To celebrate UEFA Euro 2024, M&C Saatchi Netherlands wanted to connect fans across an entire continent. They approached Kerve with a concept for their client UEFA, a spin on Duolingo, to spread the language of the beautiful game.
Kerve were very happy to tender for a project so catchy and exciting. We won the pitch against a number of other agencies.
The brief was the product launch of a gamified ‘EUROlingo’, a collaboration between the finest in the M&C Saatchi Sports & Entertainment team and UEFA.
The beautiful name.
How do you create a web app game that brings together users across multiple nations, can withstand huge spikes in traffic and keeps people wanting more? With EUROlingo, we faced a few unique, interesting challenges. The end product had to be inkeeping with the Euro 2024 creative guidelines, and connect seamlessly with UEFA’s user database for rapid sign-in. The app needed to be available in 7 languages, with questions and audio functionality for all 23 languages appearing at Euro 2024.
We love collaboration and this project was no different. Throughout the design and build process we kept the M&C Saatchi Netherlands team in the loop. We built the wireframe and developed the game in short sprints, so the client felt fully immersed and creatively engaged. M&C Saatchi in turn received regular, formative feedback from UEFA, which helped the whole project move forward rapidly as a team. Fancy footwork all round.
We loved the challenge. Kerve created the UI and user journey, whilst reimagining the UEFA brand in a gamified setting. We elevated the brand assets with animation, and our own creative steer, using nifty touches of the UEFA mascot Albart to nudge players forward with humour. Every detail, from the display, to the information on scores or prize details, was lovingly created by Kerve’s own in-house team. Thanks to Richard, Matthew, Dave, Ben and Alex, who brought this all to life together.
A lovely set piece.
We created EUROlingo in a live environment, so the game could be rigorously performance-tested. Throughout the EURO 2024 tournament, EUROlingo saw thousands of daily players, with various spikes from marketing. When the campaign launched, the servers could easily cope. Thanks to the Redis database and in-nation Vercel hosting, the gameplay ran quickly and smoothly. No outages, issues or missed penalties.
We added in a few tricks to make players want to keep coming back for more. The scores were shareable, both at the start and end of the game. Every day played resulted in a golden ticket, players with a certain number of these entered into a draw the week before the final match.
Our technical knowledge mixed with the client’s collaborative, creative concept, meant that the project was brought to life with no hitches. We included all the important functionality, including the UEFA database integration and hosting platforms, from design to approval in time for the deadline. Both M&C Saatchi and UEFA were thrilled with the solution on launch, with great feedback coming from active users. Since working together on this project, Kerve’s relationship with M&C Saatchi has continued to grow, with another project with them already in full swing.