Tierney Rocky's Blog

In our last Comm 296 class, we briefly discussed Nike’s brilliant marketing campaigns that stole market share and spotlight from Adidas during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Despite the fact that Adidas was the official World Cup sponsor, anyone could have easily mistaken that role to be taken by Nike. How did this happen?

In class we wondered if this could be seen as unethical, however I absolutely see this as pure brilliance. Nike simply repositioned itself around its competition through the use of pump up, adrenaline-boosting ads, along with some unique new-found campaigns targeted at the ever-growing tech savvy segment (see their LCD light ‘billboards’ on the side of buildings). As a result, the company was able to appear just as, if not more, involved with the World Cup as its actual sponsor… without spending the $184 million.

Now, this reminds me of Anoushka Patel’s blog where she discusses how effective Nike was at damage control for the French team. Not only was Nike able to distract fans with an exciting, heart pounding ad that would make every soccer fan’s (French or not) eyes stay glued to the tv until it was over, but they worked to facilitate an improvement in the team’s image and morale by marketing straight to its core: to its players. As Anoushka says,

“The fabric was specifically engineered for the team and consists of a new fabric which will enhance the functionality of the jersey. Keeping in mind that footballers are attached to their ‘favourite Tshirts’”

Not only does this create a fresh new look that could be associated to some fresh new (winning) performance to be proud of, but it also was a sneaky way for Nike to win over players who actually spend much of their money on soccer gear and who get attached to their favourite sports brands. Clearly, Nike’s marketing department has many tricks up their sleeves, and as an avid soccer fan myself, I can’t wait to see what they come up with next… who knows, maybe I’ll be a part of their marketing department some day?