 |
Ambushing Adidas: Nike’s ‘Risk Everything’ Campaign
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. |
|
Issues
The case is structured to achieve the following teaching 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
