Rugby World Cup — Mastercard
The Rugby World Cup is the third-largest sporting event in the world.
In 2019, it arrived in Japan.
Over six weeks, 20 nations competed across 45 matches, drawing more than 1.8 million fans into stadiums and an estimated 857 million viewers worldwide.
My job was to bring Mastercard’s global partnership to life across the tournament.
That meant activating in 15 of the 20 competing countries—producing content, creator programs, and live fan experiences that stretched from Tokyo to London to Johannesburg.
But the centerpiece was something different.
I helped create The Mastercard Live Trophy.
A physical trophy that captured each game’s most unforgettable moments in real time—laser-etching key plays into the metal during the match itself.
Minutes after the final whistle, the trophy was handed directly to the Player of the Match.
A sponsorship moment became something more.
A living artifact of the game.
The idea traveled far beyond the stadiums.
Fans shared it.
Players talked about it.
Media covered it across the tournament.
And at Cannes Lions, the project won Gold in Entertainment for Sport—one of the industry’s highest honors.
It proved something powerful.
When brand partnerships behave like storytelling platforms, the work becomes part of the event itself.
Not just something that surrounds it.