What happened

Recent web buzz research commissioned by our social media partners at Jam has shown that Nike is far out-performing its rival and Olympic sponsor Adidas as the brand most associated with the London 2012 Olympic Games. Nike is dominating the social media conversation, with a staggering 7.7% of Olympic mentions being linked to Nike compared to only 0.49% for Adidas.  This contrast is particularly stark when one considers that Adidas committed a reported £100m to buy exclusive category rights to London 2012.

So what’s been resonating with consumers and causing this buzz…? In last month’s edition of Synopsis, Lisa Parfitt highlighted Nike’s #makeitcount campaign as a brilliant example of an integrated campaign which connects above the line, digital, social and experiential.  The campaign features a number of the UK’s top athletes, Perri Shakes-Drayton, Mark Cavendish and Mo Farah, showing them at their most intense moments during training and making personal pledges for 2012.

Nike has now seeded a series of online films which feature various sports stars including Mo Farah and Rio Ferdinand to build on the theme.

But the campaign really comes to life in the way that it connects the public to the core insight that “If you have a body, you are an athlete”.  This quote by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman was the tweet to launch the campaign and provide the call to action for everyone to get involved.  The in-store element at both the Oxford Circus and Westfield Nike outlets allows you to be professionally photographed alongside your own handwritten pledges: the images and pledges are displayed around the stores and of course shared via social media.

Later this year we will see the launch of the Nike product this campaign is paving the way for, FuelBand. Already launched in the US, FuelBand tracks your physical activity through a sport-tested accelerometer, which then translates your activity into ‘NikeFuel’. So whether you are walking, running, dancing, playing football, tennis or golf, Nike allows you to collect, analyse and (most importantly) share your performance.  The idea is that you set a goal for every day, then go out and beat it.  It’s the gamefication of fitness. Life is a sport. Make it count.

The Nike marketing machine has been in overdrive.  Both pre-sale windows sold out in less than three minutes in the States and you can expect the same in the UK before it goes on sale on May 1st. Look out for Nike’s standard combination of iconic sports stars, great on-line video content and tightly integrated social media activity.

Why we love it

This of course isn’t the first time we’ve seen Nike launch into either a fully-integrated campaign or demonstrate effective ambush marketing during an Olympic year.

But the most amazing thing is how Nike continue to set the marketing pace. As Nike’s marketing spend approaches $2.4bn, less than 15% of that is now spent on traditional media (there has been a 40% decline in spend on TV, Outdoor, Radio and Print over the past 3 years).  As the biggest sports brand in the world, they shouldn’t be good at this – younger, edgier, more nimble competitors should be the subject of blogs like this.

And it is working.  Thanks to this digital focus, if it wanted to, Nike could reach 200 million people every day via its various social network platforms.  #makeitcount indeed.

[Note: some stats and insight for this article came from this great piece in Fortune Magazine.]

By Olivia Lloyd on February 24th, 2012

Tags: Ambush campaign, Athletics, Default, London 2012, Naming Rights, Olympics, Synergy Loves

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We don’t need reminding that the 27^th July 2011 was not just another day in our calendars. With one year to go until the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, celebrations spread across the UK far and wide.

To celebrate this milestone and engage staff in BMW’s London 2012 Partnership, Synergy were tasked with organising an interactive sports day.  In addition to giving employees the chance to experience an Olympic Sport, BMW used the day to promote the BMW London 2012 Performance Team, launch the Olympic Torch Relay nomination programme and provide inspiration for BMW’s role in the Games.

Starting with an empty car park (a rarity at BMW HQ), astro turf was installed to set the foundation for the main arena hosting basketball, football, high jump and gymnastics.  Just like the preparations for the Games themselves, BMW’s year-to-go celebrations were on time and on budget!

Inside, employees were give the chance to show off their lightning-fast reflexes as the showroom had been transformed into a table tennis hall.  Staff could also get their photo taken with the London 1948 Olympic Torch – truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Steve Cram and Mark Lewis-Francis, both part of BMW’s London 2012 Performance Team, were in attendance to celebrate the milestone with BMW, give employees some inside tips and encourage them at the various activities.

As the countdown clock edged closer to 365 days to go, new sports had been mastered and the leaderboards were looking very competitive. All that remained was the Closing Ceremony, where the winners of the prizes were announced and the celebrations were started.

By Olivia Lloyd on September 1st, 2011

Tags: Athletics, Celebrity, Default, Olympic sponsorship, Olympic sponsorship consultants, Olympic Torch Relay, Olympics, Sponsorship, Sport

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What happened:

The Royal Wedding dominated much of April, making it almost impossible to escape the media exposure and hype. As expected, hundreds of companies jumped on that media train, grabbing a piece of the action on the way, and subsequently cashing in.

With a surge of wedding related memorabilia, tenuous marketing and product tie ups, we take a look back at two royal wedding campaigns that kept true to their brand values.

What we like:

T-mobile – Royal Wedding

With another edition to their ‘Life’s for Sharing’ campaign, T-mobile brought us this viral ad featuring 15 royal lookalikes strutting their stuff to ‘House of Love’ by East 17. The viral captures the note of celebration in T-Mobile style, being an instant youtube hit with 21 million views and counting.

What the brand says:

Spencer McHugh, director of brand at T-Mobile, said: “T-Mobile is famous for creating adverts that are entertaining and also give people something they want to share with others.

“We’re seeing the trend for people to video choreographed wedding dances, turning into a real online phenomenon, and with Royal Wedding fever sweeping the nation, we decided to combine the two and create T-Mobile’s very own version.

3M – Post-it Super Sticky Notes

A simple and predictable tactical ad by 3M. However, this outdoor themed campaign is an effective campaign with a nice emotional link.

3M’s Super Sticky Post-it note read:

“Will and Kate, may you stick together forever. Congratulations”  “holds stronger, longer”

What they said:

“Post-it Notes are an iconic product that everyone knows and loves,” added Jason Wall, business director at OgilvyAction.

“Given their status as a household name it made absolute sense to develop a tactical campaign that would reinforce the ubiquitous nature of the product and teasingly link them to the Royal wedding, through the Super Sticky messaging.”

By Olivia Lloyd on May 18th, 2011

Tags: Brand marketing, Celebrity, community, Content, Mobile, Synergy, Synergy Loves, Synopsis, Television audiences

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