2019 Winners & Shortlists

Background.

Females in the Middle East are currently battling for equal rights across several fronts. Despite some recent progress, certain areas of Arab society remain off limits to women. One of these is the sport of football. Even though female fans number in the millions, females have traditionally been excluded from the football experience. In fact, no females have ever even been allowed in an Arab-language broadcast booth; leaving women feeling excluded from the sport they love. As part of their affiliation with the recent Asian Football Cup (AFC) tournament, Coke wanted to utilize female influencers to 1) smash conventional gender roles in the region; 2) serve to provide a more inclusive online and live experience that would bring together both male and female fans and 3) utilize the proper online platforms given the divergent media habits of our target across 10 countries.

Describe the creative idea.

Coca-Cola brought together female influencers from the worlds of football and pop culture to create the Arab world’s first all-female football commentary crew. A difficult task because females have been excluded from the football dialogue and no female football experts with broadcast expertise exist. Our broadcast crew were carefully selected to include a former pro athlete, a Saudi female footballer and a social influencer. The latter was chosen to add a more human approach to the typical stat-driven male broadcasters. Our team provided livestreamed play-by-play, analysis, stats and storylines for a full 90 minutes of live game coverage during the Asian Football Cup match between Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Describe the strategy.

We wanted to communicate Coca-Cola’s brand purpose of togetherness to our female target in a region where female empowerment is beginning to get the attention that it deserves. Research showed us that during major football tournaments, men stick to the television screens; ignoring all else. The match broadcasts themselves are tailored exclusively to men. This creates a disconnect for female football fans with the game they love. Women are excluded. Social media data told us something remarkable. Despite being excluded, female fans across the region showed increased interest in football – up 56% over average. Women clearly wanted to be part of the conversation when it comes to large tournaments.

Describe the execution.

The broadcast was streamed live simultaneously across 5 platforms – each reflecting the different social media habits of females across 10 Middle Eastern countries. Also, we needed a variety of different formats based on whether the target was going to consume the content as a simulcast to the televised match or as a replacement for the primary broadcast. Each of our influencers was assigned a role in the broadcast based on her area of expertise. Our pro athlete provided color commentary. Our Saudi footballer called the match play by play. Our social influencer provided personal player details

List the results.

Female Share of Voice in the AFC online increased 85% during the live stream broadcast. Reach 4,400,000+ Views 1,300,000+ Engagements 1,100,000+