How do you go up against two giants that outspend you 10 to 1?
On behalf of Puma -sponsors of the 2006 world champions and over half of African teams- Syrup NYC asked me to identify a positioning and develop a creative brand strategy Puma's football and rugby businesses.
The opportunity was golden but not short of challenges: Nike and adidas have consistently outspent us and would put all their might behind world cup efforts.
We needed a clear, ownable positioning that would lend itself to spread like wildfire as guerrilla and viral marketing if we were to take a shot at the big guys.
After weeks of analysis and interviews it dawned on me that by glorifying Hard Work, Training and the importance of Winning, Nike and Adidas were actually fighting for a very similar emotion: DUTY.
Crucially, we learned in research that for players such discipline is no more than just the cost of entry for any competitive sport.
Based on this insight, Puma's history and our understanding of the Beautiful Game, we decided then to focus on the one thing that makes all the difference when everything is said and done:
We chose to celebrate LOVE.
This strategy laid the ground for a highly successful campaign that won gold in Cannes 2010 and at some point generated more buzz than adidas (the event's official sponsor).
This is how Droga5 executed the strategy:
And Syrup's take on the same strategy:
