The recent Tiger Woods crisis showed the world how brands and athletes are tightly linked. While Accenture, Gatorade, AT&T dropped the golfer, other brands such as Gillette and Procter and Gamble, have significantly dimmed down their use of Tiger in advertising campaigns. EA Sports played differently as  Tiger shared his PGA Tour 2011 video game cover for the first time in 13 years. On the other hand, Nike stood by his athlete and aired an interesting, yet controversial advertsing campaign.

Athletes are the icons of sports brands. The Tiger Woods case showed  us that it can be a double edged sword.  I reckon the most famous football marketing icons would be David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane & Lionel Messi  among others for adidas, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney & Didier Drogba (among others) for Nike. Eto’o being the Puma icon for some years now. 

It’s not an easy task to link a player to a brand. It is a long way process. Brands have a very well thought scouting system, and know talented young players before they get under mediatic spotlights. Sponsorship deals are being made, with parents agreement, and the kid grows up with the brand throughout his career. For those who saw the U-19 final where France deafeated Spain 2-1, all these youngsters were (already) wearing either adidas, Nike or Puma footwear. Obviously, these brands did not come up yesterday to add these players to their portfolio.

Gael Kakuta, the Chelsea player, Alexandre Lacazette the Olympique Lyonnais striker and Cédric Bakambu are the perfect examples. Three upcoming french stars, the first one wears the Superfly Vapour II, the OL player strikes with the adidas adizero F50 and Bakambu scored 2 goals against The Netherlands with his Pumas.

The “big three” are in constant look for the next Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Once players are contracted by either one the three (adidas, Nike, Puma) it is difficult for the other two to step in. In other words, I don’t see Nike approaching Xavi nor adidas willing to sign Didier Drogba. Not only the Spaniard and the Ivory Coast player are already strongly “stamped” by their current sponsor but it will be a very costly deal if it gets through. Secondly I would like to think that the sponsors would rather invest in signing new young players with this amount of cash.

Brands link their image (and vice versa) to footballers from a very early age and this is a long term investment which will pay off when these talented players will lift a World Cup or Champions League trophy. In the meantime, they would have encapsulated their sponsors brand image and values. They would have represented the brand throughout their career. For instance, Zidane & Beckham will always be associated with the adidas brand and ultimately with the Predator boot. Recently, we have seen Nike’s effort to market Cristiano Ronaldo with the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II and Rooney with the T90 Laser III.

Happy to hear your thoughts!

For those who are familiar with my posts, I have pointed out the major football brands, and the key players in football marketing. Most of them are either FIFA sponsors or FIFA partners. The FIFA World Cup sponsors benefit from a tremendous marketing platform to showcase their producs, link their brand image to the biggest football event in the world, promote  online and offline activities, engage with consumers,  and ultimately have an exclusive component as an official sponsor.

The strategy to heavily invest in being a FIFA sponsor could be justified based on the above mentioned advantages. However, a recent survey by The Nielsen Company* showed that Nike was more frequently linked to the World Cup than any of the tournament’s official partners and sponsors. The survey analyzed online blogs, social networking platforms and came to the conclusion that the Swoosh was fully part of the FIFA World Cup landscape, and engraved in consumer’s minds.

With no doubt, the huge online buzz made by the “write the future” campaign strongly contributed to put Nike under the football spotlights. The viral was launched mid-may and had more than 3 million viewers the first week. So far, 14 million viewers enjoyed the video online.  Nike’s biggest stars were featured in the video:  Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney and even Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer and Homer Simpson. Not sure the latter is a Nike athlete though.

HIGHEST SHARE OF ONLINE WORLD CUP BUZZ (Sponsors vs. Competitors)

Source: The Nielsen Company
**Share of online buzz across the 10 sponsors/partners with a global footprint and two of their major competitors in English language messages related to the World Cup from May 7 to June 6.

