During the pandemic, all the stands remained empty. Football fans had to stay at home and watch the game on the TV. The phenomenon of 'Missing Fans' in sports was a much-discussed topic in the media.

Child Focus and RBFA wanted to use this situation the focus on an even more worrying topic: the few fans that are really missing.

With the world watching they wanted to raise attention for Theo Hayez, a die-hard Red Devil fan and backpacker who disappeared in Australia, without a trace.

Maybe someone, somewhere in the world could help to find him by giving a breakthrough tip.

Normally, the stands are filled with people who proudly show their team's colors and banners. Sometimes fans create gigantic flags that cover the stands, called tifos. Those monumental canvasses always catch the attention of the cameras.

By using AR-technology for the first time in a live broadcast, we created a digital tifo with a picture of Theo Hayez and a call to action to help to look for him. It was virtually held up by hundreds of fans which made it seem they were present during the game.

Needless to say, it grabbed the media's attention after months of no fan presence.

INSIGHT:

After months of empty stands and attention for matches without fans, we knew the media would focus on the issue ànd the way it was presented.

KEY MESSAGE:

Help us find our missing fan: Theo Hayez.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

Theo disappeared while travelling the globe. He was last seen in Australia, so maybe someone in the world (a fellow traveller) could give more information.

CREATION:

We created the world's first digital tifo to cover the stands.

DISTRIBUTION:

The game was broadcasted live in over 60 countries.

Although we aimed for the world, the budget was small.

Broadcasters and the press were informed the day of the match.

They were handed out images of the world's first digital tifo, the information about the technology behind it and the backstory of Theo Hayez.

The CEO of Child Focus was available for interviews at the stadium during and after the game, and via virtual calls in the days after.

Over 1 million people watched the game live in over 60 countries, including Australia. In Belgium, the tifo appeared in prime-time news reaching over 750K people (population 10million). No further data was measured since the focus was solely on gathering information.

Due to the ongoing investigation around Theo's disappearance, we cannot disclose further information about the number of tips or the result.