--- title: Messi 644 | Hashtag Sports Awards 2021 description: The Hashtag Sports Awards 2021 Shortlist is where media executives, athletes, & creators come together to recognize & inspire those who do it best image: https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/HubSpot%20-%20Featured%20Image%20-%20300%20x%20175%20(1)-1.svg ---   **2021 SHORTLIST** **![hashtagsportsawards](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hs-fs/hubfs/hashtagsportsawards.png?width=321&name=hashtagsportsawards.png)** **MESSI 644 ** **Entrant Company: **Budweiser ``` FINALIST ``` Best Athlete Storytelling ![Messi 644](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/Messi%20644.png "Messi 644") ABOUT THIS ENTRY To connect the King of Beers with the King of Football, we celebrated Lionel Messi’s record-setting achievement of most goals scored with a single club—one of his last remaining unbroken records. How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”? We brought a real-life moment online to the platforms where sports conversations happen, giving fans an opportunity to further engage and celebrate Messi’s achievement. As a new partner to Lionel Messi, the Budweiser 644 Campaign owned 51% of the online conversation, far surpassing his legacy partners in Adidas and Pepsi. Our provocative stunt extended a brief moment in sports entertainment to a weeks-long conversation around the greatest footballer of all time. With over 30,000 engagements, we had the Internet talking about the King of Beers and the King of Football. Sports news is fleeting. The biggest story one day becomes forgotten the next. We went beyond a congratulatory point of view on an athlete’s success to creating a larger conversation throughout the weeks after the event, generating $20M of social media value at a fraction of the investment.   Objective: Own the conversation around Lionel Messi’s record-breaking 644 goals scored for a single club to strengthen the brand’s association within Global Football (soccer). Strategy & Execution: Today, younger sports fans are increasingly consuming highlights online over full games of their favorite sports. These snackable moments are driving the excitement and fandom behind the next generation of sports fans, so we took a soon-to-be iconic moment in sports history and turned it into a major moment of conversation online for the brand. When Messi hit his 644th goal, we released a digital film that told the story of his journey to greatness through a custom Messi Bottle. We then brought the conversation online by creating 644 uniquely numbered bottles 1 through 644 and sent one of them to each goalkeeper he scored against. This gave fans the chance to see a generation of elite goalkeepers reflect on their part in Messi’s journey across social channels. Goalkeepers shared videos of themselves receiving their gift from Budweiser and Messi and discussing their experience against the greatest of all time. Results: - 51% of share of voice (Adidas 43%, Pepsi 6%) - 30,000+ total engagements - 1200+ earned articles, coverage in 84 countries - 3+ billion earned impressions - $20M+ of social media value **PRODUCTION** Budweiser Deutsch NY   **CREDITS** **Richard Oppy** VP, Global Brands (Budweiser, Corona, Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra) AB InBev, Budweiser   **Steve Arkley** VP Global Marketing, Budweiser AB InBev, Budweiser   **Andrew Oosterhuis** Global Advertising Director, Budweiser AB InBev, Budweiser   **Chad** **Lafeldt** Global Marketing Director, Budweiser AB InBev, Budweiser   **Eelco van der Noll** Head of Global Partnership Marketing, AB InBev AB InBev, Budweiser   **Dan Kelleher ** Chief Creative Officer Deutsch NY   **Heather** **English** Creative Director Deutsch NY   **Jeffrey** **Rozman** Sr. Art Director Deutsch NY   **Chris** **Wernikowski** Sr. Copywriter Deutsch NY   **Michael Philbin** Sr. Copywriter Deutsch NY   **Ashley Centrella** Sr. Art Director Deutsch NY   **Chris Kelley** Sr. Designer Deutsch NY   **Joe Calabrese** EVP, Director of Integrated Production Deutsch NY   **Andrea Segura** Sr. Producer Deutsch NY   **Sarah** **Manna** SVP, Director of Art & Print Production Deutsch NY   **Taylor** **Kigar** Associate Producer Deutsch NY   **Matt** **Baker** Chief Strategy Officer Deutsch NY   **Andrew** **Quay** VP, Group Strategy Director Deutsch NY   **Alex Rakestraw** Senior Strategist Deutsch NY   **Andrew** **Arnot** Group Account Director Deutsch NY   **Madalyn McLane** Account Director Deutsch NY   **Hannah Duchardt** Account Executive Deutsch NY   **Rich Gladis** Project Manager Deutsch NY   **Maria** **Taris** Director of Integrated Business Affairs Deutsch NY   **Stacy** **Schwartz** Group Director, Integrated Business Affairs Deutsch NY   **Nikki** **Balekjian** Sr. Business Manager Deutsch NY   **Jim** **Helton** Editor/Sound Design Final Cut NY   **Geoff Hastings** Assistant Editor Final Cut NY   **Dillon** **Stoneburner** Assistant Editor Final Cut NY   **Sarah** **Roebuck** Executive Producer Final Cut NY ## BRANDS AT THE LIVE SERIES ![att](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/att-box.svg) ![ab-inbev](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/ab-inbev.svg) ![visa-box](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/visa-box.svg) ![rakuten](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/Rakuten_Global_Brand_Logo.svg) ![twitter](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/twitter-box-2.svg) ![bleacher report](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/Bleacher_Report_logo.svg) ![budweiser](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/budweiser.svg) ![foot-locker](https://www.hashtagsports.com/hubfs/foot-locker.svg) ### REGISTER NOW ## CONTENT x SPORTS BETTING Over two days, sports betting + media will converge to discuss the North American fan. Learn the insights and strategies needed to develop partnerships, create and monetize betting content, and drive critical revenue and engagement. ### May 12-13, 2021 (Virtual) [ REGISTER NOW ](https://live.hashtagsports.com/content-x-sports-betting?hsLang=en#hs_cos_wrapper_widget_1618354468800) ## **TRANSFORMING THE NEXT DECADE** --- Hashtag Sports® is the leading platform for media and marketing professionals and the next generation of creative talent across the converging sports and entertainment industries. From unparalleled experiences like our annual conference and the Hashtag Sports Awards presented with Budweiser to inspirational digital content and mission-driven initiatives, Hashtag Sports is the benchmark for fan engagement and the go-to resource for the development of a new sports and entertainment ecosystem powered by digital media, content, culture, purpose, and technology.