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Our work with eBay UK.

Democratizing the world’s most exclusive marketplace.

 
 
 

Once the jewel in the crown of the dot-com era, eBay has, in recent years, struggled to compete with marketplace superpowers like Amazon.

 

eBay's key point of difference from these competitors is that it was founded on being the people’s marketplace, driven by democratizing commerce.

They needed to showcase this ethos and reignite its cultural relevance in 2022. They needed something to put eBay back into conversations in pubs and living rooms up and down the country.

Every weekend in the UK, 2 million amateur football players get up early, lace their boots, and play on the nation's worst pitches. Not for money, but a love of the game. Sunday League is, and always will be, the heart of British football. 

But the attention and wealth gap between Sunday League and the football elite is so great that the real people who make the game so beautiful no longer see a space for themselves in the sport. 

eBay, the people's marketplace, saw an opportunity to give the game's most exclusive moment back to the people at the base of the football pyramid.

Case study.

 
 

Chief Marketing Officer
eBay UK
Eve Williams

“The Dream Transfer has been a tribute to one of the UK’s biggest collective passions - football - and the fantastic work of our charity partner Football Beyond Borders to help young people reach their full potential through sport.

Bringing communities together around a shared passion is what eBay’s marketplace is all about, and it’s been brilliant to bring this to life for the players and fans."

“It was a real privilege to shine a light on the brilliance of Sunday League and the great community spirit that surrounds it.

Bringing eBay's democratic ethos to a moment as iconic as the Transfer Window and watching it unfold on the pitch was incredible - and truly showed the power of the people that prop up the beautiful game's wet, muddy, and slightly lopsided grassy roots."

Creative
McCann London
Jack Stoten

Creative
McCann London
Connor Wynn

  • eBay’s Dream Transfer reached millions, securing 778 placements, including 20 TV features; 162 radio segments; 75 articles in national publications, 214 articles in regional titles and 302 pieces in sports and lifestyle titles.

  • Between the launch, in early January and the matches in March, all major broadcasters including BBC One, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Sports and Channel 5 News reported on eBay’s Dream Transfer. News of the signings for each of the legendary footballers and their subsequent match days reached approximately 6.9 million viewers through TV outlets alone.

  • 100% of all press coverage had positive or neutral sentiment and while the campaign was live eBay's sentiment on social media increased by 50%.

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