I pointed out in a previous article, that Nike, adidas, Puma are widely acknowledged as football brands. It seems that not being a FIFA (nor UEFA) sponsor does not stop Nike from succesfully link its brand to the biggest football competition. The “Write the Future” campaign only did not contribute to those facts. It must be added that Nike sponsors 9 teams at World Cup, provides outfit to several players including superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and many others. On top of that, on February 25, the Swoosh launched a powerful campaign “taking ownership” of the sustainable component in football.

This strategy seem to pay off as Nike has managed to leverage its brands, products, activities in football around the World Cup without being a sponsor i.e without paying any sponsorship fees to FIFA.

Let me add one thing. I do remember back in 1994 after the World Cup in the US, a statement from Phil Knight (Co-Founder and CEO of Nike) about football. His goal was to make Nike THE global football brand.  I was a student at that time and was quite doubtful about this objective. To me, Nike was a Basketball brand with Michael Jordan as an icon, period.  I bet I was not the only one. However, one year later, Nike partnered with CBF (The Brazil National Team) then with, players, european clubs etc.

The results and facts speak for themselves, but what is interesting to point out is that this achievement has been done without being a FIFA sponsor or partner. Other brands such as Carlsberg and Pepsi are adopting a similar strategy although the results are not yet to be compared with Nike’s.

Don’t get me wrong, by no means do I say that it is not worth it to be a FIFA sponsor. I think  the contrary. It is key for a brand to associate with FIFA hence World Cup and benefit from all sponsorship components. Nevertheless, I must be pointed out that some brands, and in the present case, Nike managed to create a strong link between their brand and an event they do not sponsor. I would echo Pete Blackshaw (Executive vice president of digital strategy at The Nielsen Company) “If you’re a company with a large global footprint, it’s natural to want to associate yourself with a major worldwide event like the World Cup”

I am a big believer in strong competition. It makes other brands work harder, be more creative, think out of the box, and keep the stimulation flow on. For sure, the other football brands will strike back, and it’s….”for the good of the game” right?

I would be delighted to hear your thoughts.

Karl

*Nielsen’s study, conducted between May 7^th to June 6^th 2010, looked at English language World Cup-related messages on blogs, message boards, groups, video and image sites – including Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter – that mentioned at least one of the 10 official FIFA partners and sponsors with a global footprint or two of their top competitors (30 brands in all).

Danny Jordaan is the most important man in football at the moment. He fought to bring the World Cup to Africa and is now in charge of the success of the most important sporting event worldwide.

Jordaan 58 years old, is a former teacher and a member of  the Steve Biko’s anti-apartheid South African Students’ Organisation in the 60′s. In 1997 he became head of SAFA (South Africa Football Association) in order to be fully dedicated on the 2006 and 2010 World Cup bids.

The upcoming World Cup in South Africa is the result of  more than 13 years of hard work. Indeed, he fought to bring the World Cup to South Africa by bidding for the 2006 World Cup which was narrowly lost to Germany. Danny did not let go and kept on working to finally win the 2010 bid and host the World Cup in his homeland. With the World Cup 52 days away, Jordaan is now the most important man in the whole world of sports and he has to deliver an event some are keen on “bazooka-ing” for various reasons.

At the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, a fan asked Jordaan: “What will you give us in our hearts to show our children and grandchildren?” His reply: “We want to achieve something that has never happened in our country and continent for a hundred years. How will it touch your lives? Job creation and economic growth.” (source: The Guardian).

Jordaan is dealing with a great and powerfully important task. Deliver a successful World Cup on the African soil for the first time in its history but most importantly bring and sustainable economic growth to the country. Not an easy duty if you ask me. But Danny is showing in press conferences confidence in an upcoming successful World Cup. I read the other day that if he was given 1 pound every time he was asked about security in South Africa, he would be the richest man in the country. He gave the following answer to James Emmett (SportsProMedia.com): “The question of security is always important for any major event, not just because about crime but also whether there is any threat globally whether it is terrorism or any other threat; these matters must be considered carefully by any event organisers”.

