The World Cup has always been surrounded with ad campaigns from various brands trying to get a piece of the action, and this year is no exception. Some of the world’s top brands that have partnered with FIFA include Coca Cola, McDonald’s, VISA and SONY, to name just a few. In an event of such magnitude, athletic companies compete for center stage. Adidas is FIFA’s official partner but other companies have done their part to make themselves visible to the worldwide audience the World Cup draws. PUMA is one of these athletic brands that created an elaborate campaign to attract global audiences.
PUMA enlisted the collaboration of much sought-after artist Kehinde Wiley to create four original pieces of artwork featuring three of the best football players in Africa –Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, John Mensah of Ghana, and Emmanuel Eboué of the Ivory Coast. The theme of this campaign was “African togetherness.” The company also created a unity uniform for African national teams.
PUMA has differentiated itself from the other athletic brands by relying on their long-established relationship with African football. Unlike the other brands, PUMA has had a presence in Africa for over a decade, sponsoring football teams in many African nations. Because the 2010 World Cup was held in Africa, creating this campaign was a clear fit for PUMA.
Additionally, the company introduced The PUMA Africa Collection, an apparel line inspired by the Kehinde Wiley portraits. And as part of their social responsibility efforts, PUMA is donating a portion of the Africa Unity Kit sales to programs in Africa that support diversity.
With such efforts and immense amounts of cash that go into campaigns aimed at huge sporting events drawing even bigger audiences, as we are seeing in the World Cup, I can’t help but wonder how effective this particular sponsorship is in terms of revenue. It is clear that supporting a social cause, like the one PUMA is doing with diversity programs in Africa, is viewed positively by the consumer; but does this actually translate into dollars for the company? Will consumers buy the Kehinde Wiley-inspired items because of the “African togetherness” theme this campaign communicates or simply because the styles are appealing to the consumer? Or is it really just FIFA fever that is driving consumers out to their favorite sporting goods stores to buy World Cup apparel?
I encourage everyone to chime in. From a marketing perspective, do you think these types of sponsorships really bring in big money for a brand or are other factors playing a role? Have you purchased World Cup apparel? Why? Do you support one brand over the other? Are social responsibility efforts important in your purchasing decisions? Or did you just like the style, regardless of the brand or the company’s support for socially responsible causes?
If you’d like to see the portraits, merchandise, and making-of videos of PUMA’s campaign visit: http://africa.puma.com.
Lorena – This is a true confession of a born-in-America Baby Boomer: the World Cup is barely on my radar screen. My brother-in-law is from Spain, and every four years he rattles the chains of his provincial in-laws to get with the World Cup program! But we barely do. I keep an eye on the headlines to see how Spain is doing – but that’s about it. So…I have not purchased World Cup apparel.
I do pay some attention, however, to the socially responsible actions of sports apparel brands. For example, I avoid Nike products because a number of years ago they were exposed for engaging in exploitive sweatshop practices in oversees manufacturing facilities. Their continued endorsement of Tiger Woods as a Nike spokesperson has alienated me even further.
Patagonia, on the other hand, is an excellent example of being an environmentally and socially responsible business, so I try to buy their sports gear when I can.
I like what PUMA is doing in Africa. Will it give them a good return on investment? Probably not with American-born Baby Boomers like me. But perhaps yes given the rich diversity of World Cup enthusiasts around the globe.
Janet, thanks for your message… your point of view is quite interesting! I wasn’t aware of Nike’s involvement in sweatshops and I’m glad you brought that up. I don’t necessarily lend all of my support to a particular brand because of their social responsibility efforts but it does help. However, I am appalled by companies that are involved in immoral manufacturing practices and I try to boycott these -such as Guess, whom I’ve been boycotting since the 90′s for having children in sweatshops in Central America.