7DAYS drives social media traffic with search for most passionate football fan
Ideas Blog | 07 September 2015


The UAE is home to footy-mad fans from around the world. As the FIFA World Cup 2014 kick-off approached, children, adults, and even family pets were getting into the football spirit.
It was the perfect time to celebrate the beautiful game, tap into the buzz surrounding the tournament, and drive traffic to the 7DAYS social media channels.
On June 12, 2014, 7DAYS launched 7DAYS Football Fever — a mission to find the ultimate football fan in the UAE. The prize for the chosen fan would be an all-expenses-paid trip to a European destination to watch an Emirates-sponsored football match.
The competition was supported by Emirates Airline, an official FIFA Worldwide partner since 2007 and also the sponsor of some of football’s biggest teams and events, including the World Cup.
Fans were asked to share creative, football-themed photos or videos which demonstrated their love for the game. Taking advantage of UAE’s surging social media and smartphone audience, entries were invited on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram. Using #7DAYSfever, a unique hashtag created for the campaign, was essential to qualify for the competition.
An integrated marketing plan was applied in print, online, and social media in the form of advertisements and editorial. This ran for the duration of the World Cup to share the message and generate entries.
The results were impressive.
7DAYS readers are crazy about football, but who knew to this extent?
- More than 1,000 photos and videos were entered as people across the UAE showed just how much they love the game. From football inspired nail art, face-painted families, and pets dressed to support their favourite teams, creativity was the clear winner.
- The campaign reached more than 1.6 million users across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+.
- 7DAYS received 12,300 new fans on Facebook and 2,500 new followers on Twitter during the campaign.
7DAYS Football Fever was a successful campaign that not only helped our brand engage with football fans in the UAE but also associated 7DAYS with a major international event, FIFA World Cup 2014.