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:

Nike Turns to Fans on Twitter to Devise a Slogan for US Soccer

Nike looked to capitalize on the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team's recent international friendly against a renowned Argentina team at the New Meadowlands Stadium by creating an expansive "Red All Over" campaign.

A few weeks leading up to the match, Nike turned to soccer fans on Twitter to create a motto that would serve as the focal point of its "Red All Over" campaign. Nike encouraged soccer enthusiasts from across the world to submit their ideas over a five-day period using the hashtag #redallover. The campaign proved to be extremely successful, with thousands of entries pouring each day.

Ultimately, Nike found their answer for the campaign - a slogan that stood out from all the rest. The slogan, "Indivisible", was submitted by William Bachmann II of Orlando, FL, who uses the Twitter handle @WBachmann2. The slogan came from an unlikely source but proved to be exactly what Nike was looking for with the campaign. The slogan was sewn onto the jerseys of all the U.S. players for the match and soon became a storyline that captured the world's attention.

Note: As part of the campaign, fans were encouraged to wear red to New Meadowlands Stadium for the game on March 26th in support.

Check out a video detailing the promotional initiative below:

Nike Demonstrates the Life Cycle of Its Brand with Soccer Viral

Nike does a terrific job demonstrating the life cycle of its brand in a recent piece created for the Czech football club AC Sparta Praha. In the spot, Nike demonstrates how an athlete matures with the brand throughout the various stages in his/her life. From birth to adolescence to playing professionally, there is one constant in sports - wearing the same brand of apparel because you believe in it.

The low-budget spot is extremely well done and serves as a great benchmark for any brand looking to showcase how consumers use their brand throughout the various stages of their lives.

Nike Takes You Inside Their 2010 OOH World Cup Execution

With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa just a few days away, Nike recently released a really cool viral piece that demonstrates how they wrapped the side of the Southern Life building in Johannesburg with an inspiring campaign.

Check out the viral piece below... It does a terrific job providing an inside look at their behind-the-scenes execution!

Nike and Team England Give Mount Rushmore a New Look

Nike is celebrating Team England's 2010 World Cup run with one of the most unique outdoor billboard adverts seen to date. Nike recently unveiled a giant billboard emulating Mount Rushmore that featured the faces of four (4) of England's prominently known soccer players. The billboard, completely made of rock, is the largest billboard in the UK, measuring 75m x 16m x 2m. The massive billboard, which supports Nike's "Write the Future" campaign, is expected to be seen by an astounding six (6) million consumers.

The only issue?

Three (3) of the players featured in the billboard campaign - Wayne Rooney, James Milner, and Rio Ferdinand - made the England World Cup team. However the 4th - Theo Walcott - did not. Ironically, Walcott's face will be featured in the rock sculpture display next to the word's "Play to be Remembered", but he will actually not be playing in the World Cup at all.

Nonetheless, the billboard serves as one of the greatest outdoor spectacles in sports and will be forever remembered by many in England and across the world for years to come... Not bad for a non-Official World Cup sponsor!

Check out the billboard campaign below:

Source: EPL Talk

Nike Listens to Soccer Fans With "Inspire the Boot" Promotion

Are you looking for new ways to engage your fan base?

Nike is capitalizing on the buzz leading up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa by offering a "Inspire the Boot" promotion that offers fans a chance to have their favorite personal messages stitched on the boots of the world's greatest players throughout the tournament.

Nike created a microsite and Facebook application to support the campaign, which gives fans a unique chance to inspire soccer stars Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole. Nike gave consumers the chance to submit their favorite 12-character entries online until May 18th before the winning inspirational slogans are selected. The winning boots will be unveiled at NikeTown London and will be on tour throughout the World Cup in South Africa. An unbelievable offer!

Check out Nike's "Inspire the Boot" online promotional campaign below:

Nike Shows What it Takes to Bleed as One...

Are you looking to create a viral campaign that emphasizes team unity and focus? Are you looking for new ways to engage fans on one united front?

Nike recently released a powerful viral piece that demonstrates the things the Dutch National Team will need to effectively do during the 2010 World Cup to realize their full potential. The piece, entitled "Bleed as One" is very interesting because it uses some unusual imagery to demonstrate how the team will need to compete as a united front with with resolve and focus, not just their brilliant style of play.

Check out the piece below:

Nike is On Target with its Latest Soccer Viral

Nike recently teamed up with Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres to create a cool new viral piece. The clip, entitled "Master Accuracy" demonstrates the skills that players can develop while wearing the new Nike Total 90 III soccer cleats.

The advert features Torres challenging Rooney to shoot balls through laser-based targets. Check it out below:

Nike's Showcases New "V for Victory" Apparel Campaign...

Are you looking to create a branding campaign that is built on the energy and emotion of the game? Are you looking for new ways to leverage athlete endorsers?

Nike recently launched "V for Victory", a colorful apparel campaign that leverages some of the world's best athletes to promote Nike's remixed line of Chevron Eugene jackets, one of the brand's most iconic pieces of apparel.

The "V for Victory" campaign does a tremendous job captivating what the emotion of victory (which symbolizes the design of the apparel) means to some of the world's best football (soccer) players (Cesc Fabregas, Adriano, Andrei Arshavin, and Didier Drogba), rugby players, and tennis sensation Rafeal Nadal.

What makes this campaign so special is that Nike has given new meaning to the peace symbol (which is seamlessly integrated into the "V for Victory" campaign). Now, when young soccer fans see one of Nike's athlete endorsers displaying the peace sign during competition (which happens frequently), there is a chance that they will begin to view the act as a way their favorite athletes are saluting Nike as a brand.

Nike is promoting the campaign through a captivating viral piece that provides a behind-the-scenes look at the players' photo shoot and a eye-popping billboard campaign in high-traffic areas throughout Europe. Check out Nike's campaign tactics below: