Derrick Rose is a star point guard for the Chicago Bulls. Rose injured his anterior cruciate ligament during the first game of last years NBA playoffs. Rose is definitely one of the star players in the NBA, he won the NBA MVP in 2011. He is currently being sponsored by Adidas and has his own line of basketball shoes with them. For basketball fans out there, many of you have probably already come across something called “The Return of D.Rose.” This is a series of short online videos created by Adidas to help fans “join in” on the recovery process and return of Derrick Rose.
If Derrick Rose is injured then NBA fans won’t see his shoe line, this is usually the worst case scenario for your brand if your star NBA endorser is injured. However, Ryan Morlan, the director of marketing for basketball at Adidas, has taken advantage of a very unique opportunity that has arisen from Rose’s misfortune. Morlan and his team created a series of online videos to show Derrick Rose in his recovery. The thinking process behind this campaign was to let fans “join in” to the recovery process of Derrick Rose and make them feel like they are apart of the process. Some of these videos have over a million views on YouTube, and while enabling Rose’s fans to join him in the process of recovery, Adidas are also successfully marketing their sneakers to the viewers. I feel that this is a brilliant campaign by Adidas, not only does it let fans feel more engaged with their idol, it also gives an opportunity to show fans that Adidas supports his recovery. This will give off a stronger brand image, as fans will associate Adidas with the recovery of Derrick Rose, which will definitely drive sales. In the current digital age, it is very important for companies to take advantage of any arising opportunities to differentiate themselves from other competitors. As mentioned above, usually your basketball endorser getting injured is an extremely negative situation for your brand, however, Adidas has definitely been able to turn this situation around and create an effective marketing campaign.