UEFA primary partner Pepsi focused on TikTok to promote its ‘2023 Champions League Final Kick-Off Show by Pepsi Max’ and to unveil Grammy winner Burna Boy as the headline act.
To reveal the lead act for what will be Pepsi’s seventh UCL Final kick-off show, the soft drinks giant launched a three-month fan engagement TikTok campaign led by a blended ‘soccer and dance fan challenge’ under the banner of its lead tournament brand – Pepsi Max.
The brand’s comprehensive, 12-week 2023 tournament fan engagement programme marks an expansion on Pepsi’s previous three-to-five week UEFA Champions League Final activations.
The launch creative ran across Pepsi Global, Pepsi Max and Burna Boy’s own TikTok channels and as the campaign evolves it will include a range of agency- and fan-created content and live broadcasts on the platform.
The pre kick-off performance, which will take place on 10 June immediately before kick-off in Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium, will be headlined by Burna Boy and include other acts who will be announced nearer to the game.
Burna Boy – a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer whose full name is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu who is best known for soulful afrobeats like ‘Last Last’ and ‘Its Plenty’ – revealed the sport/music partnership on his personal TikTok channel and also introduced the campaign’s fan-creation challenge with a call to supporters to upload their own dance moves/football skills on TikTok with the #PepsiKickOffShow hashtag. Those with the best submissions will be chosen to show off their skills as part of the pre-match show.
As well as watching the show and the game via their local broadcaster, fans can also see it through the official UEFA YouTube and TikTok channels and the @PepsiGlobal TikTok channel offers details about how fans can win the chance of being part of the ‘2023 UEFA Champions League Kick Off Show by Pepsi Max’.
The launch and follow-up activation is also promoted across Pepsi’s other social channels – including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook – and also features a strong team of Pepsi athlete and entertainer endorsers including England Lioness and Arsenal FC skipper Leah Williamson, Brazil and Real Madrid attacker Vinícius Júnior and Argentina captain and PSG forward Lionel Messi.
“As a huge football fan myself, I know it doesn’t get any bigger than the UEFA Champions League! That’s why I’m so excited to be performing on the Pepsi MAX stage at this year’s final,” said Burna Boy in the campaign launch PR statement. “Music and football are the ultimate combination, so you already know I’ll be bringing the vibes and making magic in Istanbul. The world ain’t ready for what we have in store!”
“The UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show is a significant part of our joint efforts with Pepsi MAX, providing an incredible opportunity to reach new and younger audiences with some of the biggest names and rising stars in music,” said UEFA Marketing Director Guy-Laurent Epstein. “We’re excited to showcase a line-up of talented artists at this season’s Final in Istanbul in what is sure to be an energetic and memorable performance.”
“The UEFA Champions League Final is the stand-out date of the club football calendar, and Pepsi Max prides itself on marking the occasion with the very best entertainment spectacles,” added Pepsi Senior Director of Global Marketing Gustavo Reyna. “The newly named ‘Kick Off Show by Pepsi’ is going to be huge this year; we’re so excited to welcome Burna Boy, one of the world’s most exciting artists, to the Pepsi x UEFA Champions League stage and we can’t wait to see which fans are selected to feature as part of this truly unmissable performance. Stay tuned to find out who is co-headlining alongside Burna Boy in the weeks to come! ”
According to Pepsi’s Reyna, the brand has seen the challenge trend on TikTok become a big thing for its core target late teen/young adult audience. For the launch, Reyna also added that Pepsi “always tries to stay close to consumers” and that the “TikTok challenge is giving fans a window and a completely new way of encouraging fans to showcase their talent”.
“The way we look at the kick-off show is that moment that really enhances or elevates the overall fan experience,” continued Reyna adding that it is a pivotal part of Pepsi’s football and entertainment strategy. “It builds up more and more excitement right before the whistle is blown.”
Pepsi will also be using the event to amplify its recently launched ‘Thirsty for More’ brand platform which was developed to ‘speak to people that want to indulge in life’s experiences and to have more fun moments in their everyday lives’.
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The comprehensive range of TikTok activation and content for the kick-off show marks the first time that Pepsi will use TikTok as the primary media channel for the event.
The tactical media decision comes as the Bite Dance owned social app comes under ever closer security-related scrutiny across the West as USD, Canadian and EU governments begin to impose various bans and restrictions on TikTok due to its supposed ties to the Chinese government and security services.
“Pepsi is a fun brand and a brand that has been providing entertaining experiences forever, and we’re going to keep doing that irrespective of the media channel,” commented Reyna dismissing immediate concerns. “As long as we keep doing what we’re doing and using media in the right way and according to policies and regulations then that’s absolutely fine.”
The seventh iteration of the ‘UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show by Pepsi Max’ – formerly known as the UEFA Champions League Opening Ceremony – will be broadcast in more than 200 countries and territories around the world minutes before the biggest annual club football match.
Activating through the ‘Kick-Off Show’ is just one strand of Pepsi/Pepsi Max’s 2023 UCL activation programme which has also included advertising creative, as well as fashion collaborations and product innovations.
This year’s work follows on from 2022 UCl work such as the Camilla Cabellos fronted Kick-Off Show and the ‘Score With Pogba’ game, plus a campaign called ‘Play To Inspire’.
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