The Campaign

A rousing call to arms for youths all over the world to find their own role and create extraordinary moments in this World Cup, on or off pitch. Traditionally, only the world’s best national teams and footballers were celebrated by mass media during the World Cup. But Vivo wanted to show the world that it’s not just the players on the pitch, but the participation from everyone and every country that makes this event more special than any other sporting event. With Vivo, the FIFA World Cup was the stage for everyone to shine.

Execution

'My Time' kicked off with a motivational brand film, where we saw different ‘ordinary’ characters utilising the different functions of Vivo smartphones to create their big moments at the World Cup, all strung seamlessly together via a stirring pre-game pep talk. This was closely followed by a global search for the most passionate fans, where Vivo sent 150 of them from all over the world to pitch-side in Russia, each capturing and sharing their once-in-a-lifetime moments through the latest Vivo smartphone cameras. Fans at home were not left out, with Vivo launching a global platform allowing fans to nominate and vote for their favourite music to be played at the stadium during all 64 matches through the Vivo DJ Show. The campaign then wrapped up with a memorable closing ceremony performance, showcasing the brand live to some 6 billion people who tuned in to watch.

With 'My Time', Vivo topped the scoreboard in the World Cup ‘sponsorship game’. The 'My Time' film gained over 700 million views worldwide – 7 times more than the viewership of the 2018 Superbowl half time show. The poll for Vivo’s music social campaign garnered more than 3 million votes and 52,000 re-tweets, making it the most retweeted FIFA tweet of all time. And the Internet exploded with fans buzzing to know more about the brand. The Internet search index for Vivo soared to 95.5 (100 max.), making Vivo’s search index 153% higher than one of the major sponsors Adidas, and 3 times higher than Vivo’s closest competitor Oppo, despite mega celebrity and footballer endorsements of both brands. The fame also brought tremendous business results for Vivo – its flagship phones sold out within just 4 hours of launch on its first day in the midst of the World Cup.

The Situation

Vivo’s ‘My Time’ campaign was one of the most talked about campaigns during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, propelling the name of the smartphone brand from China to the world stage. Through a seamless integration of film, print and online/on-site activations, the campaign helped Vivo top the scoreboard in the World Cup ‘sponsorship game’ – the film gained more than 700 million views worldwide; the hashtag of Vivo’s social activation became the most retweeted FIFA tweet of all time; and the excitement helped its global launch of flagship phones sell out in just 4 hours of launch.

The Strategy

The conventional World Cup sponsorship campaigns relied on celebrity athletes as the centre of marketing communications. Not for lack of choice or means, Vivo deliberately did not use any celebrities and instead invested in empowering ‘ordinary people’ to make great moments in this World Cup, through stories, photography and music. Not only did Vivo’s global film featuring stories of characters of different walks of life instead of celebrities, Vivo also opened up opportunities for fans from all over the world to experience, capture and contribute to the World Cup in ways that traditionally only people with special access or resources had. Through the seamless integration of communications including TV commercial, Print, Out-of-Home, Digital and activations across different markets, Vivo successfully showed and proved that when given the opportunity and right tool, everyone can take part and create extraordinary moments in the World Cup.