London-based specialist Digital Out of Home (DOOH) agency Grand Visual has been brought in by Coca-Cola in Switzerland to run a large-format Augmented Reality (AR) experience at Zürich’s main train station to celebrate the FIFA World Cup and the soft drinks brand’s continued support of the game. Lucky fans are being offered the chance to engage with a digital version of Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri on-screen.

Participants are being treated to a show of skill from Shaqiri and are then invited to get involved and play a few shots against the Swiss star. At the end of the experience, people have the chance to take a photo with the virtual Shaqiri, and leave their details to receive a copy of the photo and a chance to win a FIFA World Cup Official Match Ball.

The campaign was created by Top-Spot and London-based DOOH creative services firm Grand Visual, which also directed and built the bespoke creative technology set-up. Project initiation and promotion consultancy were performed by GroupM Out of Home. Media planning and buying was by Top-Spot and Mediacom. Anthem provided video assets and delivered a social sharing App to further engage audiences on-the-go.

Robert Percze, Senior Brand Manager at Coca-Cola Switzerland says: “Coca-Cola Switzerland is pleased to offer a new type of experience for football fans. It’s the perfect way to get people into a perfect football mood right at the beginning of the FIFA World Cup 2018.”

Dan Dawson, Chief Creative Technology Director for Grand Visual, adds: “It is great to be working with Coca-Cola again on a project that taps into the most coveted cultural event of the year. The appetite to innovate and collaborate, right from the start, has made the delivery of this project seamless. Clever use of technology has produced a memorable experience that participants can share online with family and friends.”

The Coca-Cola Company is one of the longest-standing corporate partners of FIFA, with a formal association since 1974 and an official sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup that began in 1978. Coca-Cola has had stadium advertising at every FIFA World Cup since 1950. FIFA and The Coca-Cola Company have now extended their long-time partnership to 2030.

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Budweiser will be giving away eight million Red Light Cups – noise activated cups which light up as fans celebrate – in more than 50 countries, as part of its biggest-ever integrated campaign, celebrating its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

The marketing activity kicked off this week in more than 50 countries, with the unveiling of the beer brand’s new global advertising campaign, “Light Up the FIFA World Cup”, featuring drones delivering Budweiser to fans around the world. The TV ad goes live in the UK on May 13th during the football Premier League Final.

Every beer at official 2018 FIFA World Cup stadiums will be served in a Budweiser Red Light Cup. For fans in the UK, the Red Light Cups will be given away at Budweiser viewing parties and events, and in special Budweiser packs in ASDA stores nationwide, as well as being available via on-pack competitions.

In the UK, Budweiser’s “Light Up the FIFA World Cup” will have a significant TV presence through Budweiser’s partnership with ITV, which has exclusive broadcast rights to half of all FIFA World Cup games, including the opening match on June 14th, and England’s final group game against Belgium. Through this, Budweiser will have direct TV ad presence in and around the live games, driving prime brand association with the tournament.

The ad shows thousands of drones carry bottles of the FIFA World Cup tournament’s Official Beer from its brewery in St. Louis, Missouri, where Budweiser has been brewed since 1876. The journey of the drones comes to an end when bottles of Budweiser are delivered directly into the hands of spectators across the globe; the UK’s footage shows football fans celebrating in the local pub, since current UK law bans alcohol from being consumed in stadia.

Brian Perkins, VP Global Marketing at Budweiser, said: “As the most watched sporting event on the planet, the FIFA World Cup is the ultimate opportunity for Budweiser, the world’s most enjoyed beer, to connect with billions of passionate football fans globally. Our campaign is the largest in our company’s history, and it demonstrates how we are bringing together fans from around the world over a beer and their shared passion for football… [it] captures the celebratory, upbeat and premium experience of the Budweiser brand, and fans will continue to see this come to life through our ongoing activations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.”

In the UK, Budweiser will be deploying a Chatbot –named the Bud Bot – to provide the ultimate FIFA World Cup guide for the UK’s football fans, driving meaningful relationships between consumers and Budweiser over the course of the tournament.

