Sporting Apparel
Features
We Create History – adidas & the Swedish Football Association
Ahead of the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup, adidas launched its new Sweden shirt with an initiative that saw back-of-shirt numbers replaced by images of female role models.
Game Growers – Nike & the NBA
Amid the 2019-20 NBA/WNBA season, the ‘Nike Game Growers’ initiative saw the sportswear giant work with the league to close the basketball participation gap for girls.
Welcome to Hell – Under Armour & FC St. Pauli
In summer 2016, for Under Armour’s first St. Pauli kit, supplier and club worked with agency Nordpol on a campaign that spanned social, PR and at-stadium strands and was led by an online film focused on a redesigned players tunnel.
Our Colours, Our Skin – Joma & Villarreal CF
Villarreal CF and technical partner Joma’s July 2020 triple kit launch campaign leveraged lockdown social media creative trends and focused on digital assets to drive online sales.
No Fuss. Football as It Should Be – Nike & VfL Bochum
Bochum and Nike’s campaign promoting the club's 2020-21 jersey led to tripling the previous season’s shirt sales and generating record revenue even without fans in the stadium or the physical club shop.
Product of Our Earth – Adidas & CA Osasuna
Ahead of the 2020-21 season, CA Osasuna and kit supplier adidas rolled out an integrated online campaign promoting a trio of new centennial kits focusing on the local region, its land and symbols.
Ready for Leeds – adidas & Leeds United FC
Taking over as kit supplier in 2020-21, adidas brought Leeds United into its pandemic-influenced, global ‘Ready for Sport’ brand platform when unveiling the new kit in mid-August 2020.
Ready for Family, Ready for Union – Adidas & FC Union Berlin
At the start of the 2020-21 Bundesliga, FC Union Berlin and technical partner adidas rolled out a family-focused digital campaign to promote the club’s new shirt.
Herritik Sortu Zinalako/Born of the People – New Balance & Athletic Club Bilbao
New Balance and Athletic Bilbao sought to drive pre-orders of the 2020-21 home kit with a campaign solidifying the connection between the team, the kit and the fans.
Shared Goals – adidas & Juventus
October/November 2019 saw adidas and Juventus launch the club’s fourth kit via a fashion-meets-football campaign in partnership with Palace Skateboard.
2020-21 Home Kit Launch – Puma & AC Milan
With Covid-19 still raging in July 2020, Puma & AC Milan used an Instagram-led campaign – celebrating Milan’s contemporary design culture and architecture – to launch the 2020-21 home kit.
Are You Ready for This? – Kappa & SSC Napoli
Napoli and Kappa promoted the club’s 2019-20 home jersey through a campaign creatively themed around the kit’s pixelated design that spanned street graffiti, PR, a launch event, live in-store signings and social media content.
Sal Al Patio Y Conquistalo – Nike & Sevilla FC Femenino
In September 2019, Nike created a campaign to drive jersey sales for the first shirt designed specifically for the women’s team by empowering Seville’s female footballers.
Mount Olympus – Nike & the NBA
In July 2019, Nike leveraged its NBA supplier partnership and its endorser deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo to celebrate the player’s MVP award and promote the launch of his first signature shoe.
Augmented Realty Fireworks Kit Launch – Uhlsport & Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf and kit supplier Uhlsport launched the team’s 2018-19 season away journey with an augmented reality mobile experience set during the city’s annual fireworks display.
Love at First Watch – Under Armour & Rosario Central/Estudiantes
To promote its new kits for Argentinian clubs Rosario and Estudiantes in 2019, Under Armour struck a deal with Superliga broadcaster TNT for one match each to be shown free-to-air.
Raute Lebenslang Raute (Rhombus for Life) – Umbro & Werder Bremen
Through July 2020, Umbro rolled out ‘Rhombus for Life’, its launch campaign for the 2020-21 season Werder Bremen third kit, which revolved around the team’s famous rhombus/diamond logo.
Purple Reign – Nike & the Minnesota Timberwolves
Nike and the Minnesota Timberwolves set new records for NBA social, web traffic, jersey sales and engagement statistics with the 2018-19 reveal campaign for the team’s Prince-inspired Nike ‘City Threads’ kit.
King of the North – New Balance & the NBA
To leverage its endorsement of Kawhi Leonard during the Toronta Raptor’s journey to the 2019 NBA Finals, league footwear sponsor New Balance ran a digital outdoor campaign in Toronto and San
Four Districts, One Purple Heart – Le Coq Sportif & Fiorentina
Fiorentina and Le Coq Sportif launched their 2017-18 kit via a digital-first campaign promoting the familiar purple home jersey alongside four away kits – each representing one of the city’s ancient neighbourhoods.
Worn As One – New Balance & Cricket South Africa
New Balance launched the 2018-19 Proteas kit with a multifaceted, seven-month campaign called ‘Worn as One’.
Liverpool takes a chance on Nike in search of sales growth
Dan Haddad, head of commercial strategy at Octagon UK, looks at the potential upside for Liverpool in switching kit supplier rights from New Balance to Nike.
Patchwork of Dreams – Hummel & the Danish Football Association
Hummel’s pre-2018 Fifa World Cup kit launch with the Danish Football Association (DBU) put the players in shirts belonging to fans.
Team China’ brand sets high partnership price, targets $400m in quadrennial revenue
China’s General Administration of Sport has announced 'Team China' as the collective brand name for its national sports teams.