xV - ‘The Unspoken Stat’
PR, Social, Influencer, OOH, Digital Experience
DOMESTIC ABUSE CHARITIES CREATE FOOTBALL STAT ‘xV’ TO EXPOSE HIDDEN SPIKES IN DOMESTIC ABUSE AROUND ENGLAND MATCHES.
Football is obsessed with stats. From xG (Expected Goals) to xA (Expected Assists), everything is measured, analysed and debated.
Except the one stat affecting 1 in 4 women in the UK: domestic abuse. When England play in a major tournament, domestic abuse rises - by 38% when they lose, and 26% even when they win.
So, in partnership with domestic abuse charities I Choose Freedom and Leeds Women’s Aid, we created xV (Expected Violence) - a new football metric designed to make the hidden impact of England matches impossible to ignore.
Ahead of England’s first game, football influencers teased xV across social channels before revealing its true meaning at kick-off.
A live ‘xV Tracker’ then used betting odds, match momentum and social sentiment to show how events on the pitch could affect the risk of violence off it - in real time.
And media owners generously donated space to help raise awareness of the campaign.
‘The Unspoken Stat’ was backed by Premier League clubs, sports writers, politicians, campaigners and public figures including former England Lioness Anita Asante, Spice Girl Mel B MBE and Sugababe Keisha Buchanan.
With zero media spend, the campaign generated an estimated 8.5 million audience touchpoints, including over 3.3 million social views and an estimated 5.2 million earned media opportunities to see across the BBC, The Sun, The New York Times, The Athletic and industry titles.