How adidas United & Increased engagement with Arab sports fans during lockdown

During a period of mind-numbing isolation caused by regional and global lockdowns, entertainment was a scarce resource – adidas wanted to fix that. adidas set out to create captivating and exciting content to energize and engage with Arab sports fans – a partnership with Kooora was the logical next step. Together, adidas and Kooora endeavoured to create, host and distribute a virtual gaming tournament, replacing sports with e-sports, across KSA and UAE.

To build the communication strategy they worked with Mediacom MENA to derive insights around the football scene in the region, looking at shifts in the audience’s behaviour during the pandemic. They witnessed an increase in gaming consumption at home where fans were reliving their passion by competing and connecting with the online community through e-sports. adidas chose Kooora as a partner to mirror the global trend in the region and bring about an online football competition to connect and engage with the massive football audience on the platform.

To maximize on the audience’s passion and create a buzz around the activation, adidas and Kooora chose to recruit a well-known football enthusiast/influencer to act as the commentator given the engagement and hype which broadcasters provide to every football game. In addition to that, they recruited 4 pro-FIFA gamers to play against 4 e-gaming influencers.

All 8 players would play a knock-out round where the finalist would win a ticket with a friend to watch a REAL MADRID game live in Santiago Bernabeu stadium, courtesy of adidas. Between the charismatic commentator and the passionate competitors, the adidas Unite In-Play challenge generated overwhelming levels of support and engagement from the spectators.

“The FIFA gaming partnership with Kooora was a brilliant collaboration deeply rooted in consumer insight as both adidas and Kooora brought 2 key consumer passion points (football and gaming) together to create an online experience that was very much a symbol of joy, optimism and resilience during a difficult time for sports fans across the region.”

“This bespoke partnership with Kooora and adidas harnessed media, content, technology and elite gamers from the region to replace live sport with a unique FIFA gaming tournament experience at a time when football fans needed it most.”

“We have always been committed to extending a complete sports offering to our users since the very beginning. With adidas stepping up as our launch partner for the recent FIFA e-gaming activity all standards were elevated to the highest levels. From the recorded levels of user engagement and interaction, this partnership deal has proven to be a great success story for both parties. We wish to thank adidas for believing in us.”

“This e-gaming activation witnessed DMS bringing together two of the most powerful sports brands in the region (kooora and adidas) to reignite the passion of football fans, by introducing them to an all-new ‘virtual’ arena. Leveraging our fullest capabilities, we rallied all the right players at the right time and employed agility and innovation to ultimately kick-off a winning experience, where all of our partners achieved their goals.”

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