June 28, 2014,
Brand marketing, News, Public Relations practice, Sales practice, Social marketing practice, Sponsorship News 
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According to Nike, this year’s spike in sales of its merchandise can be attributed to its World Cup marketing platform ‘Risk Everything’ campaign that’s helped it achieve a 13% increase in sales to £4.34bn in the three months to 31 May.
Nike is not a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup and these rights are held by rival Adidas.
Nike ramped up its marketing spend in the period, spearheaded by ambassadors Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr ahead of the start of the World Cup in Brazil.
The company didn’t strip out marketing spend but said that a 36% increase in ‘demand creation’ expenses was driven by marketing support. Quarterly revenue figures from sales of its football products were not published but the company said revenue for the 12 months to 31 May increased 21% to £1.35bn.
Speaking to analysts, Nike’s CEO Mark Parker said much of its success was down to the ‘Risk Everything’ campaign that encompassed global social, experiential and in-store activities in lifting sales of its boots, replica kits and related apparel both online and in its own stores and licensees.
Mark Parker explained the campaign was an example of how Nike leverages the power and passion of sport to deepen its relationship with consumers. Two of the campaign’s videos, Winner Stays and The Last Game have set new records for engagement with over 370m digital views and growing.
“Our comprehensive offense on the pitch and in the marketplace drives our leadership as the world’s best football brand and positions us for growth in this category for years to come.”
Earlier this week, rival Adidas maintained its hold as football market leader in terms of sales.
It would appear that both brands have leveraged the interest that the FIFA World Cup delivers with Nike not having to invest multi-million sponsorship dollars for the privilege.
[…] Nike’s ambush marketing of FIFA World Cup sees increase in sales […]