Which collaboration campaigns consistently hook you?
To me, one of the clearest examples is the collaboration between tennis players and brands. These partnerships always grab my attention.
That's why my reaction to this Roger Federer x On collaboration is 'I need it.'. The same thing happened to me with Roger Federer's collaboration with UNIQLO and the Maria Sharapova x Nike Cortez sneakers collection.
What about you?
#marketing#campaign#collaboration
This is the Roger Clubhouse Pro. The first time I held this shoe in my hand, I was very excited because you can play any racket sport with it, tennis, paddle or even, dare I say it, pickleball. It uses the same foam as one's running shoes and includes the hidden cloud pen so it's responsive enough for the chords and country enough to wear all day. To make sure you've got the stability you need, there is a speed forward in the heel and in the mid foot. A reinforced upper protects against wear and tear at the herring bone, so can do it all. I think you're going to like it. I do.
I love Roger, but it's the easiest - read booooring - way, no? You just can't go without an athlete if you're a sports or 'active lifestyle' brand. The only challenge would be to choose the one likable enough from the A-list. Maybe I'm just grumpy today, sorry! =)
Collaborations between athletes and brands truly elevate both the product and the athlete's personal brand. It's fascinating how these partnerships captivate audiences and create a unique appeal.
Federer became the face of the brand for the stake in the company, and from that point on this brand has grown significantly. So it's not a one off campaign, it's company's long-term strategic investment
Amazon is making a Roger Federer Documentary, about his last 12 days as a pro! While Federer had an illustrious playing career, winning 103 titles throughout his 24-year career, including 20 Grand Slam titles; his off-field journey with On makes for a story too!
💡In 2008, Federer renewed his Nike deal for 10 years, reportedly at more than $10 million per year, which was believed to be a record.
💡Fast forward to 2018, Nike had a loaded roster of professional tennis players and had a decision to make on Federer, and while it was a tough one, they let go of him.
💡This brought a new dawn as Federer shocked the sports world by announcing a massive 10-year, $300 million deal with UNIQLO.
💡The crazy part of the deal was that it was without a retirement clause. The agreement guaranteed Roger Federer $30mn annually even if he never picked up a tennis racquet again.
💡Federer racked up $90mn in 2021 and the funny part- Only $300k of the $90M came via tennis events. Federer ranked 2nd in the 2021 Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes Off-The-Field.
💡Since the Uniqlo deal covered only apparel, Federer, after a year or two of wearing Nike shoes without a deal in place, discovered footwear brand On Running while training.
💡Federer eventually ditched Nike again, signing a deal to become an investor, designer, and global ambassador for the Swiss footwear brand.
💡Riding a strong tailwind that increased demand as more people turned to running during the pandemic, On filed for a U.S. stock market listing in a deal that valued the business at about $5 billion.
💡At the time when Federer invested in the business, it was valued at about $2 billion and with a major opening, Federer seems to have got a 5x return already in a couple of years.
Input from Huddle Up#sports#sportsbuisness#sportsbiz#sportssponsorship#sportsmarketing#marketing#nike#uniqlo#on#rogerfederer#training#apparel#athlete#brandambassador#sponsorship
Growth Partner | I help entrepreneurs and sports brands grow through LinkedIn and content marketing | Sports edutainment content creator | I talk about the life trifecta (happiness, health, money) with a sports twist.
🎾 Traditional sponsorship is over! ↓
Let's illustrate this with the case of Roger Federer:
→ Roger chose to decline a $10 million per year sponsorship from Nike in 2018.
→ Instead, he acquired a 3% stake as an ambassador and investor in the shoe brand On in 2019.
→ When On went public in 2021, Federer's stake translated into nothing less than $300 million.
→ Let's see it this way: 30 years with Nike at $10 million per year adds up to $300 million.
→ Two years as an ambassador and investor at 3% totaled $300 million. In other words, 15 times faster.
Long-term relationships through participation agreements & partnerships instead of traditional sponsorships with immediate economic compensation are a lesson that all athletes and brands should consider.
Participation is the path that can generate more advantageous agreements for both the brand and the athlete or sports property.
👉 Discover more ideas on marketing, advertising, investments, and sports technology by following Meca Sports! Ignite Your Spirit! ✨
#marketing#digitalmarketing#advertising#sports#successfulbusiness#sportbusiness#sponsorship#innovation#tennis#partnerships
Don King. Federer. Nadal. Nike.
As I thought more about the below post regarding the great job Bose Corporation & New Balance did with Coco Gauff this year, I couldn’t help but recall a fun takeover we did in NYC years back to hype the biggest rivalry in tennis at the time during the US Open.
As marketers, it’s a reminder that it’s ok to be unconventional during certain moments on the cultural calendar.
Sometimes it’s not about what you do on the court to garner attention, but what you do off the court.
We had street teams and media running throughout NYC, outside the grounds, on the subway with Don King himself hyping the rivalry up to fans, even a mock press conference with the athletes themselves and Don King in a true boxing style promotion format!
