Coca-Cola: The FIFA World Cup Media Tournament

In 2018 Coca-Cola was the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, and its Myanmar PR agency was tasked with bringing the excitement of the global tournament to the local market. The problem was that the World Cup is not widely followed in Myanmar because the country does not take part, and the football space in Myanmar is already owned by beer brands.

A conventional sponsorship announcement would have earned little coverage. Coca-Cola needed a launch that made the sponsorship feel local, and that gave journalists a personal reason to care.

The insight was that football itself is one of the most loved sports in Myanmar, even if the World Cup is not. Ruder Finn Era, then ERA Communications, decided to let the media play rather than just report.

The official sponsorship was launched with a press conference, followed immediately by a mini football tournament in which Myanmar reporters played against each other. Every participant received a personalised t-shirt and official World Cup merchandise, and the winners were presented with medals. The format turned a corporate announcement into a shared experience that journalists wanted to write about and share.