Nikes Risk Everything Advertising Campaign - Case Study Example

Nike’s Risk Everything advertising Campaign (Name) (Institution Affiliation) (Date) PART I-CASE STUDY REVIEW Introduction Created for Nike, America’s renowned sports apparel firm, by Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency, Risk everything campaign was specially prepared for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The viral video ad featured the world’s major soccer stars: England’s Wayne Rooney, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil’s Neymar (Bahadur, 2014). The campaign was associated with emphasizing the mantra of going through any risk in order to succeed as well as outshine one’s rivals: “risk everything.” After every four years, the world often anticipates the largest single-event sporting tournament known as the FIFA World CUP. As statistics indicates more than one billion people often watch the competition (Mullin, Hardy & Sutton, 2014). As international soccer matches become more expensive, the sport continues to gain more global attention. As such, sports apparel and playing balls companies often invest considerably in marketing in order to promote its products during and after this great event thus increasing its sales. Equally, similar to any major sporting tournament, Nike often sees this as an opportunity as well as threat as far as its business objectives are considered. It is often an opportunity in the sense that this is often the time Nike can promote its products as well as sell its brand as the FIFA World Cup often bring a huge number of people together (King, 2014). It is often a threat as other sports apparel companies such as Adidas often strategize on how to expand its market share as well as promote its brand during such an event. Thus, Nike had to come up with the Risk Everything campaign in order to promote its brand as well as protect its market share. Overview of Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency Founded by David Kennedy and Dan Wieden in 1982, Wieden+Kennedy is an independently owned advertising company headquartered in Portland, U.S.A. As Röling, (2010) notes, Wieden+Kennedy is one of the largest advertising agencies in America that is independently owned as most advertising firms are publicly traded companies. Having designed and developed the ‘Just do it’ campaigning for Nike back in 1988 among other campaigns, Wieden+Kinnesy was hired by Nike to develop an advertising campaign that would capture the attention of many people during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Consequently, the advertising company came up with the “risk everything” campaign, which was voted the most viral video ad in the 2014 World Cup having garnered more that 122.2 million views. One of the main key strengths of the agency is that it has been in the advertising industry for more three decades and has successfully worked with big brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Honda, Facebook and ESPN thus has vast experience in all areas of advertising. The other notable key strength is that the agency produces quality work, which has been the reason it won the Emmy Awards in 2000 among other awards (Wentz, 2002). Marketing objectives The first main overall objective was to attract more soccer fans across the globe with more emotional communication. The other significant marketing objectives were associated increasing its sales during and after the campaign period. The firm made sure that the ad communicated its philosophy of grit, passion, and determination associated with heroes who undertake any risk to succeed. Creative Concept, Execution and Tactics Employed The “Risk everything” concept was created and developed by Wieden+Kennedy agency to emphasize on the significance of winning a competition or title. The agency started by focusing on the importance of the tournament and the struggles that each team goes through in order to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. As Nudd (2014) points out that the idea behind the campaign was associated with emphasizing the risk-taking associated with carrying on a country’s hope with regard to FIFA World Cup. In the video ad, renowned world soccer players from different countries known for their past impressive performance in the World Cup are depicted feeling the pressure related with awaited neck-to-neck competition, fighting for victory and glory. These players include England’s Wayne Rooney, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Brazil’s Neymar, who suddenly reach the turning point of the soccer world, and take a risk of giving an amateur the chance of taking a penalty kick. The “risk everything” campaign targeted all soccer fans of both the female and male gender, who were anxiously waiting for the competition. Nike aim was to appeal to everyone in all aspects of live thus encouraging them to take risks in order to be successful in life. Nike successfully targeted its campaign on global scale. According to Bahrey, (2015) the campaign was advantageous to Nike as it managed to tap into the basic human feeling thus making the target audience to feel cared for and appreciated. Equally, Russell (2014) adds that the campaign was able to win the hearts of the target audience as it was able to sell the personal achievement concept and making each potential customer confident and determined. The campaigned managed to increase the overall company sales as customers associated themselves with the brand’s products, which to them indicates success. Therefore it is worth noting that a successful advertising campaign is that, which appeals to the target audience’s emotions. The potential customer should be in a position to associate himself or herself with the message being conveyed. Evaluation and Monitoring The advertising campaign was a mainstay of the typical Ad Age Viral Video and as such Nike was able to evaluate as well as monitor its prevalence through the