Adidas Matchday

The collaboration between adidas and Broederliefde was born from the understanding that Gen-Z experiences football differently from previous generations. Gen-Z sees football not only as a sport, but also as a culture intertwined with music, fashion and lifestyle. They experience football mainly through short videos and content on social media such as TikTok and Instagram. 433's huge success with this kind of football content proves this. This illustrates how important it is for brands like adidas to adapt to the way young people consume football: through quick, shareable content that goes beyond the sport itself.

Research by McKinsey and Nielsen shows that Gen-Z particularly values authentic and honest brands. They look for brands that show empathy and connect with their lifestyles. Dutch hip-hop formation Broederliefde meets this need perfectly, as they are well-known in both hip-hop and football. The fact that two of the five members played professional football in their youth reinforces their credibility within the football community. Also, Broederliefde's optimism, which contrasts with the often negative or critical approach in many football talk shows, fits seamlessly with adidas' “You Got This” positioning. In short, Brotherly Love was the right partner for adidas to reach young people.

The campaign became a collaboration with De Stroom, Topnotch, Broederliefde, Supergaande and FC afkicken. They know like no other what is going on with the Gen-Z target group and respond to its culture.

Together, we created the title ‘Matchday’ hosted by Broederliefde. The campaign consisted of 10 45-minute talk shows on YouTube, the place where Gen-Z consumes media, and was reinforced by social snippets, posts and reels spread across different channels (IG and Tiktok on the channels of the above partners) during the European Championship. These short, shareable formats played into the way Gen-Z experiences football and acted as a bridge to longer content. Besides football, it was about music and lifestyle to fit well with the Gen-Z experience. adidas sponsored the entire season around the European Championship and was featured as a co-creator of the content. In addition, Broederliefde was featured in every episode and snippet in adidas clothing and shoes, there was an in-program moment that capitalised on the ‘You got this campaign’, the brand was featured in the backdrop and the show called on its own adidas talents who dropped by as guests on the show.

From the impact measurement, the campaign was perceived as positive by the Gen-Z target group. Five key image statements from adidas were queried to show that the campaign resonated well. A significant increase can be seen on the following statements: Is a brand for the youth (non-viewers 56%, viewers 69%) positive (non-viewers 58%, viewers 67%), authentic (non-viewers 52%, viewers 63%), innovative (non-viewers 48%, viewers 60%) and bold (non-viewers 41%, viewers 51%). The campaign was seen as inspiring, entertaining and fitting for adidas. 76% of respondents see a clear match with the brand and are looking forward to a second season. This is reflected not only in the effect measurement but also in the number of contact moments with the target audience. With over 29 million views on the content compared to the 3.9 million estimated beforehand, it can be said that this was a great success. (EM effect measurement)