When Qatar became the first Arab country to host the biggest sporting event, Vodafone Qatar pledged to contribute to the nation’s success by using its technology even though it was not an official sponsor. So while many brands focused on the teams and players, Vodafone Qatar promised to be the greatest supporter of the most important people that help shape the game: the fans.
In line with our “We Fan Together” campaign launched for the event, together with Wunderman Thompson Doha, we created a series of activities which showcased brilliant local talents and led to the best experience for the fans. The campaign consisted of multiple unique and meaningful activations that accompanied fans throughout their experience of the greatest event on earth. And one such activation was the series of lyrical pre-match commentaries.
MATCH INFORMATION WITH PASSION AND RHYTHM
Match commentaries are crucial to the magic of the games. Beyond providing up-to-date information, they serve to rouse the passion of the fans. Vodafone Qatar broke away from the norm by adding a unique twist: pre-match information done in perhaps the most popular and emotionally impactful music genre today – rap. Rap was chosen as it is a music genre that cuts across cultures and exists in many countries and languages, from English to Arabic, Japanese to Spanish.
The raps were written and performed by Qatari talent, Yousef Al Sulaiti – more popularly known as ‘Big Soof’. A local talent with universal appeal, he is one of the first Qatari rappers, and has performed at the opening ceremony of the FIFA Arab Cup 2021™.
LYRICAL PASSION, FROM START TO END
Each rap combines English and Arabic, with lyrics written to a specific upcoming match. So beyond entertaining, the lyrics also provided fans with quick info on the teams and their previous performance. Set to catchy hip-hop music, the rhythm and spirit of the rap also escalate to align with the emotional journeys of fans as the tournament moves from the group stages towards the round of 16 and eventually, the finals.
Music videos featuring Big Soof are created and published across various social platforms to cater to diverse audiences, from Instagram to TikTok. Audience engagement was high, with the views reaching over 10 million on TikTok within the first 10 days of launch.
The recorded tracks were also made available on Spotify and Anghami.
“I’m honoured to collaborate with Vodafone’s latest campaign, and to be supporting the most exciting time for Qatar as a country. It’s something out of the box for any Qatari brand to call this bold shot and I see it as hope for future talents. The whole experience has been great fun and allowed me to really stretch the boundaries of my creativity, as I try to communicate the values and personalities of the teams in a way which engages the listener and includes a lot of different ideas knowing the restrictions and event protocols. It’s also inspiring to be part of something which is ultimately uniting people through the power of music, sport and innovation,” said Yousef Al Sulaiti, Big Soof.
