The 2022 FIFA World Cup wasn't just played in Qatar; it was played on millions of smartphones. With traditional media spaces saturated by promotional content and advertisements from QSR brands, Pizza Hut Malaysia needed to claim its own slice of the pie and gain maximum share of voice

Enter Cheese Codes, a real-time experience that rewarded every goal scored at the World Cup. Each time the ball hit the back of the net on live TV, a unique Cheese Code appeared on interactive A-boards within mobile football games. We combined pizza toppings with player names, sensibly sidestepping the marketing offside rule of endorsement without sponsorship. When Mbappe scored, 'Mbappepperoni' appeared. 'Mezzirella' for Messi. 'Crispiano,' 'Takumatomato,' 'Modrichili,' and many more. Given that 35% of Malaysian consumers order food via mobile apps, we added gamers to this list by offering them a chance to play and order. Or order in between play.

Our strategy to change the playing field ultimately proved to be the match winner. As the 2022 FIFA World Cup approached, the fandom and buzz grew stronger in Malaysia. In the weeks before kickoff, this football-loving country of 33 million witnessed a surge in mobile football game downloads with over a million captive gamers. But here’s the kicker. We discovered an unseen gamer culture of playing mobile football games in between whistle blows of live matches to try and recreate score lines of those matches in the virtual world. So, we played the game where they played and elevated gamer anticipation to a new level.

While our competitors relied on traditional advertising methods, our approach secured more screen time with a limited budget. Common sense dictated that gamers were selective about who they allowed into their territory, which is why we consciously designed our execution to be non-intrusive.

In 25 days, Pizza Hut’s overall sales surged by 14% (40% above target) and contributed 29% to the overall Q4 revenue. 8.4 million media impressions were served, with 1.1 million unique viewers. Over a million brand interactions were recorded across media platforms. And lastly, unique site visits grew by 10%.

Stay tuned for more campaigns from Pizza Hut Malaysia, Dentsu Creative Malaysia and Carat Media, as expressed by Emily Chong, CMO of Pizza Hut Malaysia: "We took a leap of faith and it paid off. The gamified approach and the results speak for themselves. The campaign also exceeded our personal and marketing expectations. Now we'd like to engage customers in similar fashion, in 2023 and beyond."