Very good answer. Yes security is a concern, but must not be THE main issue. To my knowledge, South Africa already has an experience in organising sports events. In cricket for example, South Africa hosted The World Cup in 2003,  the Twenty20 World Championships in 2007. In addition, the Tri Nations rugby tournament took place in South Africa in 2009 and was a great success.

I am therefore surprised at the general scepticism at the capacity of South Africa to organise the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Yes much more football fans will come to the World Cup, but again the knowledge and knowhow is there. As a comparison, I was a volunteer during the 1998 World Cup in France, and 2 months before World Cup kicked off, Stade de France was not 100% completed, there were logistic issues, and strike threats (it can happen in France) and security was also a concern……..the medias were not raising the red flag as they do now for the World Cup in South Africa. I interviewed Gavin Cowley (adidas South Africa Marketing Director), and he is very confident and optimistic for a succesful football event: “I believe that we continue to surprise many of the doomsayers.  Our stadia are all completed; the cities are ready, revamped airports are world class.  There is no question that we will be ready to welcome the world!”

Danny Jordaan is handling a difficult task and he is doing a great job, not only at working on delivering a top class football event, but also at convincing the world that South Africa is ready to welcome local and foreign fans. With the strong involvement of FIFA, sponsors and football partners, the organising committee is set for success.

Finally, I had the pleasure to meet Danny Jordaan in 2003 in Johannesburg. He is a charismatic individual with a powerful intelligence. His humility and vision make him a unique and likeable character. He is very much aware of the heavy responsibilities he is carrying on his shoulders but  the organising committee and himself have  the strong willingness to show the world that a FIFA World Cup can be a frank success on the African Continent.

Under Armour is a Global sportswear company that has built a leading brand name in the hi-tech athletic gear. Under Armour traditional focus has been on compression (tight fitting) performance attire, but with a strategic marketing approach has also begun to offer a wide variety of products in other sports such as Football.

In a highly competitive sport, Under Armour launched in 2006 its first American football boots and gained 20% of the market that year. The company is constantly growing. For the fiscal year 2009, net revenue grew 18.1% from 2008 to $856.4 million.

I am interviewing Blair Tripodi. He is the Under Armour International Marketing Director. Blair has an extensive marketing experience and worked for the US Olympic Committee for 6 years as Director NGB Marketing, Director of Consumer Products and Brand Marketing Director. He is at Under Armour since 2006 and I am getting his views on Under Armour expansion in football and ultimately how Under Armour can challenge the largest established football brands.

1/ Blair, Under Armour is growing significantly and is nicknamed “the next Nike”. Is it an accurate nickname?

It is flattering to be referred to as being the next great sports performance company however I like to think we are doing things the Under Armour way and even though we make product in similar categories, our stance and position in the market is also very different than our competition.

2/ Matt Powel (Sportsonesource analyst) said: “Under Armour captured the minds of the high school kids playing American Football. It’s kids selling to other kids it’s a social networking almost…” Is it a similar strategy Under Armour has towards football? Will the new Cristiano Ronaldo wear Under Armour products?

I would love it for the next Ronaldo to pick up a pair of UA boots or clothing and give it a go because we make great product.  Matt’s comments are correct that in any sport Under Armour is popular or present in; we have a very organic presence.  We don’t pay many athletes to wear the brand, most of the times you see the product on someone is because they or their team bought it from us.  That is truly where I think we are a cut above because people choose to wear Under Armour even if they have to buy it

3/ What are the main differences between Under Armour and adidas, Nike, Puma?

There are lots of differences and lots of similarities but the one thing which truly sets us apart is the fact that everything we make is designed too make the athlete better.  Even our hoody’s and sweats are made from performance, moisture wicking fabrics. We’ve also developed products like the coreshort, recharge and Armour Bite – not as huge revenue drivers but as a tool to clearly position ourselves as the athletes one stop brand for all performance needs

4/ What are the main difficulties to penetrate football in Europe?

