Tag: brand engagement

Klik Chocolate: WhatsApp campaign

A teen adds “Klik Says” to a WhatsApp group chat. The group receives playful instructions in a Simon Says-style format, and the game turns the chat into a shared, social challenge.

The move. Using WhatsApp without buying media

Klik is a chocolate snack in Israel that wants to increase brand engagement amongst its teen audience. It goes to WhatsApp, the #1 teen platform in Israel. Since WhatsApp does not offer any media inventory, Klik and its agency Great Interactive build a format that works inside the product. A WhatsApp version of Simon Says.

How it works. One phone number, many groups

  • Klik publishes a dedicated phone number on its Facebook page.
  • Fans add Klik to their WhatsApp groups.
  • Once added, Klik runs the “Klick Says” game by sending tasks and prompts designed for teens to complete and share in the group.

Results. Participation and completion

Over 2000 teens participate in the Klick Says game, and 91% of them complete the provided tasks.

Why this pattern travels

This is a clean example of engagement design when the platform offers no traditional inventory. The brand does not “advertise” inside WhatsApp. It behaves like a participant with a repeatable game mechanic, shaped around the social unit that matters. The group chat.

A few fast answers before you act

What is the Klik WhatsApp campaign?
A teen engagement campaign in Israel that turns WhatsApp group chats into a Simon Says-style game called “Klick Says”.

Why does WhatsApp matter here?
It is positioned as the #1 teen platform in Israel, and it is where teen group behavior already happens.

How does Klik enter the experience?
Via a dedicated phone number shared on Facebook, which teens add to their WhatsApp groups.

What is the core mechanic?
A task-and-prompt loop, structured like Simon Says, that groups can complete together.

What are the reported results?
Over 2000 participants, with 91% completing the tasks.

LEGO: Happy Holiplay

Holiday attention built from imagination

In global consumer brands with strong fan communities, the most effective holiday campaigns often turn the audience into the media. LEGO’s execution is a clean example of that approach.

To create positive attention around the LEGO brand, a global digital social campaign challenged people to take their imagination with the well known LEGO bricks one step further and share the results via digital media.

The campaign was dubbed Happy Holiplay and was run for three weeks. LEGO fans from 119 countries participated actively and uploaded pictures to www.happyholiplay.lego.com.

How Happy Holiplay worked in practice

The mechanism was community-powered. LEGO provided a clear prompt and a simple submission behavior. Build something imaginative with bricks, capture it, and share it digitally.

The campaign site acted as the collection point. The internet did the distribution. Every upload became both participation and promotion.

Why it landed for a global fan base

LEGO was naturally suited to participatory storytelling. The product already trained people to invent, remix, and share. Happy Holiplay did not try to manufacture behavior. It amplified what the community already loved doing.

The holiday timing mattered too. December is a period when people are already in “make and share” mode, and when families have more reasons to create together.

The business intent behind Happy Holiplay

The goal was to generate positive brand attention during a competitive seasonal window by turning the community into the main media channel.

Rather than paying for attention, LEGO earned it by creating a platform for fan creativity, and by making participation feel like a celebration instead of a promotion.

What to steal for your next social campaign

  • Use a behavior that is already native to the brand. If the audience already creates, design the campaign around creation.
  • Keep the action simple. Build, capture, share. Low friction increases global participation.
  • Give the community a home base. A clear destination makes participation feel official and collectible.
  • Let contributors be the content engine. UGC scales faster than brand-made assets when the prompt is right.

A few fast answers before you act

What was LEGO’s Happy Holiplay?

A global digital social campaign in December 2012 that invited fans to create imaginative LEGO builds and share them online.

How long did the campaign run?

It was run for three weeks.

How many countries participated?

LEGO fans from 119 countries took part and uploaded pictures to the campaign site.

Why did the campaign work so well for LEGO?

Because it amplified a natural LEGO behavior. Building and sharing creations. It aligned with the community’s existing motivations.

What is the key takeaway for other brands?

Design participation around an audience behavior you already own, then make sharing simple enough to scale globally.

Heineken Star Player

The UEFA Champions League attracts massive global audiences, and a large share of fans watch matches at home. Heineken’s release references over 150 million TV viewers watching live UCL coverage per match week in 220+ territories. Heineken and AKQA used that context to build Heineken StarPlayer, a dual-screen app designed to let fans interact in real time with the nail-biting action.

With StarPlayer, fans play along live on desktop and mobile by anticipating what will happen in key match moments, in real time. The promise is simple. Turn passive viewing into a competitive layer of predictions, banter and shared tension.

What StarPlayer actually adds to the match

The mechanic is built around micro-moments. Corners, free kicks, penalties, shots, and short time windows where a fan can commit to a forecast. If you are right, you gain points. If you are wrong, you lose ground. The point is not the points. The point is sustained attention and social comparison.

In sports sponsorship, the hard part is not reach. It is converting 90 minutes of attention into 90 minutes of participation.

Why the dual-screen idea fits the way fans really watch

StarPlayer leans into two truths. First, a lot of fans watch at home rather than in stadiums. Second, many are already using a second device during the match, either to check stats, message friends, or follow commentary. StarPlayer turns that second-screen habit into a structured game loop.

It also respects viewer control. You can engage in bursts, choose the moments you want to play, and keep your focus on the match while the phone or laptop becomes your companion layer.

What the brand is really buying

Heineken positions StarPlayer as “made to entertain” applied to sport viewing. The business intent is to make the sponsorship feel like an experience, not just a logo. If the brand becomes part of the ritual, it earns recall that is tied to real match emotions, not ad breaks.

The work later earns major industry recognition. Heineken Star Player is listed as a Cyber Gold Lion (Mobile) at Cannes Lions, credited to AKQA London.

What to steal for any live, time-boxed audience

  • Design around predictable peaks. Build interactions for moments people already lean forward for.
  • Keep the loop lightweight. A decision in seconds beats anything that competes with the main screen.
  • Make it social by default. Rivalry, banter and comparison are the fuel. Solo play is the backup.
  • Optimise for “stickiness”, not clicks. The win condition is returning to the second screen again and again during the match.

A few fast answers before you act

What is a “dual-screen” experience in sports marketing?

A dual-screen experience is when the main content stays on TV, while a phone or laptop adds a companion layer. The second screen can enable play, prediction, stats, chat, or rewards without interrupting the match.

Why do prediction mechanics work especially well in live sport?

Because sport is already a sequence of uncertain outcomes. Predictions let fans externalise their gut feel, then get instant feedback, which creates tension and repeat engagement.

What is the simplest version of Star Player a brand could copy?

Pick 5 to 10 repeatable match moments. Create one-tap predictions with a short countdown. Score it. Add a friend leaderboard. Keep everything playable in under five seconds.

How do you avoid the second screen distracting from the match?

Design for bursts. Keep interactions tied to natural pauses or peak moments. Use quick taps, not typing. The TV remains the hero.

What metrics matter for a second-screen activation?

Time-in-experience per match, repeat participation across matches, and social play rate. For brand outcomes, track recall and sponsorship attribution uplift, not just installs.