The summer '17 transfer window was "noteworthy" for clubs' experimentation with social video, "creating a rich tapestry of storytelling around the comings-and-goings of footballers," according to John McCarthy of THE DRUM. Social video has become the "most compelling format in which football transfers have been announced." Activations have "varied greatly." League Championship side Aston Villa simulated a WhatsApp conversation, League Two club Yeovil Town used Snap’s Map feature, Liverpool "got meta" on Twitter, ManU "fell back on a Hollywood-style photoshoot," League Championship side Reading ran a Jaap Stam-appreciation cartoon, Serie A side AS Roma embraced FIFA and "unexpected goats," Scottish Premiership club Celtic "leveraged a heart-wrenching bromance," EPL side Southampton "won plaudits with an epic, yet, anti-climatic announcement" and National League South side Oxford City "put pen to paper in a McDonald's." Everton Marketing & Communications Dir Richard Kenyon said, "It’s not only the favored platform for fans, but also allows us to issue shareable creative content quickly and to a wide audience. What’s good about it -- when it goes well at least -- is that we get instant feedback on what we’ve produced." The return of Wayne Rooney to Everton generated more than 4 million views and almost 200,000 engagements. For Kenyon, it was a "tricky announcement to pull off." He said, "Getting the right tone for this video was important -- we felt we needed to make reference to his formative years with us without becoming overly sentimental" (THE DRUM, 8/31).
