Social Campaign Concept & Design
A World Cup-inspired social campaign that blurred the lines between gaming and global football culture.
Immersive
Social Campaign
A strategic, content-led campaign that positioned Xbox as the ultimate World Cup destination, without being an official sponsor.
The Challenge
Xbox wanted to establish themselves as the go-to platform for World Cup fans, despite not being an official sponsor. The goal was to turn Xbox into a destination for watching matches, connecting with other fans, and experiencing the global tournament through gaming.
The Approach
Together with my creative partner, we developed the social campaign of “Destination Brazil”, helping Xbox blur the lines between gaming and football culture.
We mapped the campaign across the full audience journey:
We mapped the campaign across the full audience journey:
- Awareness: High-impact creative sparked interest, like custom controllers wrapped in national flags and cinematic visuals blending iconic football moments with Xbox gameplay.
- Consideration: Informational posts and native UI mockups showed users how to stream matches via Xbox, encouraging participation and usage.
- Conversion: Posts drove traffic into the Xbox console experience, turning awareness into platform engagement.
- Delight: Bold, reactive creative celebrated fan culture in real time, fuelling shares, community hype, and reinforcing Xbox as a cultural leader.
Our creative system allowed Xbox to participate in the tournament without sponsorship, just strategy, timing, and imagination.
The Results
- Achieved a 9% increase in engagement on Xbox’s global social channel
- Drove a significant uplift in users streaming World Cup matches through Xbox
- Controller designs were repurposed across digital, print, and OOH due to high audience response
- Campaign assets were picked up by all participating markets, and even adopted by several non-World Cup markets due to strong visual resonance and audience response
- Strengthened Xbox’s perception as a platform that blends entertainment, tech, and global culture
Process
A strategic breakdown of how we built Xbox into the World Cup conversation, without a sponsorship badge. From bold ideas to reactive culture hacks, this playbook maps the full creative journey.
01
Creating cultural relevance.
We kicked off the campaign by identifying a unique tension: Xbox wasn’t an official World Cup sponsor but its audience were die-hard football fans. We explored ways to organically enter the conversation through fan pride, gameplay culture, and national identity.
Using national flags wrapped around Xbox controllers, we sparked instant visual recognition and emotion. These custom designs seeded the idea that Xbox could feel like part of the tournament, even if it wasn’t officially there.
Using national flags wrapped around Xbox controllers, we sparked instant visual recognition and emotion. These custom designs seeded the idea that Xbox could feel like part of the tournament, even if it wasn’t officially there.
02
Blending platforms & purpose.
Next, we focused on functionality. Native UI mockups and informational posts guided users on how to stream matches directly through Xbox. This wasn’t just a campaign, it was a practical way to enhance the World Cup experience through the console.
The goal here was to shift perception: from a gaming device to a cultural companion for the biggest event in global sport.
The goal here was to shift perception: from a gaming device to a cultural companion for the biggest event in global sport.
03
Turning characters into football stars.
To deepen audience connection, we turned Xbox’s biggest characters into football fans, placing them into dream team lineups, reactive memes, and humorous match-ups. This bridged gaming and football culture in a way only Xbox could own.
We played with tone, timing, and nostalgia to land emotional beats and bring the community into the fun.
We played with tone, timing, and nostalgia to land emotional beats and bring the community into the fun.
04
Real-time culture hacking.
The final layer was our reactive creative system, responding in real time to moments from the matches. From surprise red cards to shock goals, we created bold, visual content that mirrored the energy of the tournament.
These posts drove massive engagement and kept Xbox top of mind throughout the World Cup, without ever needing an official sponsor badge.
These posts drove massive engagement and kept Xbox top of mind throughout the World Cup, without ever needing an official sponsor badge.
the visuals
From concept to culture, here’s how it came to life across platforms, posts, and gameplay.
