TikTok has become a vibrant place where people find their communities and rally around a shared passion for the sport they love – with football content, in particular, kicking off on the platform. This has given brands an opportunity to make real connections with TikTok users by embracing the culture that makes the platform unique; building on key calendar moments, events, and happenings to fuel brand love.

There’s no denying, football is the world’s most popular sport and the Middle East is no exception. The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2020, took the world by storm from June 11 to July 11, 2021 – ending with Italy taking home the big trophy. The tournament may be over but for many brands, this was just the beginning in creating long-lasting memorable moments with their audience.

The excitement surrounding Euro 2020 fueled the passion of the sports community on TikTok which resonated greatly in the MENAT region and delivered brilliant results in a recent IPSOS study. Overall, a whopping 81% of TikTok MENAT football fans watched content created by brands on TikTok. This resulted in 76% of them putting on their creative hats and taking part in specially curated #HashtagChallenges to celebrate all things football. But that’s not all; the fan-tastic content on the platform was also a winner with 79% of the TikTok community resonating with other users’ football content and engaging with it by sharing or reposting that content.

Shant Oknayan, General Manager of Global Business Solutions METAP, TikTok said: “The great level of traction that football content gained in our community is a testament to our platform's success in enabling brands to engage more authentically with their sports audience. Brands in the region were able to stay on-trend with football lovers, share adrenaline-pumping moments, and develop outstanding campaigns that deeply resonate with the football community, delivering tangible results.”

And in honor of the UEFA 2020 Euro Cup and the love we've seen grow exponentially for football on the platform the next edition of The Creative Digest – TikTok’s bi-monthly video newsletter featuring the most innovative brand campaigns on the platform – uncovers the brand moments that scored big goals and won the hearts of their audience with football!

While TikTok was packed with joyful and entertaining content by many brands, here are three that took the experience to another level and scored big with football lovers on TikTok:

Nivea Men: When one’s favorite team is playing, specific habits and set-ups are mapped out ahead of the big game. Nivea Men opted to challenge users to share their #GameReady rituals, adding further excitement and uniting audiences, through the love for football. As part of this challenge, Nivea Men posted a video featuring Ronaldinho performing the game rituals and interacting with its men's products. This video captured the love and attention of football audiences on TikTok.

Head & Shoulders: Head & Shoulders asked all football fans to share how they celebrate their favorite football moments through the #CelebrateFootball challenge. Through this challenge, the brand reinforced its tagline " Keep an Ice Cold Head this Summer" while encouraging the community to express their love for the game.

Gillette: Gillette invited its audience to show their favorite football celebration in an engaging video, featuring the soft and fresh after-shave face of a Gillette user. Through the #CelebrateFootball challenge, Gillette reinforced its tagline, "The Best A Fan Can Get,"  by encouraging the TikTok community to celebrate the tenacious and exciting spirit of the football game.

View Football on TikTok Creative Digest here.