Global Ads Spotlight: How iFood served up football - and a 23% sales boost

The 2023 Women's FIFA World Cup was set to be a global celebration of women's football - except in Brazil, where enthusiasm was running ice cold.

Despite the country's famous football fever, just 25% of Brazilians said they planned to watch the games, according to the Ibope Audience Institute. And in a true reflection of that lack of interest, no open TV channel in Brazil bothered to buy the broadcast rights for the full tournament.

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Enter iFood - Brazil's popular food delivery app, revered by 50 million users across the country. While TV networks were ignoring the Women's World Cup, iFood saw an opportunity to deliver the beautiful game straight to the people - along with their pizzas and pastéis.

The Big Idea

The strategy was simple: since Brazilians couldn't easily watch the matches, iFood would become their unlikely go-to sports broadcaster. The app already had 38 minutes of user engagement per week, and with rights to stream all 64 matches, iFood turned casual snack time into game time.

Come for the food, stay for the game. Come for the game, stay for the food. It was a mutually reinforcing loop that worked seamlessly.

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iFood also partnered with Casimiro, the world's biggest YouTube sports streamer, whose entertaining live commentary was streamed inside the app for free. The result? The iFood app became an all-in-one second screen-experience - no more flipping channels or hunting for sketchy streams.

The campaign didn't rely on traditional ads. It used the app itself as the media platform, giving all users instant access to every match. The seamless user experience - one tap for burgers and goals - blurred the line between commerce and content in a way few brands have managed to pull off.

And the numbers? Mouth-watering.

- 21 million people watched matches inside the iFood app.

- Orders spiked by 23% compared to the same period the previous year.

- The campaign generated 4.5 million in earned media.

- It also boosted positive brand sentiment to 86%, reinforcing iFood's crown as Brazil's most loved brand.

Why it Worked?

While many brands talk about purpose, iFood actually delivered on it - literally. By stepping in where TV broadcasters failed, the brand championed women's sport, gave fans an easy way to support the Brazilian team, and made sure nobody had to choose between dinner and the game.

And strategically, it was a masterclass in turning passive engagement into active transactions. Fans who came for football were tempted to stay for food - and vice versa. The result was not just goodwill, but serious sales.

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