LMO Advertising engaged with F.C. Internazionale Milano (commonly known as ‘Inter’), a European soccer club based in Milan, Italy. LMO led efforts to grow engagement in the team’s social media fan base in the U.S. during its tour with the bulk of the campaign taking place during the 2014 Guinness International Champions Cup tournament, which began July 24 and culminated at the championship game on Aug. 4.

“We are so excited to bring our digital expertise and knowledge of American audiences to the international world of soccer,” said Chris Laughlin, president of Arlington, VA-based LMO.  “Having the trust of the Inter brand is a great endorsement of our ability.”

The team of creators at LMO, which is a Capitol Communicator sponsor, developed a social media effort that helped the Italian team appeal to American audiences while maintaining the club’s European character. The goal of the campaign was to increase Inter’s social media engagement with American audiences, build a stronger fan base and foster excitement among American fans.

“The initial results are very promising. We’ve been able to connect with our American fans to help build the brand, increase engagement and empower Inter fans in the U.S. to connect with each other.” said Inter CFO Michael Williamson. “We are excited to continue to build this relationship with our American fans.”

In addition to LMO’s social media marketing prowess, Inter chose LMO because of the firm’s national and regional expertise. Inter was based in D.C. throughout the tournament where they launched their #SayNoToDiscrimination campaign and attended promotional events with several sponsors, including Brooks Brothers and Pirelli.

(In photo, left to right: Ellie West, social media program supervisor at LMO; Javier Zanetti, vice president (and former player) of Inter; Christine Lewandowski, social media brand manager at LMO; and Jay Selig, social media insights manager at LMO, at the Brooks Brothers fan event in Georgetown.)