Branded content and entertainment is gaining enormous momentum in the U.S. as the newest form of integrated promotion, allowing brands to reach and engage audiences and build relationships with these consumers through rich experiences. As brands and organizations shape their promotions around consumers’ increasing attraction to branded content and entertainment, the U.S. Soccer Federation wanted to tap into the power of this medium to get Americans rooting for their U.S. Men’s Team leading up to and during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and to get behind the excitement of professional soccer in general.

A Send-Off Match Series with fan-focused activations leading up to Brazil. In New York, California and Florida, fans interacted with players, and a Fan Appreciation Day in New York’s Times Square was broadcast live by ESPN, the country’s leading sports programming television channel.

Watch parties filled Soldier (football) Field and Grant Park in Chicago (U.S. Soccer Federation’s base), and packed bars and restaurants throughout the country.

Events helped propel national earned lifestyle, entertainment and news outreach.

Social and digital media lit up, too, with player playlists on Spotify; a Youtube series featuring players’ personal stories; and a litany of timely Twitter hashtags. #OneNationOneTeam was rolled out for the first match against Ghana, and unique hashtags for others followed.

The movement was so engaging national leaders such as Presidents Obama and Clinton, celebrities including Justin Timberlake and Patrick Stewart, and athletes tweeted about it.

Live events were the fuel for victory in U.S. Soccer’s game plan to excite and engage Americans.

103,483 attended the three-market Send-off Series and activations, and more than 75,000 attended U.S. Soccer-hosted outdoor viewing parties in Chicago alone, helping achieve front-page stories in 1,523 U.S. newspapers during the World Cup. U.S. Soccer social posts led to 14.2 million engagements, 264 million Twitter impressions and 2.7 billion Facebook impressions. Hashtags resulted in 3.1+ million tweets and 8.5 billion impressions, beating #WorldSeries and rivaling #SuperBowl.

A YouTube series - 23 Players - drew 609,168 unique views.

Engagement catapulted. The 2014 World Cup was the most-viewed soccer tournament ever in the U.S., outperforming the previous World Series (baseball) and pro-basketball finals as the U.S. advanced to the Round-of-16. Post-2014 World Cup and compared to the previous 2010 Cup, Nielsen reported major soccer match attendance nearly doubled.