Mengniu and Bilibili are the beautiful game’s top scorers

Even if the Chinese team did not qualify for the World Cup, the past competition was full of hot areas and subjects, and the Prince of Qatar caught the attention of Chinese mass consumers. Today, young people engage with sports themes in more diverse ways, and they may have more linked experiences on platforms with deeper content immersion. This plugged-in group of young consumers and creators expand the possibilities of content success.

On day one of the World Cup, the individual who was the subject of the most Weibo searches was a Bilibili uploader, not Ronaldo, Messi, or the Prince of Qatar. This content creator joined forces with 40 others to deliver live stories from Qatar, and Bilibili proved itself to be the home of entertainment during the World Cup. The platform’s content (such as the Prince of Qatar’s secondary creation content) engaged a broad audience, bolstering Bilibili’s presence in the sporting arena.

Mengniu, a Chinese dairy giant, capitalised on this opportunity by shunning the conventional method of sports event sponsorship. It partnered with Bilibili, an unconventional non-sports content platform, to communicate with young people on sports-related issues, thereby accelerating its commercial growth.

Mengniu and Bilibili co-launched an interactive event prediction campaign and content topic call to create a brand memory anchor, stimulate dialogue and UGC creation, while inviting customers to raise a glass with Mengniu on and off the pitche. Whether in reviewing Messi’s growth experience or celebrating the exciting moment together, Mengniu tightly binds brand rewards and competition results through immersive interactions, thereby lowering the barrier to user participation and stimulating brand communication. This resulted in brand awareness wins and publicity success. Specifically, the collaboration with key opinion leaders in specialised circles allowed the brand to reach a wider variety of young consumers.

The result? The campaign received 2.8 billion exposures and 20 million interactions, reaching an expected 11 million visitors and 8,000+ user-generated content.