Branded content is a very popular communication tool in Brazil, especially due to the massive relevance of social media. When it comes to access to social media, Brazil ranks second in the world – and brands take advantage of this type of content to engage with the audience.

The strategy is directly connected to the limitations created by rules regarding the use of live streaming or on demand content from the official footage of the tournament. Both the official TV and internet broadcaster of the tournament and FIFA imposed several restrictions on the use of official footage of the matches by any medium or brand. Official sponsors of the World Cup were allowed to place their brands in close connection to the event, but adidas was not among these companies.

The digital game kicked off right after the first official match. There were 31 rounds played daily by users. They had to find checkpoints on Google Maps and Street View and answer a quiz based on the history of adidas in the FIFA World Cups. Participants could also play the rounds through Google Rich Media Ad Units, directly inside the ads.

To activate the challenge, we set up a dedicated team in Rio, responsible for generating content that reflected the daily results of the tournament. More than 40 professionals were involved in producing and marketing the game.

All KPIs and goals were achieved within two weeks of launching the project (see confidential information below).

The total number of online players was enough to fill the legendary Maracanã Stadium (with a capacity for almost 80,000 people) over four times. The number of registrations was 3 times higher than initially expected.

30 per cent of the participants in the all in or nothing challenge were on mobile platforms, and the game achieved 1.2 MM YouTube video views.

adidas football was the most commented brand during the Word Cup in social media outperforming the likes of Nike, Coca Cola, Budweiser, Sony or Paddy Power.