Budweiser - Rise as One: The Game
China’s first chat based game, created for the 2014 World Cup
Case Film (Vimeo)
Brief & Insight
In China, big sports events are inseparable from one of China’s cultural cornerstones: Betting.
However, it was a category ripe for disruption. Websites were complicated and badly designed.
The only thing more tiresome was going offline, to bookies and betting shops.
So with Budweiser reinforcing its sports heritage through its World Cup sponsorship, there was
an historic chance to change the betting game in China—and in the process, Chinese culture.
Idea
Reinvent the outdated betting experience for the now mobile-centric Chinese.
So we created it entirely for WeChat. Turning something they already did hundreds of times a day, into the new interface to lock in bets, get odds, and track winnings.
But we knew this wasn’t enough. To be the King of Games, it needed to be as beautiful and magical as it was usable. So we took WeChat further than it had ever been pushed.
Via ambitious integration between SMS and HTML, we brought in the best parts of console gaming: killer graphics, character design, cut scenes, and a breakthrough two-player mode that let you bet against your friend live.
Result
From the game to the campaign around it, everything just worked.
We advertised it as an actual console game, with a trailer and even a physical box.
It was one of most engaging campaigns in WeChat history, with 1,500% more engagement than the
industry standard, and hundreds of thousands of bets placed in the mere three weeks of the World Cup.
Future
And it’s only just begun, as we kick off Bud Games a Bud-owned gaming franchise that will let users bet on every big sporting event, carry over points, and much more.
Making the King of Beers the King of Sports in Chinese culture.