AND THE NEW PARTNER WITH KICKOFF BY ZUJU TO LAUNCH WORLD-FIRST FOOTBALL GAME IN COLLABORATION WITH CRISTIANO RONALDO
AND THE NEW is delighted to announce it has partnered with Kickoff by Zuju, a first-of-its-kind mobile football game, to lead its end-to-end creative-digital marketing efforts, including the launch of the brand's partnership with one of the greatest footballers of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo.
From go-to-market brand strategy and content production to paid distribution and influencer marketing campaigns, AND THE NEW has been retained for its full suite of services to give lift of to Kickoff by Zuju's exciting, immersive second-screen experience for global football fans.
The mobile game allows users to anticipate major moments like goals and shot attempts, through to micro events such as player touches in the penalty area, crosses and free-kicks, ensuring there is always something to play for at every stage during a match – in-line our #PlayEveryMoment campaign.
The partnership began early in 2023, in which time AND THE NEW have led the Cristiano Ronaldo launch campaign from its inception until August reveal.
Filming in Singapore in June, AND THE NEW delivered a large-scale production with the Portuguese icon that centred around the #PlayEveryMoment campaign, comically using Ronaldo to demonstrate key brand and gameplay messaging and that with Kickoff by Zuju, there's much more to a match than goals.
Working closely with Kickoff by Zuju and CR7's team, AND THE NEW then oversaw the campaign launch plan across Ronaldo's channels - including collaborative distribution his world-record followed Instagram platform.
To tease the brand film launch, AND THE NEW led with creative that would stop users in their tracks through entertainment and comedy, allowing for a more natural integration for global users into the world of Kickoff by Zuju. This existed in the form of a blooper reel, taken from the filming day when Ronaldo hilariously struggles to pronounce the brand name while doing lines to camera.
The piece has gone on to be one of the most viewed and engages pieces of branded partner content on his channels in 2023.
Twenty-four hours later, the official Kickoff by Zuju and Cristiano Ronaldo brand film was released, alongside an array of video and static assets to drive app downloads and sign ups across organic and paid channels.
AND THE NEW will now continue to drive downloads for Kickoff by Zuju with a host of further planned Ronaldo activity, influencer marketing collaborations and paid and programmatic advertising campaigns.
Dan Connor, AND THE NEW Co-Founder, said: "It's difficult to put the last six months into words since we first partnered with Kickoff by Zuju. After being selected as their agency of record, it's been a monumental effort between our international teams to get the product of the ground and launch the Cristiano Ronaldo campaign.
"As we celebrate our two-year anniversary this month, it's by far the most large-scale and comprehensive campaign AND THE NEW has devised to date, and has been a real career highlight personally to be able to be a part of it.
"We've loved the positive reaction to the campaign and have loved working with our partners and friends at Kickoff by Zuju to make it all happen. And guess what? There's plenty more to come yet!"
Ryan Tinslay, fellow Co-Founder, said: “We built this agency with the plan and aim of creating and delivering truly end-to-end campaigns. From building out the marketing strategy to the multiple filming days across Singapore and the UK, to working with Ronaldo and managing the complete paid distribution, the work we’ve been able to deliver with Kickoff By Zuju has been a real highlight.
"There’s so much more to come and we’re already thinking how to one-up what we’ve already delivered, across global campaigns, big ticket influencer marketing and more. Keep your eyes peeled!"
