On May 27, the Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough hub launched as the centerpiece of the campaign. More than a contest website, it became the home of the competition—bringing together submissions, voting, Blue Lock content, manga promotions, official rules, and community participation in a single destination throughout the campaign. The hub was designed and built from scratch by the Storyarc team—including a custom CMS, synced registration with Kodansha US, a way to submit videos and photos, an automated moderation system, and live voting!
We built a custom voting system where registered users could cast 10 votes each day on their favorite submissions in each category. Users could search and filter the results to find their submission.
Paul.Soles
Paul was a standout partner for Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough. A longtime manga enthusiast, collector, and self-proclaimed "Blue Lock Guy," his authentic connection to the series made him a trusted voice within the community and an ideal advocate for the campaign.
Caitfreestyle
As a World Champion Football Freestyler, Caitlyn Schrepfer brought unmatched soccer credibility to the campaign. Beyond creating social content, she served as the face of Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough at Anime Expo and Kodansha House, engaging fans in person and helping bridge the worlds of professional soccer and Blue Lock.
Lag__og
LAG_OG was a natural fit for Blue Lock. His genuine passion for both soccer and the series made the partnership feel authentic, allowing the campaign to reach a highly engaged audience that already shared Blue Lock's competitive spirit.
Dominic Solanke was the perfect person to launch Diamonds in the Rough. As a Premier League striker and genuine Blue Lock superfan, he brought instant soccer credibility and authentically connected the two worlds at the heart of the campaign. From there, a diverse mix of creators—including Caitlyn Schrepfer, LAG_OG, and Paul Soles—helped extend the campaign into highly engaged communities across soccer, manga, anime, and fandom.
The Coming Soon page launched a month before the contest opened to start spreading to word.
A nationwide UGC competition that invited fans to prove they had the talent, creativity, passion—and ego—to stand out. Soccer players, artists, cosplayers, and superfans competed across multiple categories, while creators fueled the conversation and fans helped choose the winners. Part competition, part fandom, part real-world Blue Lock experience—all designed to bring the spirit of the manga to life against the backdrop of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The fans showed up. We received hundreds of incredible submissions across all six categories, with entries coming in from all 50 states. From jaw-dropping soccer skills and cosplay to original art and pure fan energy, every submission showed just how passionate—and creative—the Blue Lock community really is.
The campaign significantly expanded Kodansha's owned Instagram audience, growing 134% over the course of the campaign. This growth reflects sustained interest beyond individual campaign posts, increasing the size of Kodansha's owned community for future releases and marketing initiatives.
What Worked: Consistent campaign content, creator partnerships, and live activations combined to drive substantial audience growth. The campaign not only promoted Blue Lock but also strengthened Kodansha's long-term social media presence.
Here are just a few of the over 75 original designs and animations we created for the social campaign…
We designed swipeable galleries so people could get a better understanding of the competition, the categories, and how to enter.
Shen was a perfect fit for Diamonds in the Rough. His comics are funny, weird, instantly recognizable, and already live at the intersection of internet culture, comics, and anime fandom. He created three comic strips to which brought a completely different voice and a lot of personality to the campaign. And of course, he killed it…
A few more examples of the posts we created for the campaign. In this series we stressed that time was running out to cast your vote for your favorite finaists.
To maximize both reach and efficiency, we developed a premium Blue Lock prize box that served multiple roles throughout the campaign. The kit was distributed to creators for unboxing content, provided to press and media partners to support coverage, and repurposed as the weekly raffle prize for participants. By designing a single, high-quality campaign asset with multiple applications, we created a consistent brand experience while extending the campaign's visibility across social media, earned media, and community engagement.
How It Was Used
Influencer Mailers — Generated authentic unboxing content and social posts.
Press Kits — Introduced the competition to media and content creators.
Weekly Raffle Prizes — Rewarded participants and encouraged continued engagement throughout the campaign.
To sustain excitement throughout the campaign, six Blue Lock Gift Boxes were awarded to randomly selected participants during the submission period. Each weekly winner was announced across social media, rewarding fan participation while creating recurring moments of engagement that kept the competition top of mind.