number of impression it received both on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter at any given time. According to Insight (2014) the advertising ad managed to garner more than 122.2 million views and more than three million likes at the end of the 2014 World Cup. Moreover, Nike’s 2014 annual sales increased by 12% (Forbes magazine). PART 11-CREATIVE BRIEF Target Audience Demographic Segmentation The advertising campaign would target both males and females of all ages as the message aims at encouraging everyone in all aspects f life. Soccer fans would want to share the viral video with their friends and relatives even if they are not interested in soccer. Psychographic Segmentation The message would target sports lovers, more so soccer lovers. The message also targets individuals who love completion and success as the campaign would appeal to their emotions thus not lose hope in their endeavors. Behavioural Segmentation Nike would target individuals who often visit the social media sites in order to get what it is trending. This is because the advertising campaign would use the social media to reach its target audience. Geographic Segmentation Nike is an international brand and as such its products are often distributed across the world. Thus, the advertising campaign will target soccer across the globe. Advertising Objectives i) Specific- To increase its market share ii) Measureable- to increase the annual sales by 13% iii) Attainable-similar to the previous online campaign, the campaign would have made an impact within two weeks of its launch as the World Cup is a one month event. iv) Realistic- with the first week of its launch an evaluation will be to assess its impact. v) Time-bound- the campaign would achieve its goals within a month of its launch. Single Minded Proposition You should be prepared to take risks in order to achieve the best; Nike is associated with success and determination. Key Benefits Through taking risks, the target will be a champion and a hero as a successful person is the one who attempts. The target audience will be inspired to take on challenging tasks ahead of them as they will be prepared to risk their short happiness for a greater future. The emotional appeal will automatically make the potential customer to feel associated with Nike, which cares for his or her endeavors. Audience Takeaway After coming across communication, the audience will feel inspired and optimistic thus realize that they need to take risks in order to attain their life objectives. They should also feel and behave like champions thus purchase Nike’s products as they would be associated with a brand that believes in hard work. Tone of the Voice Since the message to be put across aims at encouraging as well as informing the target audience, by using an analogy, the tone of voice to be used would be warm in order to capture the audience’s attention from the very beginning to the end. Nikes Main Competitors The main competitors of Nike are Adidas and Puma. Adidas which is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany and its marketing message is “All in or Nothing,” which in summary it tries to depict that offering anything less than everything cannot and will not translate to success. On the other hand, Puma which is also located in Herzogenaurach, Germany believes in producing high quality products and its marketing message is “forever faster” (Kirby & Marsden, 2006). Deliverable and Budget The advertising campaign would make use of the social media in order to reach its targeted audience. The main channel would be YouTube as it is a viral ad, where it can be shared in Facebook and twitter. The budget would cost $56 million. Conclusion To sum up, the “risk everything” campaign was successful as it was voted the most viewed video ad in 2014 with more than 122.3 million views. It is worth nothing that for an advertising campaign to be effective and successful, it has to be simple and appeals to the emotions of the target audience. The marketing agency must define the target audience clearly in order to communicate the message thus achieving the marketing and business objectives. References Bahadur, N. (2014). How Dove Tried To Change The Conversation About Female Beauty. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 11 May 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/21/dove-real-beauty-campaign-turns 10_n_4575940.html Bahrey, L. (2015). 2014 Marketing World Cup: “Risk Everything” or “Go All In?”. Trojan360. Retrieved 13 May 2015, from http://www.trojan360.com/2014-marketing-world-cup risk-everything-or-go-all-in/ Insight, S. (2014). Nike and Adidas - The Battle Continues. SMG Insight. Retrieved 13 May 2015, from http://www.smg-insight.com/nike-and-adidas-the-battle-continues/ King, J. (2014). What Marketers Can Learn From Nike's World Cup Ads. Fast Company. Retrieved 13 May 2015, from http://www.fastcompany.com/3032668/hit-the-ground running/what-marketers-can-learn-from-nikes-world-cup-ads Kirby, J., & Marsden, P. (Eds.). (2006). Connected marketing: the viral, buzz and word of mouth revolution. Elsevier. Mullin, B. J., Hardy, S., & Sutton, W. (2014). Sport Marketing 4th Edition. Human Kinetics. Nudd, T. (2014). Ad of the Day: Nike Launches 'Risk Everything' Campaign Ahead of the 2014 World Cup. AdWeek. Retrieved 13 May 2015, from http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-nike-launches-risk everything-campaign-ahead-2014-world-cup-156680 Röling, R. W. (2010). Small town, big campaigns. The rise and growth of an international advertising industry in Amsterdam. Regional Studies, 44(7), 829-843. Russell, M. (2014). Nike's 'Risk Everything' is the Tops the Most Viral 2014 World Cup Campaigns. Visiblemeasures.com. Retrieved 13 May 2015, from http://www.visiblemeasures.com/2014/07/14/nikes-risk-everything-is-the-tops-the-most viral-2014-world-cup-campaigns/ Wentz, laurel (November, 2002). 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