I think the difficulties are pretty clear.  A lot of brands want to win at football and quite frankly a lot of good brands with a lot of history behind them.  We fully respect the pecking order as it sits today and are taking our approach one athlete at a time.  We believe there is room and then some for Under Armour and that the consumer wants another – different – brand to compete with the current players.  And it has been seen by the players who have chosen to wear Under Armour already (Marcel SchaefferPaul Robinson, Bobby Zamora and others) that the product is fit enough for some of the worlds best players.

5/ Under Armour is the official outfitter of the Welsh Rugby Union. Is Rugby a platform to penetrate football in Europe?

Rugby feels good to our company as a sport to be in our sights to win at.  The sport itself is what inspired American Football in the US and so the fit from a cultural perspective is terrific.  Our program with the WRU also makes a lot of sense because we like to partner with passionate people and organizations and you could argue that no other country in the northern hemisphere is as passionate to Rugby as the Welsh are.

6/ Kevin Plank (Chairman and CEO of Under Armour) started the company with the success we know now. What can you tell us about him?

Kevin is a remarkable individual.  He is driven and motivated like all great CEO’s but I also know he believes we have yet too make our signature product as a company.  He is pushing everyday for our company to innovate in everything we do from how we build product, to how it gets delivered to the story we tell and that is exciting to work for a company that doesn’t sit still and expects change.  Very refreshing and personally gratifying.

7/ Who could we expect to see wearing Under Armour football shoes during the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

Well for sure you will see Marcel Schaefer on the German team.  We have some exciting special boots in the works for him which would turn some heads for sure.  Additionally of course we are holding out hope that Paul Robinson or Bobby Zamora will have some luck and be selected for the England squad.   We also have hope that Bochum’s Joel Epalle from Cameroon will receive selection.  These players are all contracted UA athletes however I am sure you will see several other players wearing boots quite frankly because they are very comfortable and perform well.

8/ In South Africa this summer, 12 Federations are sponsored by adidas, 9 will wear Nike products, and 7 National Teams will endorse Puma outfits. How long do you think it will take to Under Armour to have national teams at a major football event?

A national team program is something we have thought long and hard about.  As I previously mentioned though, it isn’t just about getting on field with a team, it is getting on field with a team that fits the brand.  So I think as a result our company will show a good deal of patience in picking the program that fits well with us.

9/ More and more football brands and clubs are using social medias to reach out to their fanbase. What is Under Armour approach?

Social media is playing a much larger role in some of our key markets.  From a UK perspective we have started using tools like Facebook and blogger networks such as soccerbible and footy boots as tools to tell our messages to the consumer.  We also launched our football boots on-line through our website – www.underarmour.com/UA11.  This was a groundbreaking program that I think acknowledged the movement of the consumer to the internet as a one stop shop for all their brand information

According to a Sport+Markt survey, Sportswear brands adidas, Nike and Puma are the most recognisable football sponsors in the top five European markets.[1]

Nike, adidas and Puma will all play a key marketing role on the pitch during the FIFA World Cup 2010.  Indeed, with 12 teams qualified for the event, adidas is leading the way, followed by Nike with 9 teams and Puma with 7 Federations attending.

Since the World Cup 1998 in France, a strong business marketing model has been in place.  Enjoying the exclusive rights of the usage of the FIFA World Cup marks, FIFA partners enjoy significant exposure of the World’s biggest event.  This business model strengthened during the World Cup in Korea & Japan and became a benchmark in 2006 during the fantastic German World Cup.  But if we take a closer look at what is happening on the field of play, the 3 leading football brands will enjoy unprecedented exposure this year.

Let’s start with the 3-stripes.  Indeed, adidas has already secured its ticket for the World Cup final. How?  By having the official match ball for each World Cup game (ongoing since 1970).  Indeed, the Jabulani will be present throughout the whole competition.  Next, with 12 teams participating and key players performing, adidas will send a strong football message…..as usual.  In addition to that, we football marketers will expect a powerful “Impossible is Nothing” campaign with some inspirational onsite marketing activities. I am sure there will be more, much more, but I am writing an article, not a novel.