Weekly Raffles
Rather than treating the Blue Lock gift box as a simple promotional item, we designed it as a content engine. Distributed to creators across the manga, anime, and soccer communities, the unboxing experience encouraged authentic reactions while showcasing the campaign and driving audiences to learn more. The result was hundreds of thousands of additional organic views beyond Kodansha's owned channels.
We designed four custom t-shirts with original artwork from Blue Lock creator, Yusuke Nomura and randomized them in each box.
Anime Expo provided one of the campaign's most visible real-world moments, placing Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough in front of one of the world's largest gatherings of manga and anime fans. Two large-format animated digital billboards promoted the competition tin key entry areas, while World Champion Football Freestyler Caitlyn Schrepfer performed at two live panels—including an appearance in front of the Blue Lock creators—bringing the worlds of manga and soccer together in an authentic, unforgettable way.
During Anime Expo weekend, Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough became a featured experience at Kodansha House, with an immersive space designed by Acronym that brought the campaign into the real world. Visitors tested their skills in an interactive kicking challenge, relaxed in a Blue Lock-themed locker room, and watched live freestyle performances by World Champion Caitlyn Schrepfer—giving thousands of manga fans a chance to step inside the world of Blue Lock.
Kodansha House
Judging the Finalists
The campaign culminated with a live winner announcement at San Diego Comic-Con, where the Best Striker and category winners were celebrated in front of a live audience—giving Diamonds in the Rough a fitting finale on one of pop culture’s biggest stages.
To make the moment feel like a true championship, we partnered with Concacaf to create a one-of-a-kind Best Striker trophy. Handcrafted from polished metal and inspired by iconic sporting trophies, it became a lasting symbol of the campaign—bringing the world of Blue Lock into real life and turning a fan competition into something that felt truly worth winning.
GRASS STAIN
Hex - 03FF00
CMYK - 50 00 100 00
PMS - 802 C
STRIKER BLUE
Hex - 1A59E5
CMYK - 100 62 00 00
PMS - 2728 C
EGO INK
Hex - 262525
CMYK - 00 00 00 93
PMS - Black 6 C
BLANK CANVAS
Hex - FFFFFF
CMYK - 00 00 00 00
PMS - WHITE
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Hex - ECFD03
CMYK - 00 00 100 00
PMS - 803 C
INNER FLAME
Hex - FF4A89
CMYK - 00 85 16 00
PMS - 806C
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
Loud, raw, and impossible to ignore, the Diamonds in the Rough typography takes its cues from punk flyers, photocopied zines, and hand-cut ransom-note lettering. Bold condensed type crashes into oversized headlines, scribbles, stamps, and imperfect textures—creating a visual language that feels fast, physical, and a little unruly. Like the players themselves, nothing sits politely on the sidelines. Every word fights for attention.
The Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough logo is the signature mark of this campaign and the primary visual anchor across all contest-related materials — digital, print, social, and event. It pairs the Blue Lock masterbrand wordmark with the custom "Diamonds in the Rough" logotype to create a distinct identity for this specific competition.
This logo is exclusive to the Diamonds in the Rough campaign and should not be used for general Blue Lock franchise marketing or non-campaign contexts. All approved files and color variations are available in the asset library — do not recreate, stretch, recolor, or modify the logo in any way.
Electric and in-your-face, just like the greatest strikers, the Diamond In The Rough colors evoke the down and dirty supplies of punk rock posters photocopied onto neon paper stock, and colored in with highlighters. We’re spreading the word of your favorite band of 11.
Promotional billboard at the Moxy Hotel in Los Angeles during Anime Expo 2026. Animation by the incredible John Ducusin.
Every touchpoint was designed to work together. A central campaign hub anchored the experience, while Kodansha's social channels, creator partnerships, retail and bookstore activations, press outreach, and live events each played a distinct role in guiding fans from discovery to participation. Rather than relying on a single marketing channel, the campaign created a connected ecosystem that turned awareness into engagement, engagement into submissions, and submissions into a nationwide community.
