Mercado Libre, the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America, has the fastest delivery service—a critical competitive advantage that has not yet been widely recognized. Recently, the e-commerce landscape has become more competitive with new players entering the market, all fighting for the best assortment, prices, and shipping speeds. Among Mercado Libre's assets is its extensive soccer sponsorship platform, which resonates due to the sport's cultural significance and appeal in the region. The strategic brief was to leverage this platform not just to create emotional connections but to effectively highlight their primary functional benefit: fast delivery.

Pitch-side advertising has long served as a backdrop where the action happens, but what if the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America used this space to showcase its fast delivery service and became part of the game itself? Introducing Ballboards. Strategically positioned at pitch-side (with the flexibility to be placed anywhere around the field), these innovative billboards feature built-in ball cannons that actively engage in the match by swiftly returning balls back into play, seamlessly integrating into the flow of the game. Integrated into the LED boards showing the message: 'Your ball has arrived.'

Ballboards started in Brazil during two major final games and immediately generated interest for implementation in several other markets, including Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, and Colombia. Lately, Ballboards debuted in the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores 2024, demonstrating how our industry can profoundly impact a sport with a history of 160 years.

Football, Brazil's national passion, is becoming increasingly innovative with technologies like VAR and goal-line technology. To highlight Mercado Libre's fastest delivery, we integrated this feature with innovation in football, creating a campaign that turns our delivery speed into the next great innovation in the sport. To ensure that this message reached as many sports fans as possible, we secured an exclusive with the leading regional media outlet. The article in O Globo newspaper resonated greatly among enthusiasts and football fans, and was featured on the homepage of the portal, one of the most accessed in the country. We expanded the discussion through the brand's social networks and partners, and international media, with traditional sports outlets in Latin America such as Olé, Record, and El País and more 26 TV channels in over 20 countries.

Ballboards are pitch-side advertising boards featuring built-in ball cannons that actively engage in the match by swiftly returning balls back into play when they go out of bounds. The cannons were integrated into the LED displays of the billboards and projected the message "Your ball has arrived" with each delivery. The mechanism underwent months of testing to perfect the force and response time needed for the ball to reach players, seamlessly integrating into the flow of the game. Therefore, for the first time, an advertising billboard actively participated in a football match, positively influencing the game and gaining status as the next technological innovation in the sport.

This activation took place during both matches of the Campeonato Carioca finals at Maracanã Stadium, where more than 120k spectators attended the two matches. The broadcast reached more than 15 million people across Brazil in households, significantly amplifying the brand's exposure.

We have impacted over 120,782 fans that were watching the two final games at the stadium and captivating 15 million people through live transmission. It became an instant hit, with 40 million organic views within the first 48 hours, 10 times more than the match's highlights—marking the first occasion an advertising initiative generated more buzz than the match itself. The Ballboards idea reach was not limited to Brazil alone and garnered international attention, being noticed in 26 channels from over 20 different countries. Furthermore, the campaign achieved 1.6 billion impressions around the world and U$ 6 million on earned media. And finally, the success at the finale at Maracanã set a precedent, leading to the implementation of the Ballboards in subsequent tournaments, as the Conmebol Libertadores and others, still in negotiations.