The Bud Bot will create a hub for avid football fans, offering a platform to vote for the official Man of the Match and enter once-in-a-lifetime competitions, signposting Budweiser-stocking bars and stores, and offering home deliveries of Budweiser to enjoy while watching games.

As part of celebrating euphoric moments on and off the pitch for the tournament, Budweiser has created the Bud Boat, which will be cruising down London’s River Thames hosting screening parties, DJs, bars and more. Fans are being invited to apply for tickets for the boat.

Sascha Cordes, Senior Brand Manager at Budweiser UK, observes: “Football, the beautiful game, is more than just a sport – and the 2018 FIFA World Cup is more than just an event. It’s an epic global party that promises to bring not just the nation, but the world together. We’ve been more ambitious than ever with our ‘Light Up the FIFA World Cup 2018’ campaign and want to celebrate the unrivalled energy of our football fans with unmissable experiences and surprises throughout. We can’t wait to get the celebration started!”

Fans can engage with the “Light Up the FIFA World Cup” campaign through Budweiser’s social channels. Twitter: @BudweiserUK, Instagram: @budweiser, Facebook: @BudweiserUK or https://www.budweiser.co.uk/.

Budweiser has a strong commitment to football globally, having served as official beer sponsor of the FIFA World Cup for over 25 years. It has an ongoing commitment through the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

While Budweiser will serve as the official beer of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, Anheuser-Busch InBev will leverage its high-quality portfolio of beers around the world by once again extending local sponsorship rights to its leading brands in select football markets, including, but not limited to, Brahma (Brazil), Harbin (China), Corona (Mexico), Jupiler (Belgium and The Netherlands), Siberian Crown (Russia), Hasseröder (Germany) and Beck’s (Italy), among others.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, which owns the Budweiser brand, is a publicly traded company based in Belgium with 2017 sales of $56.4 billion. It has a diverse portfolio of well over 500 beer brands includes global brands Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois; multi-country brands Beck’s, Castle, Castle Lite, Hoegaarden and Leffe; and local champions such as Aguila, Antarctica, Bud Light, Brahma, Cass, Chernigivske, Cristal, Harbin, Jupiler, Klinskoye, Michelob Ultra, Modelo Especial, Quilmes, Victoria, Sedrin, Sibirskaya Korona and Skol. Its brewing heritage dates back more than 600 years.

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Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has linked up with video game publisher EA and its market leading football game FIFA 18, for a massive on-pack promotion celebrating the soft drink brand’s sponsorship of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Running across the whole Coca-Cola portfolio, the promotion – designed to appeal to the 14 million people expected to tune in for each game – will see unique codes printed on promotional packs of Coca-Cola Classic and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar from now until June 17th. Consumers can enter the codes online to unlock exclusive in-game content within FIFA 18 for the Xbox One and PlayStation4 consoles. They will also be entered into a draw to win a rare player and Coca-Cola jersey for their team.

CCEP says research shows that more than half the UK population are planning to watch this year’s World Cup.

The promotion will be supported by a £2.5 million marketing campaign that includes POS, digital, social and out-of-home advertising.

Simon Harrison, customer marketing director at Coca-Cola European Partners, says: “89% of consumers watched the 2016 UEFA Euros at home and 33% consumed soft drinks during matches. Our latest promotion is designed to capture the excitement of the nation ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup by partnering with the world’s biggest sporting game.”

Coca-Cola European Partners is the world’s largest independent Coca-Cola bottler. CCEP is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in Andorra, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Luxemburg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

CCEP makes, sells and delivers the following products in GB for TCCC: Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Fanta, Dr Pepper, Sprite, Schweppes, Fuze Tea, HONEST, AdeZ, Abbey Well, glacéau smartwater, Powerade, Oasis and Appletiser. In GB, it also makes, sells or delivers Monster, Relentless and Capri-Sun.

The Coca-Cola Company is one of the longest-standing corporate partners of FIFA, with a formal association since 1974 and an official sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup that began in 1978. Coca-Cola has had stadium advertising at every FIFA World Cup since 1950. FIFA and The Coca-Cola Company have now extended their long-time partnership to 2030.

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