The answer from Nike will for sure be there but is it going to be an answer?  Who knows, may be Nike will shoot first?  Anyway, the message will be big, powerful, inspirational and we can expect a kick ass marketing campaign from the Swoosh. Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, Fabregas and Pato will be screened and will wear the latest Mercurial or T90 boots. With 9 teams qualified, Nike will also benefit from a strong on pitch exposure. We can expect Nike to send (another) bold football marketing message to the football world. Again here, there will be more from the American brand, but the way the message will be delivered will be worth watching.

Puma have played it differently. At the African Cup of Nations, Puma was everywhere.  On the field of play, Jochen Zeitz’s brand had two teams in the final, launched an inspirational marketing campaign (Love=football), established a solid partnership with Kehinde Wiley[2] and created a bridge between the African Cup of Nations and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.  This was smart wasn’t it?  With 7 teams in South Africa, Puma does not want to be left behind, and make its football presence felt.  Puma will count on its African icon Samuel Eto’o to communicate to a broader African and Global audience.

With the increase of social media in football it will be interesting to pay attention to this strong new marketing medium.  Puma, adidas and Nike are all using social media but HOW will they use this platform to interact with fans during the World Cup? How will they engage with the fans and be as close to them as possible? We can expect to see massive activity on Facebook, MySpace etc during the World Cup.

Also the first ever World Cup in Africa triggers a heavy social responsibility outreach, not only from the “Big 3” but from all sponsors and partners involved in the event. I bet there will be an close scrutiny on this point.

Gavin Cowley, Marketing Director of adidas South Africa said[3]:

” adidas has a strong social responsibility programme.  Often major events are geared to the big cities.  However the adidas UMU programme visits townships throughout the country, adidas supports the FIFA Football for Hope movement in the townships, a partnership with SCORE (Sports Coaches Outreach) ensures that football is used as a tool to send out strong social messages to young people and there are many other initiatives that contribute to assisting those underprivileged people.”

I would like to think that all other partners or sponsors will have a similar approach. Show the world that CSR is a long term commitment, not a “thrown in” concept with no true involvement.  In a nutshell, I am looking forward to seeing the inspiration and generosity of the marketing giants during the World Cup.  Traditional marketing will happen, but what of new marketing techniques such as social media?

Thinking out of the box, being smart, flexible, bold and true are often the values football brands claim. In South Africa, they will have the pressure to put them all to use more than ever….

adidas: 12 teams

(South Africa, Mexico, France, Denmark, Japan, Argentina, Nigeria, Greece, Paraguay, Slovakia, Germany, Spain)

Nike: 9 teams

(Netherlands, Korea Republic, New Zealand, USA, Slovenia, Brazil, Portugal, Australia, Serbia)

Puma: 7 teams

(Uruguay, Cameroon, Italy, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Switerland)

Umbro: 1 team

(England)

Joma: 1 team

(Honduras)

Erke[4]: 1 team

(Korea DPR)

[2] http://africa.puma.com/#/artist/

[3] http://www.theuksportsnetwork.com/?p=200

[4] North Korea football shirts made by China, Hongxing Erke Group was founded in June 2000, manufacture and marketing of sports goods under its “ERKE” brands.

Gavin Cowley is the adidas Marketing Director and Local Head 2010 FIFA World Cup. 

I had the pleasure to work with him on several football projects.  Gavin has a true passion for football and genuine dedication to make football a unique social developing and unifying component for South Africa.  He is a key player within the adidas organisation, his knowledge of the country, his integrity make him a respected and trusted character. 

I interviewed him to get his view on the first World Cup in South Africa; on the marketing activations, competition, but also on how the World Cup will contribute to the social and economic development of the country.

Enjoy!

Karl Lusbec

Continue Reading