney Leconte
Here's an iconic trailer for a historic event. Leconte: “We wanted our creative to feel different from every other UFC campaign we’ve previously done.”
UFC 300: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill (Saturday, exclusively on ESPN+ PPV, 10 p.m. ET) fight week is finally here. The mega-event, unfolding from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will be a historic night for the sport of MMA. It’s a can’t-miss moment for UFC fans, featuring one of the sport’s deepest cards ever.
With limitless options of stories to highlight and stars to feature, ESPN’s UFC marketing team was left with an exciting puzzle to solve.
Rodney Leconte, ESPN senior marketing manager, takes Front Row inside the process of creating an original trailer – watch the video above – that would meet the iconic moment.
1. THE THEME
“We wanted the star athletes competing at UFC 300 to feel like superheroes. What better way to do that than to make a superhero-style trailer with the same studio, Mocean, that produced trailers for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and ‘The Marvels’? It’s great how the team can take something as real and authentic as a UFC athlete and find so many similarities with the Marvel characters on the big screen.”
2. THE VOICE-OVER COLLABORATION
“UFC is a great partner, and we aligned with them early. UFC was very helpful in securing actor Ron Perlman to do the voice-over for our trailer which we were very thankful for. Since Perlman is the voice of the UFC cold opens, this not only added another layer to the creative, but builds a stronger connection with UFC fans.”
3. THE MUSIC SELECTION
“The track used in the spot, ‘Baba O’Riley’ by The Who, is played in the arena at UFC events, and the team felt using this song would be a great way to celebrate UFC in our trailer and give the campaign a strong tie to the league.”
4. THE CREATION PROCESS
“Our approach was to highlight UFC 300 as a unique tentpole event rather than focusing on the backstory of one or two fights. We wanted our creative to feel different from every other UFC campaign we’ve previously done. We worked closely with G&L, our internal creative agency, on initial concepts and also partnered with a third-party agency, Mocean, who created a great cinematic spot that prominently features the top talent on the card.”
5. THE MESSAGE TO FANS
“UFC 300 is truly a special event and a milestone not just for the UFC but for the entire sport of MMA. We want fans to recognize the number of top UFC stars competing at the event, making it the greatest card in UFC history. It’s a can’t-miss event for any fan of combat sports. We hope this trailer captures that.”
