Any World Cup is a microcosm for the world stage but in 2018, a raft of contentious nations were being represented. Combined with particularly controversial Russian hosts, it would be the most politically charged tournament in decades.

As part of a wider marketing strategy to place The Economist at the heart of major global events, we needed to carve out a unique role during the tournament. We knew we had to unlock a tension that made us relevant: something that would increase awareness to an audience who may not have previously considered the brand as being for them.

While everyone else was dissecting the action on the pitch, our idea was to offer ‘Deeper Commentary’ on the nations involved.

So we selected the particularly juicy match ups - politically speaking. There was certainly no shortage of those, with South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran competing, as well hosts Russia. Then, as the results came in, we reacted in real-time with thought-provoking digital ads about what was really going on beyond the football.

From Russia’s dubious use of social media to Germany’s unstable government, The Economist popped up across websites, on social media and on big outdoor screens in London’s Fanzones to offer the kind of punditry only we could provide.

Our provocative headlines linked through to compelling content, relevant to the nations involved in each match. This unique approach beat all the pundits to the punch with a unique global perspective the minute the matches finished.

We targeted a ‘globally curious’ audience – people who have an interest in the wider world around them. But for the first time, using a world sporting event as a key topic to lead into our heartland coverage of world politics and economics.

We identified new prospects, who were following the tournament and who also shared an interest in world affairs. But without a reputation or expertise for sports, and with only a modest budget, The Economist needed a fresh angle to gain any cut-through.

So we set out to catch their attention with our unique perspective on what was really going on within the participating nations the minute the matches finished. And an audience we had never spoken to before was offered ‘Deeper Commentary’ right in the moment at which they were most engaged.

We selected the most politically charged match fixtures and identified the most relevant content from The Economist. Then, as the results came in, reacted in real-time with thought-provoking digital ads that revealed the true goings on behind each nation.

We created a series of headlines for each match, based around the different outcomes of win, lose or draw. When the final whistle blew, a live data feed triggered our decision engine, that dynamically assembled ads from the appropriate headline with the official score. Then a custom ad server deployed the work within seconds of the match finishing.

The resulting executions targeted prospects across 30 specialist interest sites internationally (like Yahoo! Sport), Facebook, Twitter and on big screens showing the action at Fanzones. Ads clicked through to compelling relevant content – and offers for trials or subscriptions.

Diving into the fray of social media at a time of major media spend from some of the world’s biggest brands was always a gamble, but the calculated risk paid off. Our intriguing headlines cut-through the standard football noise and reached a total of 33,000,000 people. We successfully inspired 1,400,000 clicks, driving people out of the online conversation and into engaging with considered editorial from The Economist team. As a result, we achieved an astonishing CTR of 4.24% which far surpassed any previous brand benchmarks for social media activity.