Shaun Johnson brings fans closer than ever before in a new campaign via Us&Co
When Shaun Johnson broke his ankle in July, skeptics were quick to call his season over and the nail well and truly hammered in the coffin for the franchise. Unfortunately, while they might have been correct on the latter, the Warriors playmakers season was far from over as he used his downtime to connect with his ever-increasing fan base throughout the country.
“Breaking my ankle was by far my worst injury to date and pretty tough both physically and mentally. Having the support of the club, the best medical care and both friends and family by my side has helped my road to recovery. What I was most surprised by was the huge outpouring of support from my fans” says Johnson. “Literally tens of thousands of messages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from die-hard fans wanting to know how I was going? I felt it was important to let them know about the injury first hand, the progress and share updates as they happened. It wasn’t too gory, right?”
Johnson took to social media to share the images from the surgery, the ankle scans and his rehabilitation process with his 285,000+ followers and lift the lid on the once usually off camera side of rugby league.
Says James Polhill, founder, Us&Co “We wanted to take his fans on his journey and give them a glimpse of his life off the field. With imposed couch-time and the impending launch of his new game Rugby League Live 3 on PlayStation and X-Box the stars aligned. We’re constantly looking for opportunities to connect brands with the biggest names in sport and bring their legion of fans closer than ever before. A chance to challenge the boys on the big screen at Red Bull HQ was an experience of a life time for two fans and created brilliant content to amplify across social platforms.”
To be eligible fans had to show proof of purchase from The Warehouse, share it on his Facebook page and tag who they’d game with if they were given the chance to battle the boys in real life.
“The boys were too good on the day taking it out 3-2 (just)! It’s pretty amazing to see the skill level of gamers out there and their passion towards the code” says Johnson. “With a bit more spare time at the moment, it’s an awesome opportunity to give back to the fans and thank them for their ongoing support over the years.”
After two months of intensive rehabilitation, Johnson in now lightly jogging and the twenty five year old is looking forward to hitting the paddock early next year at the NRL Nines.
“Shaun understands the importance of social media and building a community to connect with fans both now and in the future” says Polhill. “He’s a commercial savvy player and constantly looks for opportunities to bridge the gap between the virtual world and reality.”