Nike vs. Adidas.
The classic battle of tactical based Olympic comms vs. the big traditional sponsorship.
Even with very strict IOC guidelines, it appears as though Nike are once again winning this duel with a massive 7.7% of Olympic mentions being linked to them and a mere 0.49% for Adidas. (latest Jam Research).
Why?
1. Athletes.
Nike know that everyone aspires to be an athlete. They don’t focus on music, arts, fashion but always on the one thing that people can relate to…the athletes themselves.
2. Social.
They have set a new benchmark for social integration with their #makeitcount campaign. It truly connects above the line, social, digital and experiential with top athletes making pledges.
It also shows how social works best when it is simple. This idea is just as powerful for a runner, footballer or tennis player.
Everyone wants to improve whatever their sport.
3. Content.
Nike spend only 15% of their marketing budget on above the line advertising with the rest going into content and non traditional advertising.
They have consistently produced some of the best pieces of content on the web from the classic Ronaldinho football viral to the latest Rafa / Ronaldo tennis vs. football mash up.
They pull people towards the brand not push messages at them.
4. Digital.
Nike Digital Sport is a new division launched in 2010 and has had phenonmenal success not only with Nike + but most recently FuelBand.
These digital utilities not only bring the brand closer into peoples lives but also give it tremendous scale with a potential social media audience of 200 million.
For me this is the area that is making the biggest difference.
A willingness to think big in the digital space and get people involved in the marketing activity.
All in all the ambush seems to be working for now but it’s never over till the final whistle blows and Adidas have got some pretty cool things in the pipelines (including evolving miCoach and some great new ads) so we’ll see what the rest of the summer brings.