Abstract

This case is about the ‘Risk Everything’ campaign started by Nike. Inc. (Nike) for the FIFA World Cup 2014. Similar to its earlier campaigns for the FIFA World Cup events, ‘Risk Everything’ was an ambush marketing campaign that focused on improving Nike’s brand image without the company being the tournament’s official sponsor. The campaign consisted of three main videos and heavily relied on social media channels to reach its target customer base. Featuring some of the top soccer players in the world, the campaign’s videos were lengthy and were first released on YouTube. They were later telecast across the world. The campaign was subsequently rolled out on the official social media profiles of Nike and the players featured in the videos. Nike also offered some incentives to the customers like an opportunity to win a featured spot on the campaign’s official website. The ‘Risk Everything’ campaign was a big success and got the highest viewership for any brand during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Nike’s campaign got more visibility than the ‘All in or Nothing’ campaign by Adidas, the tournament’s official sponsor. The campaign also had a positive impact on the company’s sales and brand value. Long videos of the campaign turned advertising into storytelling and made the target audience even forget that they were watching ads. However, some analysts criticized the excessive focus given to social media in the campaign and opined that it could result in Nike failing to effectively reach its entire target customer base.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Discuss and debate the reasons behind the success of Nike’s ‘Risk Everything’ campaign.
• Examine the pros and cons of ambush marketing compared to the conventional sponsorship based promotional campaigns.
• Analyze the growing success of Nike’s ambush marketing strategies over the years.
• Understand the growing importance of social media in effectively reaching target customers.
• Explore what companies like Adidas can do to overcome the challenges posed by companies like Nike that indulge in ambush marketing.

Keywords

Ambush marketing, Brand sponsorship, Brand communications, Story telling, Brand association, Brand identity, Brand value, pyramid of influence, Digital marketing campaign, Viral Marketing, Word of mouth strategy, Social media channels, Product placement, FIFA World Cup, Branding, Nike, Adidas