For hype, nothing competes with the Super Bowl. It’s one of the most promoted, anticipated and watched events on the global sports calendar. Brands spend millions for an ad on what’s become a competition within a competition, this one for consumer connection. National Football League (NFL) sponsor Visa faced this challenge head on and circled Super Bowl 49 as “the” moment to culminate a season-long marketing campaign promoting its new Visa Checkout offering, driving awareness, consumer enrollment and merchant adoption.

Visa Checkout is an easier way to pay online -- so easy, you only need one hand to use it. But how do you communicate that benefit during the most crowded time of year?

Visa enlisted quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. – known for completing a history-making one-handed catch – to set a world record for the most one-handed catches in a minute. We partnered with the nation’s leading sports TV network - ESPN - to promote and air it live, and engaged Guinness World Records to adjudicate it. Social and digital channels amplified the PR-led stunt.

Beckham set the record, catching 33 consecutive passes thrown by Brees. Within minutes, #CheckoutODBrees was the #1 trending topic on Twitter, the #3 trending topic on Facebook and had generated over 130 million social media impressions. The branded stunt generated over 300 stories, representing one billion earned media impressions. And, following the NFL season, Visa Checkout had millions of consumer enrollments and over 150 retail partners accepting the service.

Visa enlisted Brees to throw and Beckham Jr. to catch, and partnered with ESPN to cover the attempt live. We engaged Guinness World Records to adjudicate the attempt, and worked with advertising, media and social media partners to amplify it across channels.

On Thursday, Jan. 29, before Super Bowl weekend, the stunt was executed on ESPN’s “NFL Live,” with hosts interviewing the athletes about the attempt, Visa Checkout and call-to-action for consumers to enroll. “NFL Live” devoted another five minutes to the record attempt itself, with a live audience counting each pass completed. Throughout the 10-minute segment, product branding and campaign hashtag #CheckoutODBrees appeared on screen. Throughout the week, ESPN Radio shows cross-promoted the event.

Beforehand, Visa pitched ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell to break the story and partnered with EA SPORTS’ Madden franchise to promote the record across its social channels, sparking conversation among media and fans.

Over four days, Visa generated more than 300 stories and 1 billion impressions, including ESPN, USA Today, Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, FOX News, The Today Show, ABC World News and others.

Odell caught 33 one-handed passes in a single minute, stirring fans, college and pro football players to try to beat his record.

Within minutes of setting the record on ESPN, #CheckoutODBrees was the #1 trending topic on Twitter nationally and #2 globally, as well as #3 on Facebook. Social amplification efforts resulted in over 130 million social impressions.

And, by leveraging its NFL sponsorship throughout the season and at the Super Bowl to educate and drive action, Visa has seen millions of Visa Checkout accounts created, more than 150 of the largest and most important online retailers sign up to accept Visa Checkout, and for these merchant partners, a significantly higher 70% sales completion rate among users.