2018 Brand Experience & Activation

FOOTBALL DECODED

Silver Eurobest

Case Film

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TitleFOOTBALL DECODED
BrandMICROSOFT
Product/ServiceXBOX / FIFA 18
Category E02. Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
Entrant McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Media Placement CARAT London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production CRAFT LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 2 SOMESUCH London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production 3 TWENTYFOUR SEVEN Madrid, SPAIN
Credits
Name Company Position
Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson McCann London Co-Presidents and Chief Creative Officers
Sanjiv Mistry and Jamie Mietz McCann London Executive Creative Directors
Jacob Björdal McCann London Art Director
Jim Nilsson McCann London Copywriter
Robert Stockton McCann London Account Manager
Francois d’Espagnac, Matteo Della Venezia and Tom Oliver McCann London Account Directors
Sailesh Jani McCann London Managing Partner
Rob Smith McCann London EVP
Paul Gillespie McCann London Senior Project Manager
Claire Colohan and Rebecca Wilford Craft/McCann Producers
Sergio Lopez Craft/McCann Chief Production Officer EMEA
Karen Crum McCann London Head of Planning
Fanni David McCann London Senior Planner
Jack Goss McCann London Planning Intern
Omri Cohen Somesuch Director
Todd Martin Somesuch Director of Photography
Louise Gagen Somesuch Producer
Seth Wilson Somesuch Executive Producer
Reimer Eisig and Lennard van der Last Somesuch Composers
Chris Graves Craft/McCann Music Supervisor
Adam Smyth and Giselle Hall Craft/McCann Senior Sound Engineer and Sound Engineer
Mariona Sauret, Adam Ryzman and Francis Harris Craft/McCann Editors
Miriam Sasiain Twentyfour Seven Production Manager
Yasmina Ikimou Twentyfour Seven Production Coordinator
Lucas Cuevas Twentyfour Seven 1st AD
Frodo Martinez Twentyfour Seven 2nd AD
Ivo Van Vollenhoven Twentyfour Seven Ext. Producer
Bea Cañete Twentyfour Seven Producer
Joe Richardson Craft/McCann Artworker
Liam White Craft/McCann Print Producer
Ellis Faint Craft/McCann Studio Manager

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

This work is relevant for Brand Experience & Activation because the core of it was a brand activation that could be experienced either in person at the football stadium, at home watching a live broadcast, or via social channels. It started by partnering with the biggest club in the world, and grew from there, and at every point our audience could see and hear, in real time, how the skills of their football heroes were being translated into Xbox controller commands, unlocking their skill for the world to re-create on Xbox.

Background

‘FIFA 18’, the latest in the football videogame series, was going to be crucial for Xbox. However, Xbox’s competitor PlayStation had paid a fortune to buy all the marketing rights for the game. It meant that while PlayStation had total freedom to advertise the game any way they wanted, we at Xbox had the opposite – a 100% ban on marketing the game across all media. We couldn’t even show our own game packshot. How could Xbox market a game they were forbidden from marketing?

Describe the creative idea

In partnership with top club Real Madrid and a top FIFA gamer, we ensured that every pass, every shot, every possible combination on the pitch was translated into the corresponding Xbox controller buttons for ‘FIFA 18’, in real time. This tactic constantly linked FIFA with Xbox, without ever mentioning the game or contravening the marketing exclusivity deal. By doing so, Xbox put a stamp of ownership on the skills of world-class footballers, allowing the massive global football fanbase to re-create these skills on Xbox. From perimeter boards to commentary to reactive social and even post-match reports, every touchpoint didn’t just advertise FIFA – it made gamers better at it on Xbox.

Describe the strategy

The situation was an almost impossible one for Xbox. Forbidden from mentioning FIFA, showing any game assets or even a packshot meant that we had to approach things laterally. So we leveraged the one thing with a bigger and more passionate fan base than videogame football – actual football. By partnering with a top club and attaching our gaming brand to actual football matches, gamers would know that what we were really talking about was ‘FIFA 18’, even though that was never explicitly mentioned.

Describe the execution

The ‘Football Decoded’ campaign consisted of stadium perimeter boards, commentary, print, online video, social videos and an interactive installation – all of which decoded real football moves into the Xbox button combinations needed to perform them on Xbox’s version of ‘FIFA 18’. The campaign launched on 21 September 2017, with an end date of 30 May 2018. Campaign touchpoints were rolled out to coincide with key Real Madrid matches, to ensure maximum reach. Perimeter boards first appeared during El Classico, the much-watched match between Madrid and Barcelona, while post-match reports followed the Champions League quarter final. Overall, the partnership with Real Madrid was decided upon due to their scale and quality (most valuable sports brand according to Forbes; 290 million social followers; 4.5 million stadium visitors p/a etc.). This meant that a larger cross-section of gamers learned new Xbox FIFA skills from some of the best footballers on the planet.

List the results

- Over 100 million impressions - Reached 650 million spectators per match (x 12 matches) - FIFA unique player base grew by 10% year-on-year from launch through to Q3