Opportunity
In 2022, for the first time since its foundation, the football World Cup was organized in the winter, coinciding with Telekom’s annual promotional campaign of devices and electronics known as Telekom Cyber November. This alignment provided an excellent opportunity to build on the buzz and effectively communicate the offerings in a relevant way around this globally dominant and popular event.
Challenge
The organizers adhere to a strict policy that forbids non-sponsors from even mentioning their most prestigious event, let alone communicate discounts and offerings closely connected to it.
Although we couldn’t talk about the real tournament and its games, there is one thing that football fans love as much: virtual football that they have been playing for decades and also watching on streams in the past couple of years.
Our approach
Idea
We created our own football tournament, the Telekom Cyber Cup. A branded content video series where streamers, sportsmen and other well-known personalities battled each other, and recreated real World Cup fixtures in the FIFA 23 video game, while we displayed Cyber November discounts and offerings all along.
House rules
We had to tailor the tournament true to the format and make it more entertaining, so we created our own set of rules. Instead of fouls, we penalized goals, and instead of yellow and red cards we gave the participants Caroline Reaper chips, distorting glasses, handcuffs, and other various, unexpected challenges.
Fan cup
To make the experience more memorable we organized a final where the fans could compete against real virtual football pros in the middle of the Groupama stadium. After conducting a multi-round selection process, our task was setting up the suitable infrastructure to livestream the whole event.
Learnings
– In a streaming format, chemistry is everything. When content focuses on characters who are not playing roles but acting as themselves, how they work together will define the success and quality of the content.
– Expect the best, prepare for the worst. Even if the weather forecast shows excellent sunny weather, have a tent above your players, as the snow will surely start to fall. The picture can go black at an unexpected moment for an unexpected reason, so have a backup channel for the video. In a live format, preparation is the margin between success and failure, because if you want to come up with something on the spot, it’s already too late.
– Dare to mix genres. Combining video games with online challenge videos, set in a real sports venue, featuring people who’ve never been on camera may sound scary, but if you make it work, the result will be surely special.
