NIKE vs ADIDAS

 SWOOSH OR STRIPES?

Both Nike and adidas have two newish ads that are pretty cool and interestingly enough are emphasizing a common theme 

Nike's new ad is titled "NIKE THROWDOWN" wherein Nike consumers attempt to one-up each other, challenging consumers to join them and show they're in the club.

adidas' ad is titled "ADIDAS IS ALL IN" wherein adidas shows the myriad of top schools, athletes, and artists they endorse in a series of quick cuts where they show flashes of their performance that crescendos into roaring crowds and ends with adidas listing all their endorsee's who are all in. Like Nike's ad, adidas is challenging consumers to join the list of impressive individuals who are ALREADY ALL IN. They are urging consumers to join the club. 

It's not surprising that these giant corporations would run ads that challenge the consumer to purchase their product. What I think IS interesting is that the first new ads of the year focus on identification. 

Within the first 3 months of the year adidas is running an ad that essentially says, "the cream of the crop is already all in...ARE YOU? This pushes the consumer to purchase their product so that they won't get left behind since these superheroes have already joined the club.

Nike is also conveying a don't get left behind message by showing that their consumers are currently involved in a widespread movement of one-upping each other, which urges viewers to quickly go out and join the club so they won't miss out on a movement that is already happening. 

I think it is brilliant that Nike and adidas chose this campaign strategy as their first ones of the year because as we set new year's resolutions and start getting comfy with 2011, Nike and adidas are quick to tell us that if we don't act now, we will miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the movement!

DOES URGENCY WORK?

WHICH AD MAKES YOU WANT TO JOIN THEIR CLUB MORE?

~Z

Favorite Sports Ads

We all have sports ads that appeal to us, whether that be banners, commercials, or viral videos. For me personally, my favorite sports ads employ either humor or swagger. These are a few of my favorites...

Nike's Ad with LeBron James that claims,"YOU WANT TO BE BETTER THAN ME," is one of my favorites because it sticks with you. LeBron is looking completely yoked in this pic, and he's about to throw down. This awesome pic coupled with the fact that he's one of the best in the league makes Nike's pitch that much more powerful.

By far one of my favorite ad campaigns of ALL-TIME is adidas' "IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING." I connect with it personally because my favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

The "Fast Don't Lie" viral music video is one of my favorites because it's absolutely ridiculous with a dash of swagger (get it? dash like as in cooking, but also cause it's a video about speed...ya...skills). From 1:31 on it's pure joy.

The K-Swiss Tubes ads with Kenny Power are genius. Kenny Powers oozes cockiness, and his trashing of actual world class athletes is hilarious...translation, best spokesperson ever.

Lastly, Nike's "My Better is Better Than Your Better." I love this campaign. Having people tell me they're better than my best makes me want to work harder to eclipse them.

All in all, the most important duty each of these ads have is they have to actually motivate consumers to buy what they're pitching. So here's my question to you...

DO THESE ADS WORK?

~Z

The Future is Mobile

GO MOBILE

The future of marketing can be summed up in those two words. According a post yesterday by Search Engine Watch Blog, Google has announced that it's 2011 strategic initiatives are "all about mobile."In a keynote speech on the 27th at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's annual leadership meeting, Google's CEO, Dr. Eric Schmidt, said mobile is taking off faster than predicted and that, "This is the future and everyone will adapt." To prove his point Schmidt offered some statistics displaying how rapid mobile is growing. These were the ones that stuck out to me most...

• There are more than 200 million YouTube mobile playbacks per day.
• 78 percent of smartphone users shop on their device.
• Schmidt predicted that digital display advertising could become a $200 billion a year business

So how does this relate to sports advertising?

$$$BIG MONEY$$$

Look back at the statistics I just listed above, courtesy of Dr. Schmidt. MORE THAN 200 million YouTube mobile playbacks per day, PLUS, 78% of smartphone users shop on their device. These numbers indicate that people are watching lots of YouTube videos on their mobile devices AND most of these people are also using their smartphones to shop. THEREFORE, companies like Nike, adidas, etc. can theoretically made a fortune from successful VIRAL MARKETING campaigns.

Nike had an incredibly successful viral marketing campaign in 2008 when they launched this viral video of Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding Aston Martin to promote their launch of his new signature shoe, Hyperdunks. The shoe went on to become one of the hottest selling and popular basketball shoes of all time.

If athletic apparel companies utilize this viral marketing venue more, that means more mobile hits of their videos on YouTube, which translates to a possibility of millions of mobile sales from these same viewers.

Viral marketing is just one example. If you think about it, mobile marketing/advertising is absolutely the way to go. As smartphones are becoming ordinary, more emphasis is put on mobile web browsing. And what better way to reach consumers?! My Droid is ALWAYS by my side. As more people acquire smartphones as their mobile phones, that means there is a rapidly expanding population of people that can be accessed wherever, and whenever. Thus effective mobile marketing can lead to ENORMOUS profits for any company. But I see the opportunity for astronomical profits from the athletic apparel industries due to their reliance on web browsing, viral advertising, and their ability to constantly inform people of new sales or products, directly to their mobile devices. Being able to reach millions of people all the time, anywhere, is why mobile is absolutely the future of marketing and advertising. Mobile's future looks bright...and lucrative.

~Z