Puma hones give attention to velocity in Olympic battle with Adidas and Nike By Reuters

By Helen Reid

PARIS (Reuters) – German sportswear model Puma is utilizing this yr’s Olympic Video games and its partnership with dash champions Jamaica to give attention to velocity because it jostles with Adidas (OTC:) and Nike (NYSE:) to carve out house in an more and more aggressive working and way of life market.

Puma CEO Arne Freundt goals to spice up gross sales of “efficiency” merchandise like trainers and soccer cleats, and is revamping Puma’s “Endlessly Sooner” message in its first model marketing campaign in a decade on Wednesday in Paris, host of this yr’s Video games.

As Puma tries to win over extra on a regular basis and critical runners, its sponsorship of Jamaica’s Olympic workforce and among the world’s greatest sprinters like Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah helps to affiliate the model with velocity, stated Geoff Lowery, analyst at Redburn in London.

“You’re by no means going to promote very many working spikes, however when it comes to correctly iconic groups that credentialise you as a efficiency model and affiliate you with among the most fun athletes, Puma have a super-strong relationship there,” Lowery stated.

Freundt visited Jamaica on the finish of March, attending the nation’s high highschool observe and subject meet for the primary time to launch the Jamaican Olympic equipment on the occasion seen as a testing floor for younger athletic expertise.

“We should be very clear that Puma is about velocity,” Freundt, who has been within the high job simply over a yr, instructed Reuters in an interview forward of the marketing campaign launch. “That’s one thing we have to strengthen additional within the client mindset.”

Like different sportswear retailers that sponsor Olympians and pour advertising cash into the Video games, the wager is that athletes breaking information in Puma gear will nudge spectators in direction of its entire vary of merchandise, creating a possible “halo impact” for all the pieces from marathon sneakers to on a regular basis sneakers.

Manufacturers like Puma, Adidas, and Nike may also be allowed to rejoice their Olympic athletes’ medal wins on social media in the course of the Video games for the primary time, because the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to calm down guidelines governing on-line advertising in a “pilot challenge” with the World Federation of the Sporting Items Trade.

“With the brand new IOC laws we will use that second in a greater approach, to congratulate them [athletes] additionally by way of social media, I believe that’s a win-win for each the Olympics in addition to us,” Freundt stated.