Non-sponsors are restricted from mentioning the World Cup or associating it with their brand. In addition, many of our key target markets in Europe had restrictions about what you could show on TV. Key elements of the film such as religious rituals, and food and alcohol rituals would have been banned in certain markets. This made the content provocative and maybe even controversial.

The campaign goals were to position Beats at the heart of World Cup 2014, dominate coverage around athletes, be part of the biggest World Cup moments, increase online engagement amongst football fans, be the #1 selling headphone of the World Cup and own the pre-game. The problem was that Beats was not a sponsor of the tournament. We weren’t even a sports brand. And we had just been banned by FIFA. So, we decided to change the conversation from the game on the pitch to the one game only Beats could own: The pre-game.

The campaign launched with a 5 minute online film that went viral in its first day. The film featured real pre-game rituals of footballers, celebrities and fans from around the world as they transformed pressure and distraction leading up to the game, into focus and victory.

The film was supported by traditional and online media outlets. Through our social channels we shared the stories behind every ritual and watched as the world began to share their own.

Custom Beats headphones in team colors were delivered to the top teams in the tournament and headphones designed in the country flag colors were sold in retail and online.

To solidify our positioning as the headphone of the pre-game we held pre-game parties before big games featuring Beats family artists.

For the semi-finals we collaborated with Jay-Z to create a two minute remix of the film, that featured original lyrics about the Game Before the Game. Then, for the final execution, we collaborated with David Hasselhoff and created a spoof of our own film.

At the end of the World Cup, each player from the winning German team received a special pair of 24 carat Gold Beats delivered to them by Naomi Campbell. And for the brand, the campaign had transformed Beats from a music accessory into a sports essential.

People were driven to the content on YouTube using a variety of media including TV advertising, paid for advertising, online advertising and PR and media partnerships.

The film featured celebrities from outside the world of football to draw a more diverse audience to the film.

Every fan ritual was based on a true and authentic pregame ritual from each country. These insights were designed to appeal to anyone whose country featured in the film.

$50 Million in PR value

26 Million+ views on YouTube

1,502,265,009 global impressions

33% growth in YouTube subscribers

130% growth in online headphone sales

Every four years the biggest brands compete for domination of the world’s biggest sporting event: the World Cup. In 2014 Beats wasn’t a sponsor. We weren’t even a sports brand. And we had just been banned by FIFA. So, we decided to focus on creating entertaining and sharable long form film that would get us talked about and help us to own the pre-game.

The Game Before The Game campaign launched with a 5 minute film on YouTube that went viral on its first day. The film featured real pre-game rituals of footballers, celebrities and fans around the world as they transformed pressure and distraction into focus and victory. Through our social channels we shared the stories behind every ritual and watched as the world began to share their own.