UEFA Champions League sponsor Pepsi Max has created a spectacular ‘Volley 360’ immersive on-site experience for fans to test themselves against during the build up to the 2016 final.
In host city Milan’s Piazza Castello, the soft drinks giant has built the ultimate, hi-tech volley challenge and, between 26 and 29 May, supporters are being challenged to step into the Pepsi Max ‘Maximum Football Arena’ to attempt perfect volleys.
Fans tackling the skills challenge, which is made all the more difficult by a dynamic lightshow, pounding noise and other environmental obstacles, are able to share their efforts and experience in real-time or through slow motion videos on social networks with MaxFootball.
A parallel branded space beside the arena, the ‘Maximum Taste’ bar offers thirsty volleyers ‘the ultimate mixology experience’, while the Pepsi CL Final party programme continues in the city’s iconic Piazza del Duomo where the brand is hosting music performances led by DJ Benny Benassi.
This experiential initiative, running under the PepsiCo’s MaxFootball sub-brand, aims to both activate PepsiCo’s rights at the world’s most prestigious club competition and celebrate one of football’s toughest and most spectacular skills – the volley.
Indeed, PepsiMax claims that a perfectly executed volley is ‘the ultimate moment of excitement for fans and a mark of players’ genius’.
To promote the in-person experience and amplify it as a campaign, Pepsi Max is challenging semi-pros, freestylers, parkour experts and gymnasts to enter its branded, custom-created circular pitch to showcase their volleying skills as balls are fired in from multiple angles and speeds.
‘Scoring a volley is genuinely such an amazing feeling! Knowing you’ve got control of the ball and you’ve shot it in the right direction, while flipping upside down is pretty mad! I’m delighted to be involved.’
Football freestyler Dan Cutting said: ‘Volleys are uniquely special, genius moments in football. They require great technique, an excellent crisp shot and an accurate soar to the top corner of the goal. The unique Pepsi MAX ‘Volley 360’ arena will allow us to demonstrate some incredible moves which I hope will excite football fans across the globe in an unexpected way.’
The participants’ objective is to show off dazzling agility and soccer skills as they attempt the most extreme goals in this unique Pepsi contest.
The initiative was first teased on 16 May with a trailer spot ‘Volley 360 – Coming Soon’,
before the full video reveal (set to ‘What You Wanna Do’ by Johnny Voltik & David Westlake as a soundtrack) was posted 48 hours later.
Using the hashtag #MAXFOOTBALL, the immersive experience was amplified heavily across the brand’s social platforms including Facebook and Twitter.
A volley is a piece of #Genius. We've taken them to the next level with Volley 360. #MAXFootball https://t.co/fiMaGuC4Dm
— Pepsi Max (@PepsiMaxUK) May 19, 2016
Volleys are a moment of genius! Remember these epic UEFA Champions League volleys? #MAXFootball https://t.co/lym78eVxDU
— Pepsi Max (@PepsiMaxUK) May 16, 2016
‘Widely regarded as a mark of outstanding footballing talent, the volley has provided many jaw-dropping moments in the UEFA Champions League history from many of the sport’s most legendary players,’ explains Pepsi Marketing Director Western Europe Mauro Ribo.
‘The Pepsi MAX Volley 360 celebrates and elevates this genius feat as we look to excite fans and charge their passion leading into the most watched annual sporting event in the world, the UEFA Champions League Final.’
At the launch Peter Willems, UEFA’s head of marketing activities and sponsorship, added: ‘Recognised by football fans across the world as an unparalleled mark of footballing virtuosity, the volley is the ultimate thrill during a match. The UEFA Champions League has been home to many of the most lauded volleys in football history and we are excited that Pepsi MAX has chosen to celebrate this moment of genius with our fans through the Pepsi MAX ‘Volley 360.’
The diverse semi-pro team of athletes showcasing the experience for the promo campaign include football freestylers Dan Cutting, Jesse Evison and Marc Cumberbatch, parkour free runner Will Sutton and gymnast Erin Jameson.
Comment
As a high-energy youth-focused product, PepsiMax has long been a brand quick to experiment with and exploit the latest tech-development and buzz bandwagon and 360 is a current hot media.
Indeed, fellow UEFA sponsor Hyundai also recently unveiled its own immersie 360 fan experience for Euro 2016 (see case study).
And, for PepsiMax, this 360-led approach follows its late 2015 ‘NFL International Series 360 Video Experience’
as well as last year’s Champions League ‘Drone Football’ stunt.
PepsiMax’s work around the final, which also includes its emoji campaign linked ‘Blue Card’ work from earlier in 2016 (see case study), builds upon parent company PepsiCo’s integrated and multi-brand partnership with the UEFA Champions League.
PepsiCo first signed up as a UEFA Champions League sponsor in 2015 and is leveraging its rights through work for a set of brands including Lay’s, Walkers, Gatorade and Pepsi Max / Pepsi.
Among some of the stand-out 2016 CL work from this range includes Walker’s #GameReady activation (see case study).
Links
Pepsi Max YouTube:
Pepsi Max Twitter:
@PepsiMaxUK
https://twitter.com/PepsiMaxUK
Pepsi Max Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PepsiMax
Pepsi YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=pepsi
Pepsi Website:
http://www.Pepsi.com
Pepsi Twitter:
Pepsi Facebook:
Pepsi Instagram:
http://www.Instagram.com/Pepsi
UEFA Champions League:
