Pick'Em & Fantasy Football
View the case- Brand
- CFL
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Racing & Sports
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Pound & Grain
Objective
The Canadian Football League sought to deepen fan engagement beyond passive viewership by introducing fantasy sports elements to their platform. Pound & Grain developed the first official CFL Pick'Em game—a free, mobile-first prediction game launching in June 2015—to attract both casual viewers and dedicated football enthusiasts into active participation during the season.
Solution
CFL Pick'Em was a web-based fantasy game where fans predicted the weekly outcome of each CFL matchup, with top performers earning a trip to the Grey Cup championship. The game was designed as a second-screen companion experience, optimized for mobile to engage fans during live broadcasts. It launched as a free-to-play web app integrated into the league's CFL Game Zone platform, requiring no entry fees to participate.
Results
The game drove significant engagement: 9x higher engagement rates on Pick'Em-style products within the CFL Game Zone, and 9x improved conversion when supplemented with personalized team-based content. Fan retention improved 3x with personalization, and the platform achieved a 0.08% opt-out rate. Over two years, the broader CFL fan database grew 215%.
