Glambot® Generates an Estimated 1 Billion Views in One of the Most Successful Video Activation Campaigns Ever Delivered
The FIFA World Cup™ Michelob ULTRA Player of the Match campaign generated more than 232.9 million directly measured views and an estimated total earned reach of 900 million to 1.1 billion views.
Los Angeles, California —
Glambot®, the robotic camera experience known for creating cinematic slow-motion videos at the world’s most prestigious entertainment and sporting events, in collaboration with ABI and Omnicom, delivered an estimated 1 billion views during the FIFA World Cup™ through the Michelob ULTRA Player of the Match campaign.
With 232.9 million directly measured day of views, nearly 13 million likes and an estimated earned reach approaching 1 billion, the campaign stands as one of the most successful brand video activations of all time.
Throughout the tournament, Glambot® captured 63 Player of the Match videos featuring some of the world’s most celebrated soccer players. Published through FIFA’s official Instagram account. During the tournament, the videos generated:
232.9 million directly measured views
12.86 million likes
238,034 comments
256,375 reposts
In the days and months following each video capture, the content’s social reach ballooned to an estimated 900 million to 1.1 billion views. Perhaps most impressive, that estimate excludes additional reach generated by players sharing the videos through their own social channels.
Because player sharing was not a requirement of the sponsorship—and players were not compensated to repost the content—most did not share the videos themselves. In other words, the campaign’s extraordinary reach was driven overwhelmingly by organic fan interest, engagement, and sharing.
Videos vs Photos
Simultaneously, the Player of the Match program continued capturing traditional still photos at select stadiums, as it had historically done, providing a direct benchmark for comparing performance and results. The Glambot® videos significantly outperformed the campaign’s traditional still photography, generating approximately 130% more likes, 92% more reposts, 73% more shares and 5% more comments.
“These results demonstrate the extraordinary power of cinematic, social-first content,” said McLain Harvey, Managing Partner of Glambot®. “Glambot® transformed each Player of the Match presentation into a global media moment, giving the athletes, FIFA and Michelob ULTRA content that fans genuinely wanted to watch and share.”
Built for an Unprecedented Challenge
Glambot® personnel were not permitted onsite, requiring FIFA personnel—many of whom had never seen or operated a Glambot®—to run the system independently.
Each activation also had to be completed in under 60 seconds, including moving the Glambot® into position, capturing the video and clearing the area. Glambot® was required to operate within a restricted 7x7x7 foot space, compared with its typical 12x12x9 foot footprint.
To meet these demands, the Glambot® software team developed a custom version of its Motion Control Software featuring specialized movements and enhanced safety capabilities. The system was also modified with a custom startup sequence and targeted hardware enhancements to accelerate activation and allow the robot to be moved out of position quickly after each capture.
In parallel, a reliable media-transfer workflow was engineered to deliver each video to the newsroom immediately after capture, while holding up to the heavily congested Wi-Fi and cellular networks within the stadium environment.
The result was 63 successfully delivered videos under some of the most demanding live-production conditions in the world.
Methodology
Official performance figures are based on publicly available engagement data associated with 63 Glambot® videos published through FIFA’s official Instagram account. Estimated earned reach accounts for secondary distribution not reflected in the official post analytics, including Instagram Stories, sports-media coverage, fan accounts, private sharing and cross-platform distribution. The characterization of the campaign as one of the most successful video activation campaigns of all time is based on its documented viewership, engagement and estimated extended distribution. Because no comprehensive public database ranks every experiential video campaign, this description should not be interpreted as an independently verified industry ranking.
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