Best Brand Activation Involving Football – Non-Premier League or Championship Clubs
Cadbury: Game Changing Wins
Football is often defined by what we see – goals, celebrations, winners.
But the game is built much earlier, in quieter moments. In belief given before success arrives. In generosity that shapes players long before the spotlight finds them.
As women’s football gathered momentum ahead of UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, Cadbury chose to focus on those unseen foundations. Not trophies or headlines, but the people who make the game possible.
Game Changing Wins was born from a simple human truth. Every footballer has a game changer – someone who believed in them when it mattered most. By inviting players to share these stories, Cadbury brought the heart of football into view, celebrating generosity as a force that runs through every level of the game.
That spirit extended beyond the professional players. Fans were invited to recognise their own game changers, turning personal gratitude into a shared national moment. Parents, coaches, teachers and volunteers from grassroots football were celebrated alongside professional players, united by belief and connection.
Grounded in the lived reality of the game, Game Changing Wins felt true to football and true to Cadbury. It wasn’t about celebrating victory. It was about celebrating the people who make winning possible.
Carlsberg: The Fare Game
Carlsberg discovered that 9 in 10 taxi drivers are passionate football fans, yet 91% work through big matches. This insight sparked a campaign to create a meaningful connection with these fans and fulfill Carlsberg’s mission to give more people access to more of the best of football.
“Fare Game,” was a surprise and delight immersive drive-in fan park experience that transformed taxi drivers into VIP guests, watching the UEFA Nations League Final match on a giant screen. Their fares for the evening? Covered by Carlsberg.
The fleet of unsuspecting drivers – scheduled to arrive just in time for kick-off – were welcomed with a fanfare worthy of champions. Pulling into the fan park, created solely for cabbies, they parked in front of a giant screen and joined fellow drivers to experience the match in true stadium style.
Beyond an unforgettable brand experience, we engaged football fans globally with the film. Earned engagements increased 245% and the film received almost a quarter of a million likes. 27.5M people reached across paid and owned social, and 2.7 billion impressions globally from PR. The heartwarming campaign not only delighted a community of taxi drivers but resonated with football fans all over the globe.
Juventus FC & Extreme Fields
Juventus created Extreme Fields to redefine fan engagement through experience, bringing the club’s positioning “We Are Youth Since 1897” to life through a once-in-a-lifetime activation, never done before. At its core, Extreme Fields offered fans an opportunity that goes beyond imagination: playing football alongside legends of their favorite club in some of the most spectacular and unexpected locations on the planet.
Supporters selected through an open casting on Juventus’ social channels embarked on extraordinary journeys to the Maldives, the Faroe Islands and New York City, turning a lifelong dream into reality. On these iconic pitches, fans shared the field with Juventus legends Edgar Davids, Alessandro Matri and Andrea Barzagli, alongside international creators and influencers, experiencing football in its purest and most emotional form.
Each chapter was designed as a one-of-a-kind experience, impossible to replicate, where the passion for the game met breathtaking landscapes and the legacy of Juventus. Playing football with club legends in these settings transformed the activation into something truly unforgettable, embodying the club’s values of energy, courage and the constant drive to push beyond limits.
Lucozade
Lucozade has a long and authentic heritage within football culture, built through partnerships with iconic athletes such as Steven Gerrard, Gareth Bale and John Barnes, alongside nearly two decades as an official FA partner. This history has proven that when consumers see elite athletes using Lucozade sport in real performance moments, belief in the product’s functional benefits is created and drives purchase.
However, Lucozade recognised that modern audiences demand more than traditional endorsement. Credibility, authenticity and personality are now critical to cut through. To meet this shift, the brand redefined how star power could work.
Partnering with England’s Jude Bellingham, Lucozade moved beyond endorsement to co-create Lucozade Sport Ice Kick – the biggest new sports drink of 2025 and the second largest NPD in the UK soft drinks market.
Jude was embedded end-to-end, helping shape the refreshing zesty flavour, design the distinctive packaging, featuring his signature and iconic celebration, and inspire creative direction of the launch. The result was authenticity at every touchpoint: not a name on a bottle, but a product co-created with one of football’s most exciting talents, delivering standout cultural relevance and Lucozade Sport’s biggest-ever launch.
