Mastercard identified a strategic opportunity to differentiate itself from competitors during the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia by aligning its brand with Brazilian women's football. Recognizing the saturated discourse surrounding gender disparities, Mastercard sought to transcend this narrative and emphasize the unique and "priceless" aspects of women's football in Brazil. By delving into the overlooked history of the women's national team, Mastercard proposed honoring the unrecognized pioneers from the inaugural '88 squad, thereby creating a heartfelt tribute that distinguished the brand from competitors and fostered a deeper connection with fans and players.

In the match between Brazil and Chile, the last one before the 2023 World Cup, Mastercard wanted to highlight that for the current players to reach this point, many others had to fight simply to play football in the past.

Therefore, the brand changed the on-field entrance protocol, bringing together the past and present of the Brazilian national team. The players from the first brazilian women's national team took the field alongside the players selected for the World Cup.

This gesture brought attention to women who fought for the survival of the sport, keeping their stories alive in football. As a result, the audience could learn more about their achievements through this brand activation and on Mastercard's social media platforms.

How many former female football players can Brazilians name? The sporting history in Brazil is still largely unknown to the society. Everyone knows Marta, Formiga and Cristiane, but not more than these three.

That's why Mastercard brought former players onto the field alongside the current Brazilian women's national team, standing beside the Brazilian flag and anthem. Replacing the children who usually walk onto the field with the players.

This initiative aimed to introduce the nation to different names and faces of women who paved the way for those who were about to compete in the World Cup.

This action took place during the last friendly game before the competition and resonated throughout the day on nationally broadcasted sports analysis programs, on influencer social media accounts, and also on Mastercard's own social media channels, where we shared more about each of the 11 players who returned to the field that day.

Even before the players took to the field, they were already being invited to speak on national television about that moment. In a brief interview on the sidelines, one of the former players told that she would finally receive the recognition she deserved.

Once on the field, the women were the focus of the entire team's entrance until the end of the national anthem. This moment was broadcasted live to millions who were tuning in to watch the game.

The subject continued to resonate in the day's main sports newspapers, which not only showed the scene of the former players on the field but also delved into the commitment we should have to recognize the women responsible for opening doors so that today Brazil has a competitive team.

To further sustain this great moment, we had influencers helping amplify the action and the need to recognize those women.

We had an investment of R$ 129K in paid media, while in PR we had 117 placements, valued at R$ 8.2 MM in earned media. For paid media, with only R$ 129K, we reached 14MM targeted unique users on two of the country's main digital platforms (IG and YT), generating a positive impact in 90% of the comments, which praised the brand and the former players.

Out of the 117 placements in organic conversations, our main result was “hacking” the country's main broadcaster, which is also the official championship broadcaster, both in Pay TV and Open TV. In total, there were 3 moments during the game, two image placements (1 OTV and 1 PayTV), and a live interview lasting 3:14 minutes in PayTV. The estimated value for these formats is R$ 1.3MM, representing 15% of the total earned media.

In Brazil, this was the brand's greatest PR achievement in its.