| Title | RISE AS ONE : THE GAME |
| Brand | BUDWEISER |
| Product / Service | RISE AS ONE : THE GAME |
| Category | A08. Other Digital Solutions in a Promotional Campaign |
| Entrant | AKQA Shanghai, CHINA |
| Entrant Company | AKQA Shanghai, CHINA |
| Advertising Agency | AKQA Shanghai, CHINA |
| Media Agency | STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP Shanghai, CHINA |
| Name | Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Johan Vakidis | AKQA | Executive Creative Director |
| Asterio Gutierrez | AKQA | Creative Director ／ Copywriter |
| Carlos Bernal | AKQA | Senior Account Director |
| Jason Cheah | AKQA | Associate Art Director ／ Uxdesigner |
| Qian Shen | AKQA | Associate Designer |
| Mee Yee Fong | AKQA | Art Director |
| Joshua Lim | AKQA | Art Director |
| Monique Shen | AKQA | Intern |
| Jianwei Wong | AKQA | Designer |
| Elisa Wang | AKQA | Creative Assistant |
| Ying Chang | AKQA | Associate Creative Director |
| Jason Zhao | AKQA | Copywriter |
| Kate Lu | AKQA | Associate Account Director |
| Jack Gao | AKQA | Account Manager |
| Enko Vonarnim | AKQA | Client Partner |
| Frank Jiang | AKQA | User Experience Designer |
| Alejandro Wang | AKQA | Senior Project Manager |
| Joel Godfrey | AKQA | Director Of Delivery |
| Alan Stafford （akqa）＋ N/Ways | AKQA | Group Technology Director |
| Kim Jerbo | AKQA | Associate Motion Graphics Director |
In China, big sports events are inseparable from one of China’s cultural cornerstones: Betting. However, it was a category ripe for disruption. Websites were complicated and badly designed. The only thing more tiresome was going offline, to bookies and betting shops. So with Budweiser reinforcing its sports heritage through its World Cup sponsorship, there was an historic chance to change the betting game in China—and in the process, Chinese culture.
We created Rise as One: The Game. A game-changing betting game that changed betting in China. Our first task: reinvent the outdated experience for the now mobile-centric Chinese. So we created it for WeChat—an IM service that had become China’s top social platform. Turning SMS conversations into the new interface to bet. But this wasn’t enough. It needed to be as beautiful and magical as it was usable. So we took WeChat further than ever. Via ambitious integration between SMS and HTML, we built in the best parts of console gaming: killer graphics, cut-scenes, and a breakthrough two-player mode.
From the game to the campaign, everything just worked. We advertised it as an actual console game, with a trailer and even a physical box. It was one of most engaging campaigns in WeChat history, with 1,600% more engagement than the industry standard, and hundreds of thousands of bets placed in the three weeks of the World Cup. And it’s only just begun, as we kick off BudGames—a Bud-owned gaming franchise that will let users bet on every big sporting event, carry over points, and more. Making the King of Beers the King of Sports in Chinese culture.
Budweiser has always been a shaper and shaker in sports around the world, from its classic Superbowl commercials, its massive NHL campaigns, to its 2014 World Cup championship. More importantly, it was never through just superficial sponsorships. It was always through deep insights into culture. There was no better way to make inroads into China than through the most important part of Sports Culture in China : Betting.