Vivo Leverages FIFA Tie-Up To Launch A Global ‘My Time, My World Cup’ Campaign Built On Creating & Sharing

Chinese smartphone brand and new FIFA top tier partner Vivo launched a global brand campaign called ‘My Time, My FIFA World Cup’ to leverage its status as the official smartphone sponsor of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The multi-phase, multi-market activation is the brand’s first FIFA work following its recent six-year sponsorship deal with FIFA and its core objective is to use the tie-up to help the brand connect with young consumers around the world.

The theme advocates the brand’s belief that ‘everyone can be extraordinary and calls upon people of the world to seize moments of opportunity to be extraordinary in their lives’.

Vivo’s approach is to inspire everyone around the world to seize the moment on the world’s biggest stage and the campaign, which launched on 23 May and was developed in harness with BBDO Hong Kong, aims to ‘empower football fans to go beyond being a spectator and become a creator’ by creating and sharing content from the events.

The launch phase was fronted by television advertising

and content across its own digital and social channels,

This is the moment we’ve been waiting for! Share all your #WorldCup feels with the new Vivo.

A post shared by Vivo (@vivomobile) on May 22, 2018 at 6:04am PDT

In addition to the international advertising, the FIFA sponsor’s campaign also spans music and photography-led marketing activations, as well as a Russia 2018 product, all of which feed in to the idea of creating and sharing.

The Vivo ‘Super Fan Photographer’ programme, which gives fans unprecedented pitch-side, stadium and warm up session access

This strand sees Vivo recruit a 128-person international squad of team of soccer supporters, consumers, social influencers, opinion formers and special guests who are all passionate about photography and facilitate their participate in the 2018 9and the 2022) FIFA World Cup to document and share extraordinary moments through unprecedented close-up access.

The big names on this team include 1994 FIFA World Cup winner and Brazilian footballing legend Bebeto and former Dutch National and 1987 Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit.

Prior to each game, Vivo Super Fan Photographers will be given a Vivo smartphone and then granted special pitch-side and stadium access to snap and capture content to share them with the world.

“The goal celebration dance for my newborn son at the 1994 World Cup was my most extraordinary moment. I look forward to Vivo Super Fans capturing and sharing the extraordinary moments of this World Cup with the world,” commented Bebeto

While Gullit added, “Scoring a goal during the tournament in 1990 was my most extraordinary moment from the World Cup and with some of the best players in world participating, this World Cup, like all others, will undoubtedly have some truly spectacular and memorable moments. ”

While the Vivo ‘Super Time’ project aims to elevate the fan experience through the FIFA World Cup performance segment.

While the music strand, ‘Vivo Super Time’, is built around a set of branded music-themed activities running through the tournament: including the Vivo Super DJ show at all 64 matches.

This phase will culminate at the FIFA World Cup Final itself, on 15 July, where Vivo will create a special Vivo Super Time moment during the Official Song Performance.

Vivo also launched a related activation strand called #PassTheSwag which aims to start a new global dance movement to unite both football and music fans around the world and create an iconic, memorable moment for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

This phase aims to bring people together through the common language of dance and dovetails with the official 2018 FIFA Wolrd Cup Russia ‘Live It Up’ anthem by Nicky jam, Will Smith and Era Istrefi.

Fans are encouraged to share social media videos of themselves dancing to the song while they #PassTheSwag using the hashtag.

Indeed, right through the tournament fans are being encouraged to do the #PassTheSwag dance at all 64 matches during the Vivo Super DJ Show.

Another aspect oif the activation programme sees Vivo launch a 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia V9 Blue limited edition.

According to Vivo, the new smartphone is equipped with a FullView Display, offering a 90% screen-to-body ratio: thus giving users ‘an immense multi-screen viewership experience’.

“’Camera & Music’ are not only a part of Vivo’s brand DNA, but also the two key ways by which people can fully experience, capture and share extraordinary moments around them through their smartphones. For this year’s FIFA World Cup, Vivo will leverage these two elements and our innovative technologies to help fans bring to life ‘My Time, My FIFA World Cup,” explained Vivo brand VP Deng Li at the campaign launch.

