THE BACKSTORY: Underdogs eyeing the biggest stage
UNiDAYS exists to make student life more affordable and rewarding, giving students access to the best discounts, experiences, and brand offers in the world. Having built an incredible product and service, they were ready to capitalise on cultural moments to better tell that story.
There is no bigger shared conversation than football, and no bigger stage than a major tournament. But major football events are notoriously difficult for non-global brands to crack. UNiDAYS needed a culturally native plan to enter the Euro 2024 conversation in a way that genuinely resonated with students, not one that tried to compete head-on with the biggest sponsors in the game.
THE HERO: UNiDAYS
UNiDAYS is the platform that stretches student budgets further and makes the big moments in life even better. A brand that genuinely understands student culture and wants to be part of it, not just advertise at it. With the right story, Euro 2024 was the perfect moment to prove it.
THE VILLAIN: The noise of Euro 2024
Global sponsors with bottomless budgets had bought their way into every official partnership, ad break, and stadium billboard. For a non-sponsor brand, the conventional route into a tournament this size was simply closed. The real villain wasn't just the noise; it was the assumption that you need the biggest budget to own the biggest moments.
THE AUDIENCE: Students who don’t do boring
Digitally native students and young adults who live for big cultural moments, especially major football tournaments.
They follow the action in real time across social, group chats, and streaming platforms, sharing opinions, memes, and reactions as each moment unfolds. Highly value-conscious but emotionally driven, they expect brands to show up with humour, relevance, and a genuine understanding of fan culture. They already look to UNiDAYS to help their money go further; this was about making them see it as part of the Euro 2024 experience itself.
THE SCRIPT: Take over TikTok without seeking permission
We threw out the traditional sponsorship playbook and leant into what students actually love – real fans, infectious energy, and the irresistible pull of a TikTok challenge. Rather than falling into the usual cringe of forced football activations, the campaign was rooted in genuine fandom, blending Euro 2024 fever with platform-native humour that felt completely at home in student feeds.
At the heart of it all were Woody & Kleiny, the relatable, high-energy duo whose football credibility and natural humour made them the perfect leads. Through a series of hilarious football challenges paired with clear calls to action, they drove fierce engagement, competition entries, and click-throughs that converted attention into sign-ups.
But the real power was in the ensemble. A wider creator network, including Joe Thomlinson, Jess Watkins, Ergys, F0ur Br0thers, and Charlie The Commentator, ensured the idea travelled organically across feeds, formats, and fan communities at scale.
Each creator brought their own audience and their own voice, making the campaign feel less like a brand activation and more like a genuine part of the tournament conversation.
BOX OFFICE RESULTS
4.5 million views
170,000 likes
100,000+ click-throughs — far exceeding expectations for a non-sponsor brand during a major tournament
More importantly, UNiDAYS became genuinely embedded in the Euro 2024 conversation. Students weren't just seeing the brand, they were associating it with the tournament itself, viewing UNiDAYS as part of the hype rather than an interruption to it. Proof that with the right cultural insight and creator-led approach, brands can earn attention, drive acquisition, and own big football moments without outspending the competition.
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