A first of its kind partnership between Sela, RNID and Newcastle United culminated in Unsilence The Crowd, a groundbreaking campaign, which delivered the world-first use of new technology designed to increase accessibility to football for deaf fans.
Research conducted by Sela, a leader in live events and experiences, and charity partner RNID revealed 71% believe new technology can be implemented to make live sports events more accessible. Sela identified the opportunity to use their technological capabilities to bring the electricity and roar of St. James Park to the incredibly passionate, yet underrepresented community of NUFC fans who are deaf or have hearing loss.
Sela, primary sponsors of Newcastle United, created the Sela Sound Shirt, which launched in stadium at Newcastle United’s Premier League game vs Tottenham Hotspur.
The shirt incorporates haptic technology into replica match shirts that transform the noise of the stadium into real-time touch sensations, allowing this community to experience the atmosphere of a live football match like never before.
The multilayered campaign significantly impacted attitudes to live sport attendance amongst deaf fans, with a 16.9% increase (from 71% to 83%) in those believing the shirt increased accessibility in stadia.
Unsilence The Crowd saw a consolidated reach of 5.08 billion, spearheaded by the virality of Dan Burn’s celebration in sign language. This resulted in a 523.924% increase in views to Sela social channels.
Major sports organisations have committed to introducing the technology to benefit their fans: the English Premier League, FIFA, Serie A and CONCACAF.
