FIVB appoints Ogilvy social lab & 50 digital to run global promotional campaign on road to volleyball world championships 2022

With over 770 million fans across the globe, volleyball is the second most popular team sport in the world, according to the Nielsen consumer research. It is also a sport with an ongoing commitment to gender equality and family, where 84% of fans have a strong interest in both men’s and women’s volleyball.

Both agencies have proven expertise and knowledge in the sport and business industries, and will work closely to promote volleyball’s global brand to unlock its significant potential for future growth and realise its ambitious objectives to win the hearts and minds of sport fans worldwide. Ogilvy’s brief includes positioning, brand strategy, design, digital and social media communication, along with the creative development of several campaigns and the media strategy and plan leading up to FIVB Volleyball World Championships 2022. Meanwhile, Fifty Digital will support the FIVB on its continuous digital communications with fans and the wider sports community.

Following the announcement, FIVB Secretary General Fernando Lima said:

“The FIVB is delighted to be working together with Ogilvy Social.Lab and Fifty Digital on promoting our beloved sport on the road to the FIVB Volleyball World Championships 2022, which we are striving to make the most popular and engaging event of 2022 on court, in the stands and digitally. The FIVB has a truly global reach with 222 National Federations around the world. Volleyball is played in every continent by players of all ages, genders and backgrounds and is one of the most loved sports in the world with hundreds of millions of passionate fans. However, we recognise we have so much room for future growth and through these strategic and creative partnerships we will further explore the global potential of our sport.”

Executive Creative Director of Ogilvy Social.Lab, Tolga Büyükdoganay, said:

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a new brand for a sports category – rather than making a campaign for a sports brand. We applaud the FIVB’s creative bravery and ambition, and we cannot wait to help reimagine all forms of communication around volleyball and its Championships.”

Co-Founder of Fifty Digital, Nick Jackman, said:

“After such a competitive pitch process against the biggest names in the industry, the team cannot wait to put all their hard work and passion for volleyball into action. We believe there is a huge opportunity to raise the profile of volleyball to an even higher level and we are really looking forward to partnering with the FIVB to achieve this.”

The appointment of the two world-class agencies followed an open online tender process. The chemistry meetings, brainstorm sessions and presentations all took place over video calls with the participation of various stakeholders and the FIVB Volleyball World Championships 2022 organisers both in Poland and the Netherlands for the women’s edition and Russia for the men’s.

Ogilvy Social.Lab is a creative agency united in a single cause: making brands matter in today’s complex, noisy and hyperconnected world. They are a key partner to Facebook and work with many of the other platforms across a number of key global and regional clients such as Nespresso, BMW, Philips, IBM, and IKEA .

Fifty Digital is a digital and social media agency in sponsorship and sport with a portfolio of clients, including the British & Irish Lions, World Rugby (campaign for Rugby World Cup 2019), World Athletics and Scuderia Ferrari.