Scottish FA & Scotland National Team
After a 28-year absence from the world’s biggest stage, The Scottish FA recognised that qualifying for a World Cup required more than just tactical prowess it required a unified nation. Following a major brand refresh the Scottish FA launched an innovative, “unapologetically Scottish” activation, designed to bridge the gap between the fans and the National Team.
The centrepiece was a Special Build Ring Doorbell Billboard, a world-first OOH activation that transformed a traditional advertisement into an interactive portal. Fans were invited to “press the bell” and record personal messages of support directly for the players. This campaign moved beyond traditional ROI, focusing instead on winning “hearts and minds” encouraging a deeper sense of togetherness.
The results were historic. The activation turned a physical site into a viral social media engine, fuelling a wave of national pride that saw Hampden Park sell out in record time. Most importantly, this emotional momentum helped propel the team to their first World Cup qualification in nearly three decades. By humanising the players and empowering the Tartan Army, the Scottish FA proved that when you connect with fans authentically, the commercial and sporting results follow.
St Georges Park & Hilton
Hilton’s “Stay Like” initiative is an activation designed to shift perceptions of the Hilton brand through unexpected and unique experiences. With immersive rooms that lets fans live what they love, “Stay Like” drives cultural and audience relevance while showcasing the best of Hilton hospitality. Starting in 2024 with Stay Like an Infinite Icon and Stay Like Wicked, Hilton extended to new partners in 2025, including McLaren and the FA. Stay Like the England Teams (with the FA) gave fans the opportunity to step into the boots of England’s elite, offering an unforgettable stay that blends signature Hilton hospitality with England’s number 1 passion: football. Hosted at Hilton at St George’s Park, the England teams’ home-away-from-home, Stay Like the England Teams allowed fans to stay and explore the grounds that have nurtured some of the sport’s finest athletes while enjoying premium hospitality and thoughtful immersive experiences. Timed between a spectacular Women’s Euro’s campaign for the Lionesses and ahead of crucial World Cup Qualifiers for the men, this activation perfectly leverages the buzz surrounding key cultural moments in football.
The FA, Lionesses HQ & Budweiser
This summer, we set out to transform the experience of travelling Lionesses fans at Euro 2025. Guided by our campaign mantra – Galvanise the Nation. Elevate Performance. Grow the Game – we created Lionesses HQ supported by Budweiser: a vibrant, inclusive hub for Lionesses match days in Zurich and Basel.
Following strong fan appetite (73% of surveyed ticket holders), we delivered four fan events and six fan walks, hosting over 10,000 fans and filling every venue to capacity. Lionesses HQ offered entertainment, activations, and free drinks, building excitement and energy before matches, while generating media visibility and strengthening our supporter community.
The initiative has laid foundations for long-term growth, including the launch of the first-ever Lionesses travelling fans membership in 2026. Lionesses HQ created belonging, loyalty, advocacy, and a strong travelling fan identity that fuelled support for the team throughout the tournament and on the way to their second Euros trophy.
The FA x M&S Food
As a proud partner of The FA’s The Greater Game Programme, which uses the power of football to encourage young people to improve their health and wellbeing, M&S Food is on a mission to help young footballers make healthier choices as part of its ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign.
This includes guiding them on the best way to fuel before and after a game – it’s a serious health message we needed to land, but one we wanted to land in a fun and engaging way that appeals to families.
To do this, we teamed up with comedian, Jack Whitehall, and followed him on his journey to England’s St George’s Park training ground to spread the message about Eating Well by ‘joining’ as a health and nutrition consultant for the England men’s and women’s teams, joined by some familiar faces from both England Men’s and Women’s Senior teams.
But Jack being Jack, he wanted to make the greatest splash possible. He wanted to shake things up and change things at the England camp. Little changes that make a BIG difference.
Whilst some of Jack’s techniques were a step too far, he was actually pretty spot on with his nutrition advice.
