From global campaigns to homegrown TV commercials, the Olympics have given marketers plenty of campaign ideas to get them through the summer.
Nike was also an early adopter with their ‘Winning isn’t for everyone’ campaign, which was needed to boost this year’s sales. Whether the company went for the right marketing strategy is questionable, as the company was already receiving criticism for its daring campaign before the Games had even started.
Sponsors Received the Main Price
After the orange madness of the European Championships, we were also able to enjoy the great victories at the Olympic Games this summer. Those who certainly enjoyed this were the sponsors who saw the top athletes of Team NL win time and time again. These victories not only offered the athletes a podium at the Games, they also offered the sponsors a podium in the media.
There is a reason why we only see the Dutch Olympians in advertisements of Team NL sponsors. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has drawn up a rule to protect sponsors of the Olympic teams. Rule 40 is a guideline of the IOC, which limits the commercial activities of the participants. As a result, it is not possible for the athletes to advertise for their personal sponsors during the Games. The aim of the IOC is to guarantee the exclusive rights of the team sponsors. Only the team sponsors who have invested in the performances during the Games may also profit from the popularity that their athletes have achieved.
For example, Team NL has a partnership with Gillette and we see gold medal winner Femke Bol in their new Gillette Venus commercial. Like Gillette, Odido also managed to secure a spot as the main sponsor of Team NL. Odido has campaigns running with top athlete Sifan Hassan, who explains why the connection with her coach and family, is so important to her and her performance. Two heartwarming examples of uplifting commercials that promote brand recognition. The sponsors are of course very enthusiastic that their athletes have done so well. They are also just as happy with the profits that they can win back from this investment.
Nike’s Winners’ Mentality
Nike needed the publicity of these Games to reverse the drastically declining sales figures of the past year. What Nike had not counted on, however, was the negative feedback on their ‘Winning isn’t for everyone’ campaign. With slogans like ‘My dream is to end theirs’ and ‘If you don’t want to win you’ve already lost’, it seems as if Team USA did not come to make friends. According to the fans, the Olympic Games should be about unity. In addition, the slogans would not radiate sportsmanship to the public, a statement that Nike does not support. Nike even believes that a winning mentality should not be denigrated, otherwise there would be no top athletes. Without a winning mentality, according to Nike, there is no striving for constant improvement, because if no one wants to be better than others, there would be no more competitions or record holders.
‘Am I a bad person?’, what Nike means to say with this: am I a bad person because I want to win? In addition to all the media attention, Nike also received bad feedback on the campaign. Some viewers feel that the video gives bad values to young talent. Where most brands have chosen to portray a sense of sportsmanship and belonging, Nike decided to go for a controversial approach. They chose an ‘antagonist narrative’ to attract more attention than other sports ads and they certainly did. A winning mentality is often seen as a negative trait. However, the campaign is intended to stimulate a winning mentality. This would give consumers the need to exercise and buy Nike products. In addition, this campaign also offers a lifestyle that the company wants to sell, if you want to be the best, you need Nike.
Investing in Campaigns
In addition to Nike’s texts, activists were not happy about the eye-catching billboard that Nike had placed in Paris during the Olympic Games. The aversion to the billboard arose because two Nike clothing factories in Thailand and Cambodia had to close. This left many garment workers without income. According to the activists, the money could have been better used for the garment workers, who still expect compensation from Nike. Fortunately for Nike, a billboard is often not intended for direct sales and this does not harm them. Billboards are intended for publicity, which ensures more brand involvement, consistent exposure, and brand recognition. Brand recognition is what Nike needs to attract consumers to their website for future purchases.
Nike certainly attracted attention with these advertisements, but what did it bring them? There are not many figures yet about the campaign results. What we do know is that more people visited the Nike website during the opening week of the Games. Interestingly, competitor Adidas experienced sales declines that week. However, the opening week of the Games did start on July 26, a week after the campaign went online. This could also mean that the website visits were due to the participants wearing Nike during the opening week and not due to the expensive campaign.
Simone Biles’ Win
On the day that Simone Biles won her seventh gold medal in her career, Nike experienced a peak in visitors to their website, of 2 million views. That day, Nike was proud to state that 86,900 of these website visits led to a purchase. This is more than 24 times as many sales as Adidas’ sales on the same day. However, these sales were due to Simone Biles’ performance. Should Nike have set up a campaign around Biles after all? Or was this a confirmation of their campaign? By winning yet another gold medal in a Nike outfit, Biles is further building brand recognition for the company. This shows us that it is mainly about consistency. By exposing the consumer to the brand as often as possible, multiple purchase moments were created. The message that all the publicity has conveyed together is therefore: ‘All winners wear Nike’.
Conclusion
For Nike, it can be concluded that winners are part of the formula for their success. America’s Sweetheart Simone’s gold medal has generated more revenue for Nike than the many advertisements and the billboard. Nike could therefore have opted for a sympathetic campaign with a friendly Simone Biles in the foreground. As we have seen in the Netherlands with Femke Bol and Sifan Hassan. In addition, it is also about brand awareness; a worldwide Nike advertisement will always attract more people than an advertisement that is only known nationally. In addition, a controversial theme like this one fits the image of Nike and its athletes.
However, this campaign does offer a good point of reflection for marketers. How much should be invested in a campaign to make it effective? As we have seen with the expenditure on the Nike billboard, not everyone can be satisfied. In addition to advertising slogans, investments can of course also be made in visibility and public relations. Or does a different marketing strategy than the existing one, fit better with the growth of a company? This is an important consideration for the effectiveness of a marketing investment. It is mainly about media attention, which means that people will see the brand more and more often. The marketing investments will lead to brand recognition, which is due to the associations that a campaign tries to stimulate in the consumer. What a company needs to be recognized for is ultimately the basis for an upcoming marketing strategy.
Do you want to know more about how these strategies can also help your company grow? Then contact Ruben via our website! Together we can take the next step for your business
