To ensure the 2018 Trophy Tour story had drama at the heart, a strategic mix of three elements were used:

- An immersive launch event experience

- A global tour

- An alternative UCL final spectacle experience

We wanted Heineken® to be highly visible in all the coverage, above and beyond a simple brand mention and tagline at the end of editorial interview pieces with ambassadors. From an earned perspective, we hosted media and influencers at all three stages of the campaign to tell the Heineken® ‘Share the Drama’ and encouraged them to document their own experience through a dramatic lens.

Media and influencers created dramatic content with Heineken® at the centre, inspired by famous UCL moments where players are under extreme pressure and fan excitement peaks. So, we co-created challenges with talent published by our media and influencers, which resulted in a series of engaging videos.

- The launch event to begin the trophy’s global tour to fans, media and influencers highlighted the links between film and football for the Chelsea FC vs FC Barcelona last 16 match. Guests were taken on an action-packed journey through a series of rooms experiencing drama, surprise and suspense. After the final whistle, the UCL Trophy was revealed. The experience was documented live by influencers and resulted in extensive editorial coverage.

- Next was a Trophy Tour visiting Mexico, Ivory Coast, and Cambodia. We hosted global media at each stop, who were invited to document the tour through a ‘dramatic’ lens.

- For the final, we held the ultimate experiential screening for fans and media entitled ‘City of Champions’ in Athens, Greece. Legends of the game gave a movie-stunt style ‘epic entrance’ into the event by smashing through a wall in the Greek capital, the birth place of champions.

- Reach and engagement: Exceeded the KPI’s set with 1,800 pieces of earned content produced reaching 896m people.

- Share of voice: Heineken® gained the highest share of voice by engagement compared to all partners on social media.

- Sales: An increase of sales by +30% at two Trophy Tour stops (Ivory Coast +22% and Cambodia +15%), which have been labelled key markets for growth by the brand.

- Engagement: The earned campaign produced the best performing online video content created with social media influencers resulted in higher viewing and engagement figures by 216% compared to the official campaign advertising video material despite spending significantly less on production and it being 100% organic, showing the return on investment for Heineken® was extremely efficient.