At the last World Cup, the footballing world hated the ball. For the 2014 tournament, World Cup sponsor adidas had the perfect ball. But we didn't just want people to like it, or even love it - we wanted them to idolise it. So, it was time to bring adidas's World Cup hero product to life; for football fans, media, and influencers, everywhere.
We decided we would make Brazuca, named by its fans, into the REAL star of the tournament - by turning it from a ball, into a baller. We gave it its own voice @Brazuca; with brilliant football insight and an irreverent tone of voice that cut through football cliché. We gave it a celebrity lifestyle, meeting everyone from David Beckham to the Pope, Pharrell to Pitbull.
It brought fans closer to the game than ever before. Lightning-fast real-time reactive tweets made its wit and perspective a part of the biggest tournament conversations, from France's flirtation with goal-line technology to Germany's triumph at the Maracana.
@Brazuca was a storming success. Millions followed in the first week of the tournament. Brazuca achieved worldwide media coverage in publications covering everything from fashion to football; and built a community of over 3.4 million @brazuca followers. Mashable even interviewed our talking ball.
adidas sold a record number of World Cup balls. Brazuca was the fastest-growing Twitter account during the tournament, recognised as an official World Cup account by Twitter and achieved hugely positive sentiment amongst football fans and media.
Objective
adidas is an official partner of the FIFA World Cup. It provides the match officials with football boots and their matchday attire and supplies the official match ball, which becomes the symbol of the brand's sponsorship role every four years.
For Brazil 2014, the match ball was Brazuca, its name selected by public vote, and it was the most heavily tested football in history. We tackled the challenge of activating one of the most important and visible sponsorships in sport by giving the ball a voice.
We maximised adidas' World Cup partnership in in an innovative way that brought the essence of Brazuca to life. The campaign was primarily designed for the adidas target audience, but also to be accessible and relevant - and entertaining - for football fans around the world.
Our products are the focal point of our campaigns. For our biggest campaign of all time, we let the most important product of all speak for itself.
Strategy
To activate the most visible element of adidas' World Cup sponsorship, the strategy was designed to bring fans closer to the World Cup tournament in Brazil.
To give a real sense of proximity between our social communities, the players they love and the World Cup's biggest and most iconic moments, we created the @brazuca Twitter profile as a vehicle to take them behind-the-scenes and up close to the action in real time.
@brazuca was on the field for every second of every game, ready and waiting to celebrate the headline reactive moment. The Twitter name was displayed on the match ball plinths before every single World Cup game, making it visible to mass TV audiences around the globe.
Brazuca had a clear voice: fun and irreverent, but serious about football and football culture. Its aim was to entertain, and by capitalising on its unique perspective on the beautiful game it picked up followers at an extraordinary rate.
Key Features
Brazuca was introduced to the world through a global tour. It visited top footballers and the video experience was shared with fans through Brazuca's own eyes; Brazuca was built with 360-degree cameras and provided a first-person perspective as the ball was delivered to the competing World Cup nations.
The key to Brazuca's success was its use of authentic football language and genuine insight along with quick wit and unique access. To bring all this together in real-time, Brazuca had a dedicated team of football experts to manage a smooth process that ensured that the right tweet was ready for the right moment.
Our multi-disciplinary team was designed to allow for tweets posted in seconds. Every tweet was published in two languages, and with instant paid media support where required. English was Brazuca's global language, taking its message to the masses. But Brazilian Portuguese was really its natural tongue.
The focus was on instant, witty, fun reaction during matches. Brazuca's in-game reactive tweets were the fastest, funniest and most engaging at the World Cup.
It even enjoyed the honour of exclusively tweeting the shortlist for the FIFA Golden Ball Award, which is given to the best player at the tournament.
Results
@Brazuca was a storming success. It became the most followed football handle on Twitter, with millions followed in the first week of the tournament alone. The ball and the Twitter handle were covered extensively, and globally, by a wide range of vertical media. It became a hot topic in sports, fashion, business, design and technology media, as well as in the football press and national daily newspapers. It built a community of over 3.4 million @brazuca followers. It was even verified on Twitter. Justin Beiber tweeted about it. Brazuca achieved hugely positive sentiment amongst football fans and media and adidas sold a record number of World Cup balls.
Why this campaign should win
If 2010 was the year of the most hated World Cup ball, 2014 was unarguably the year it was best loved. Brazuca wasn't just a product, or a Twitter handle, it became a genuine World Cup personality. A huge amount of work went into landing the right tone of voice and wit to reach football fans. The overwhelmingly positive sentiment amongst the Twitter community was a massive achievement; it is not easily impressed. Celeb & media love, 3.4 million followers, record ball sales; and the fact Mashable gave it an interview spot - all Brazuca needs now, is recognition by The Shortys.