Deng added: “We are excited to launch this programme ahead of the FIFA World Cup. We look forward to share our latest and innovative products with Vivo Super Fan Photographers, empowering them with better ways to capture extraordinary moments and share them with the world. We want to bring fan involvement to the next level – to fully engage and participate – as part of Vivo’s sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup.”

While Franck Guignery, FIFA head of sales, added, “Besides helping to make the World Cup extraordinary for fans in creative ways, Vivo brings to life the spirit of youth, like FIFA’s burning passion. Now that the 2018 World Cup is coming, we look forward to creating more unforgettable memories for people all over the world together.”

In addition to the global campaign, Vivo is also rolling out a targeted set of local marketing World Cup activations.

These include a Brazilian #JogueJunto initiative spearheaded by a TV spot starring legend Pele and current young star Gabriel Jesus

and host country marketing activations such as in Moscow underground stations.

Most cities do basic metro stops. In Moscow, they’re as EXTRA as Komsomolskaya Station! World Cup visitors – check ‘em out. #ExtraPlaces #ExtraRussia Discover more > http://www.vivo.com/en/

A post shared by Vivo (@vivomobile) on May 21, 2018 at 5:14am PDT

Comment:

Like Adidas there is a focus is on individual consumer ‘creation’ and, like Coca-Cola’s ‘Colours’ campaign, the music strand is another example of an activation approach that sets out to unite football fans and music lovers around the world.

The music led ‘Vivo Super Time’ segment at the World Cup Final game aims to become an exclusively branded, integral highlight event in itself – much like the NFL’s Pepsi Halftime Show at the Super Bowl.

It marks the first time that FIFA has invited a sponsor to participate in presenting the Official Song Performance during the Final Match show.

Will the world’s passion football fans buy in to this ‘entertainment’ offering in a similar way that the USA makes the Super Bowl Halftime Show the most watched part off the Big Game?

We will have to wait and see.

Whether soccer supporters care too much about another Vivo sponsorship first from FIFA, which will see a Vivo limited edition smartphone ‘immortalised at the home of FIFA (in Zurich, Switzerland) by becoming the first branded smartphone to join the governing body’s prestigious collection of significant artefacts and memorabilia which chronicle the growth of football into a global culture’, is another thing entirely.

Sports and sponsorship marketers have been keenly watching and waiting to see the strategy and creative approach taken by FIFA’s new Chinese global partners and this initiative will be scrutinised by the profession as well as the public.

As was the first major activation by new IOC TOP partner and fellow Chinese brand Alibaba – PyeongChang 2018’s ‘The Greatness Of Small (see case study).

It was back in 2017 that FIFA announced its 12 Russia 2018 sponsor when it revealed it had penned a third World Cup partnership with a Chinese brand when it unveiled smartphone maker Vivo’s €400m sponsorship deal.

The official terms of the tie-up were not made public, but Woprld Cup marketing watchers have reported the partnership will see Vivo pay around €60/€70m per year to sponsor all the major FIFA tournaments.

As a global brand targeting passionate young consumers, Vivo signed a six-year sponsorship agreement in 2017 with FIFA that will run until 2022, which includes sponsorship of the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Confederations Cup.

This tie-up saw Vivo become the third major Chinese company to sponsor the World Cup following deals with real estate and leisure giant Wanda and consumer electronics brand Hisense.

These Far Eastern endorsements offered FIFA welcome replacements for the major brand partners it had lost since the last World Cup (eg Sony and Emirates).

When announcing the Vico deal in mid 2017, FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura commented: “It’s not always an easy business [to seek sponsorship] anywhere, but to have China as a partner of Fifa for the third time in less than a year demonstrates that football is a global sport, and that China will be an important client when it comes to football.”

Links:

Vivo

http://www.vivo.com

http://instagram.com/vivomobile/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/vivoMobileInt

BBDO Hong Kong

http://bbdoasia.com/

Russia 2018

http://welcome2018.com/en/

https://www.facebook.com/welcome2018

https://vk.com/welcome_2018

https://twitter.com/welcome_2018