Pivoting a four-year marketing plan in less than 48-hours, we quickly conceived a real-time campaign that evolved at the speed of the World Cup itself.

Budweiser as a brand has always been synonymous with the World Cup - having been an official sponsor since 1986. And beer has always been synonymous with the fan experience and celebrations surrounding the game even longer. Much to our surprise, two days before the Cup kick-off, beer was banned from being sold to fans in- and around the stadiums in Qatar.

With that, Budweiser was left with a warehouse full of beer that could not be sold. And a global marketing and experiential plan, four years in the making, completely turned on its head.

We couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste. So we flipped the script and announced that we'd give away all of the would-be World Cup beer to whichever country won the Cup. It wasn't just about re-mobilizing a behemoth plan and global organization. But also about galvanizing fans around a new movement called #BringHomeTheBud

Bud was left with a warehouse full of beer that could not be sold. That was when we decided to make the most of the tricky situation: we announced we'd give away all the Budweiser to whoever won the World Cup. We started a movement called #BringHomeTheBud.

The innovation of this campaign insight stems from our ability to pivot. Within 24 hours we had found a solution to our problem, and only a couple days after that, our crates showed up in 7 countries across the globe. The impact was undeniable as Budweiser became the number one most talked about brand during the World Cup.

The internet and news media went into a frenzy as the word spread that beer was going to be banned at the World Cup in Qatar. With a simple tweet acknowledging the “awkwardness” of the situation, we made our first move. Shortly after, we followed up to announce that we were giving away all of the World Cup Budweisers to the winning country.

We needed to make sure that beer (and ultimately the Budweiser brand) would not only be at the center of the conversation but also be an integral part of the celebration. Little did we know that one simple tweet would start a global fan movement for free beer called #BringHomeTheBud.

Throughout the tournament we fanned the flames by encouraging the fans to not only cheer for their teams but to will home the biggest victory celebration the world has ever seen.

Even though our plans changed so quickly, the results were immediately astounding, exceeding all of our objectives while putting Budweiser at the center of the conversation.

Communication Objective: it became a cultural movement, driving brand fame and resonance with young LDA adults:

Media coverage was truly momentous and widespread globally: everyone from ESPN to Sky Sports, The Guardian, and NPR took part in the conversation. SNL did a skit about it. One Argentine fan even got a tattoo of it. And scores of Ecuadorian fans even chanted for it during their Cup match.

225B Impressions, 1MM+ Social Mentions, $400M in Earned Media, #1 Share of Voice making up over 70% of all mentions amongst other sponsors.

With such a huge disruption, we had to find a way to turn the tides of conversation around Budweiser, which largely had been negative following the announcement, and we found a way to make our product just as covetable as the trophy itself.

Budweiser has been a sponsor of the World Cup since 1986. You’d think most major decisions like the one made in Qatar we’d have advanced warnings or rumblings. But we were taken by complete surprise. On top of that, mobilizing a behemoth brand (and its marketing, trade, and on-premise partners) across 70 different countries in the matter of days is nearly next to impossible.

Furthermore, Budweiser was able to not only make the most of the situation but was also able to stem the negative backlash leading up to the event over perceived price gouging on beer. Noting that it’s the only beer served at WC events.

We also took a bold risk understanding that some of the potential winning countries lawfully couldn't ultimately distribute Budweiser physically or in advertising either. Thankfully the Buds found their home in Argentina. An inherently soccer-obsessed culture that made the win that much sweeter.