As the Chicago Fire began preparations to commemorate their 20th season as a Major League Soccer franchise, club officials knew amping up their digital fan engagement efforts needed to be part of the plan.
In his head, Scott Hammer, the Fire’s director of marketing and digital media, began conceptualizing projects, including one that allowed the club’s diverse fan base to select what amounted to an All-Franchise team that linked the Fire’s past with the present.
The approach – at least on paper – seemed simple: To create a customized deck of digital playing cards in which the club’s greatest all-time performers – as voted by the fans – would be represented as the face cards.