Xbox: DM

Credits & Description:

Brand MICROSOFT
McCANN LONDON London, United Kingdom Entrant Company
McCANN LONDON London, United Kingdom Idea Creation
CRAFT WORLDWIDE London, United Kingdom Production
SOMESUCH London, United Kingdom Production
TWENTYFOUR SEVEN Madrid, SPAIN Production
McCANN LONDON London, United Kingdom Production
CARAT London, United Kingdom Media Placement
MICROSOFT CORPORATION Reading, United Kingdom Additional Company
Rob Doubal and Laurence Thomson McCann London Chief Creative Officers
Sanjiv Mistry and Jamie Mietz McCann London EMEA Creative Directors
Jacob Björdal and Jim Nilsson McCann London Art Director and Copywriter
Robert Stockton McCann London Account Manager
Francois d’Espagnac, Matteo Della Venezia and Tom Oliver McCann London Account Directors
Sailesh Jani McCann London Managing Partner
Rob Smith McCann London EVP
Paul Gillespie McCann London Senior Project Manager
Claire Colohan and Rebecca Wilford Craft/McCann Producers
Sergio Lopez Craft/McCann Chief Production Officer
Karen Crum McCann London Head of Planning
Fanni David McCann London Senior Planner
Jack Goss McCann London Planning Intern
Omri Cohen Somesuch Director
Todd Martin Somesuch Director of Photography
Louise Gagen Somesuch Producer
Seth Wilson Somesuch Executive Producer
Reimer Eisig and Lennard van der Last Somesuch Composers
Chris Graves Craft/McCann Music Supervisor
Adam Smyth and Giselle Hall Craft/McCann Senior Sound Engineer and Sound Engineer
Mariona Sauret, Adam Ryzman and Francis Harris Craft/McCann Editors
Miriam Sasiain Twentyfour Seven Production Manager
Yasmina Ikimou Twentyfour Seven Production Coordinator
Lucas Cuevas Twentyfour Seven 1st AD
Frodo Martinez Twentyfour Seven 2nd AD
Ivo Van Vollenhoven Twentyfour Seven Ext. Producer
Bea Cañete Twentyfour Seven Producer
Joe Richardson Craft/McCann Artworker
Liam White Craft/McCann Print Producer
Ellis Faint Craft/McCann Studio Manager
Matthew Dollings Craft/McCann Case Study Editor
Published: June 2018
Synopsis
‘FIFA 18’, the latest in the football videogame series, was going to be crucial for Xbox. However, Xbox’s competitor PlayStation had paid a fortune to buy all the marketing rights for the game. It meant that while PlayStation had total freedom to advertise the game any way they wanted and across all media, we at Xbox had the opposite – a 100% ban on marketing the game. We couldn’t even show our own game packshot. How could Xbox market a game they were forbidden from marketing?
Strategy
The situation was an almost impossible one for Xbox. Forbidden from mentioning FIFA, showing any game assets or even a packshot meant that we had to approach the problem laterally. So we leveraged the one thing with a bigger and more passionate fan base than videogame football – actual football. By partnering with a highly influential club and and translating their actual football matches, gamers would know that what we were really talking about was ‘FIFA 18’, even though that was never explicitly mentioned.
Outcome
- Over 100 million impressions
- Reached 650 million spectators per match (x 12 matches)
- FIFA unique player base grew by 10% year-on-year from launch through to Q3
Execution
The ‘Football Decoded’ campaign consisted of stadium perimeter boards, commentary, print, online video, social videos and an interactive installation – all of which decoded real football moves into the Xbox button combinations needed to perform them on Xbox’s version of ‘FIFA 18’. The campaign launched on 21 September 2017, with an end date of 30 May 2018. Campaign touchpoints were rolled out to coincide with key Real Madrid matches, to ensure maximum reach. Perimeter boards first appeared during El Clásico, the much-watched match between Madrid and Barcelona, while post-match reports followed the Champions League quarter final. Overall, the partnership with Real Madrid was decided upon due to their scale and quality (most valuable sports brand according to Forbes; 290 million social followers; 4.5 million stadium visitors p/a etc.). This meant that a larger cross-section of gamers learned new Xbox FIFA skills from some of the best footballers on the planet.
Campaign Description
In partnership with the world’s most influential football club, Real Madrid, and along with a world-class FIFA gamer, we ensured that every pass, every shot, every possible combination on the pitch was translated into the corresponding Xbox controller buttons for ‘FIFA 18’, in real time. This partnership constantly linked FIFA with Xbox, without ever mentioning the game or contravening the marketing exclusivity deal. Gamers started translating their own matches, from classic black-and-white ones found online to their school matches to casual beach football. The campaign enabled Xbox to put a stamp of ownership on the skills of world-class footballers, allowing the massive global football fanbase to re-create these skills on Xbox. From perimeter boards to commentary to reactive social and even post-match reports, every touchpoint didn’t just advertise FIFA – it made gamers better at it on Xbox.