The Goals
During a period of mind-numbing isolation caused by regional and global lockdowns, entertainment was a scarce resource – adidas wanted to fix that. adidas set out to create captivating and exciting content to energize and engage with Arab sports fans – a partnership with Kooora was the logical next step. Together, adidas and Kooora endeavored to create, host and distribute a virtual gaming tournament, replacing sports with e-sports, across KSA and UAE.
The Approach
To build our communication strategy we worked with Mediacom MENA to derive insights around the football scene in the region, looking at shifts in our audience’s behavior during the pandemic. We witnessed an increase in gaming consumption at home where fans were reliving their passion by competing and connecting with the online community through e-sports. adidas chose Kooora as a partner to mirror the global trend in the region and bring about an online football competition to connect and engage with the massive football audience on the platform.
To maximize on our audience’s passion and create a buzz around the activation, adidas and Kooora chose to recruit a well-known football enthusiast / influencer to act as the commentator given the engagement and hype which broadcasters provide to every football game. In addition to that we recruited 4 pro FIFA gamers to play against 4 e-gaming influencers.
All 8 players would play a knock-out round where the finalist would win a ticket with a friend to watch a REAL MADRID game live in Santiago Bernabeo stadium, courtesy of adidas. Between the charismatic commentator and the passionate competitors, the adidas Unite In Play challenge generated overwhelming levels of support and engagement from the spectators.
The Results
- 3.4M views for the E-branded tournament
- 131,000 minutes watched of adidas e-gaming videos
- 1.8M campaign users reached in UAE & KSA
- 140,000 engagements reached across the website & social media platforms
- 400 times the campaign was shared by the audience
- 90% positive sentiment achieved for brand & campaign
