Title	CHAMPIONS VOYAGE
Brand	HEINEKEN
Product/Service	CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Category	C01. Live Brand Experience
Entrant	JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation	JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production	JACK MORTON WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
Martine Eveille	Jack Morton Worldwide	VP, Business Director
Caspar Mason	Jack Morton Worldwide	VP, Creative Strategy Director
Andrew Thomas	Jack Morton Worldwide	Creative Director
Jonathan Horwell	Jack Morton Worldwide	Senior Designer
James Symons	Jack Morton Worldwide	Senior Producer
Ben Pickering	Jack Morton Worldwide	Production Manager
Aaron Arthur	Jack Morton Worldwide	Logistics Director

The Campaign

We focused on creating an experience that embraced the spirit of adventure and discovery inherent in the brand, fusing it with an all-out celebration of the beautiful game. And so The Champions Voyage was born: a truly epic, world-class brand experience set aboard the cruise ship Celestial, with 3 days of sun, fun, football, music and unlimited ice-cold Heineken to keep everyone cool in the Mediterranean heat. At the heart of the campaign was an iconic motif that brought together Heineken, the Champions League and the sense of adventure on the open sea, representing the activation across all campaign touch points, including on-pack promotion and point of sale.

Creative Execution

The journey for our guests began with boarding the Celestial in Athens, where they met their Captain for the voyage; the Brazilian footballing legend Ronaldinho. DJ’s worked to get the party started before building to a climax, whereby a violin soloist got everyone’s attention with a stunning live rendition of the Champions League theme. It was a stunning, memorable and shareable spectacle, with live commentators adding to the energy and excitement. A jacuzzi full of ice-cold Heineken kept guests refreshed, while a carefully designed light show played across the deck, in sync with the on-field action. A laser show kept guests entertained, culminating in the Champions League logo being projected on to the sea. And when the final whistle blew, an incredible firework display lit up the nighttime sky and the surrounding seas before the DJ’s once more took to the stage, keeping guests partying into the small hours.

The next morning, as the sun rose over the Mediterranean, Ronaldinho took to the ship’s tannoy to rouse our passengers for breakfast, before they moved on to the day’s activities. There was something for everyone from yoga and cool footie games through to some well-deserved R&R, while the ship sailed to Mykonos’ Super Paradise Beach, which had been reserved for our guests for the whole day. The Heineken Ibiza Final was an incredibly successful brand activation. The Heineken Champions Voyage set a new standard for the fan experience, with a clear invitation for football fans to ‘Open their world’. “... it was EPIC. And that’s not just me saying this; it’s the general opinion of all the guests I’ve spoken to these past few days. Everyone was completely amazed by the whole experience…” (Roeslan Danoekoesoemo, Global Sponsorship Manager, HEINEKEN International)

Despite its continued success, Heineken’s Global Sponsorship team felt that the time was right to create a new and even more spectacular Champions League Final experience. So, rather than just moving the event to another location, we rethought it from the ground up to devise a truly epic experience that took place on board a cruise liner, bound for Europe’a latest party capital, Mykonos. The Heineken Champions Voyage fused an iconic sporting moment with the iconography of a glamorous, seafaring adventure, capturing the imagination of football fans across the world.

For the past 7 years, The Ibiza Final - one of Heineken’s most prized activations in their UEFA sponsorship calendar - rewarded competition winners, trade partners, influencers and journalists with an exclusive screening and celebration of the Champions League Final. All located on the party island of Ibiza. This money-can’t-buy Champions League Final experience took 500 football fans, on-trade partners and influencers to Mykonos, the coolest party hotspot in the Med. Although the journey was every bit as important as the destination.