Sometimes a takeover (especially when you’re a non-official sponsor) can be just as effective…
(See link to video in comments as well)
#nike#tennis#marketing#branding#culture#sports#sportsmarketing#usopen#strategy#media#activation#experience#brandexperience
This new Anthony Edwards & adidas commercial is amazing for a few reasons.
1. Timely
Releasing the commercial 1 day after Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves were eliminated from the playoffs is incredibly well timed. The topic of the commercial being about "hate" after he and his team were beaten 4-1 in a best of 7 series is a great way to involve your commercial in the conversation.
The use of actual receipts is a clever way to show Adidas and Edwards as relevant and culturally aware, using terms and messaging that speak to their audience.
2. Authentic
The reason Ant is beloved is because how authentic he is. The script of this commercial feels incredibly real and true to how I would expect Anthony Edwards to talk with his friend while shooting around. Doubling down on it but using profanity in the commercial which again feels very authentic and brings the audience closer to Edwards the person.
3. Visuals
Very simple yet engaging visuals. The color and backdrop are easy to digest so all we are left to do is focus on the copy and messaging. The quick cuts keep the audience engaged and and displays Edward's full package of cool swag and athletic ability.
This feels like a commercial Michael Jordan would have done if he were still playing basketball today. Which is not on accident, the comparisons between Edwards and Jordan's game have been happening all season and this commercial leans into the comparison enough that it feels like a Jordan commercial all while still making it unique to Anthony Edwards.
Well done Adidas and Ant! Keep the content coming. Excited to see the campaign continue.
#branding#SportsMarketing
We illustrated Erling Haaland's record breaking 36 goal season onto the 22/23 Nike Premier League ball.
Here's why, and how...
Why?
We love working with our clients, but to keep our creativity bubbling, it's vital that we continue to work on personal projects. Having the ability to invent your own brief and work without boundaries really lets the creative juices flow, and some of our best projects and biggest client wins have come off the back of a self initiated project that's gained attention online.
With this project specifically, it's been nice to close down Photoshop, turn off the computer and do something 'screen-free' for a change.
We also think that as the world continues to get more digital, physical objects are becoming increasingly important and as much as we love seeing our designs online, it's often fleeting. So having something tangible at the end of it is superb.
How.
After the success of our Euro 2024 and Olympic games illustrated balls, we wanted to try something different.
After researching Premier League Golden Boot winners, we noted that Erling Haaland is currently the top scorer of all time in the Premier League with 36. So we bought a Nike Aerow Flight replica ball and decided to draw every goal he scored, directly onto the ball.
We planned out the process by measuring the ball, splitting it into 36 sections and then drawing an illustration to represent each type of goal scored (tap ins, headers, penalities, volleys, chips etc). We connected the illustrations with a dotted line that allows the viewer to follow the goals in order and then we filled any empty space with stats and quotes from the season.
Each illustration is hand drawn onto the ball with Posca pens, using only a sky blue and black pen to give it a City feel. Once we were done, we varished the ball with a spray varnish to protect the ink. Then took it to our local park to test drive it (and grab some content in the process)
Next up, we've purchased an old school Mitre Pro-Max to chart Alan Shearers 34 goal season in 1994!
And if you can't be bothered reading the above, check our the video version we made for tiktok below...
Quite a moment, this. The German team defines the Adidas football brand and its story like no other. But it has been coming. A very senior Nike exec told me over 20 years ago that, having acquired Brazil - the ‘Big Bang’ in Nike’s football strategy - the German national team was now Nike’s number one football target, because of the blow it would deal to Adidas, and that they would not rest until they acquired it. It must have been quite a number, and quite a pitch. Significant that Nike’s CEO led it - his comments at the next earnings call will be worth watching.
You can expect two consequences, in particular.
1. Adidas will move heaven and earth to retain and acquire as many individual deals with German national team players as it can. There’s more than one way to get the three stripes onto the pitch.
2. It’s conga time at FIFA. Adidas’s deal with FIFA - which stretches back to 1970, and forward to 2030 - is even more important to the Adidas football brand, and with the loss of Germany just became a helluva lot more important to Herzogenaurach.
Lose Germany? Painful, very painful, but manageable.
Lose FIFA? Checkmate.
#Nike#Adidas#sportsmarketing#sponsorship#football#footballbusiness#sportsbiz
Drapers explores how brands are cashing in on the Euros, Wimbledon, Olympics and Paralympics.
"The Olympics inspires such a huge amount of people to get more involved with sports, and, of course, this will translate over into sportswear sales for retailers."
Read more below.
#retailnews#fashionnews#sportswear#retailsales#Euros#Olympics#Paralympics#Wimbledon
Head of Brand Management at Semrush | All things brand | 12+ years in brand activations | Digital, PR, Global Brand
7moI love Roger, but it's the easiest - read booooring - way, no? You just can't go without an athlete if you're a sports or 'active lifestyle' brand. The only challenge would be to choose the one likable enough from the A-list. Maybe I'm just grumpy today, sorry! =)