Nike Gives Fans an Inside Edge During the Preseason

Nike recently launched a terrific campaign that showcases how the world's leading soccer clubs - Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Club America, and Arsenal - prepare during the pre-season. 

Nike's campaign, entitled "Inside Edge", is brilliant because it demonstrates how brands can effectively leverage their sports partnerships throughout the off-season - a time when many lessen their marketing and activation spend. It also showcases how brands can effectively associate several (but not all) team partnerships in one major consumer-facing campaign.

The pre-season Nike campaign takes fans behind-the-scenes, demonstrating how players from the world's elite soccer clubs prepare for the upcoming season. The campaign provides insightful tips, insights, and advice on a variety of training and performance elements, including:

• Mental Preparation
• Physical Fitness and Training
• Advice from the Pros

Check out a few videos from the campaign below:

Arsenal Unveils "The Spirit of Highbury"

Are you looking to implement new marketing efforts on gameday? Are you looking to renovate an existing area of your stadium facility?

Sports organizations looking for new ways to honor their players, supporters, and staff (past and present), should consider benchmarking the recent efforts of Arsenal FC. The EPL club has recently made a concerted effort (which it refers to as Arsenalisation) to recognize its greatest team contributors and moments.  

The Arsenalisation movement is highlighted by "The Spirit of Highbury", an image erected at the South end of the club's new home, Emirates Stadium, that features a lineup of every Arsenal player and manager that competed for the team when it played at the Highbury (their old venue facility) between 1913 and 2006. Arsenal FC put a tremendous amount of effort into The Spirit of Highbury, as it even called on the likes of Nike and Wieden and Kennedy (W+K) to complete the project.  

The club created the amazing image by blending a range of images from glass negatives to modern digital photography. There are only four (4) players who remain unaccounted for in the image and are featured as silhouettes. Per Arsenal's website, "the Spirit of Highbury now stands as a permanent symbol of the Club's proud history and a testament to the achievements that have stemmed from the efforts of every player, supporter, and member of staff, past and present".

Check out how the Spirit of Highbury was created below:

Nike Connects with Consumers Through Passion...

Are you looking to connect with consumers by focusing on the passion that fans and athletes have for the game? Are you looking for new viral ideas?

Over the past week, Nike has released two (2) tremendous ad campaigns that do a tremendous job promoting the passion that both fans and athletes share for their favorite sports. It is amazing to see Nike continuously create ads that blow consumers away (and subtly ingrain their brand along the way).

Nike - "Force Fate"

In support of its Nike training hockey apparel (particularly Team Canada hockey apparel), Nike created a captivating piece that features Canadien hockey players and supporters making their claim that their success is earned, not bred. The piece has the feel of Gatorade's recent "G" campaign and does an excellent job playing off the passion Canadiens have for the game of hockey. Not to mention, plenty of terrific subtle branding plays... Check it out below:

Nike - "Fast is Never Enough"

Nike recently released "Fast is Never Enough" a captivating soccer piece that profiles the 20-year old English sensation Theo Walcott. The viral, in support of Nike's football partnership with Arsenal FC and its global football apparel, is a heart-thumping advert designed to get soccer fans around the globe excited for another year of the English Premier League. The piece does an excellent job mixing game highlights and slow motion tricks with the sound of an adrenaline-filled pep talk. Check it out below: