Like all the other notable brand categories sports brands too have been long trying to charm their target market through diverse experiential initiatives. While some international giants are in the process of launching their own intellectual properties for a stronger connect, many others are still trying to figure out how to put the best foot forward in this segment. With that being said the sports products category in India seems mainly to be dominated by multinational brands such as Puma, Nike and Adidas.
Not only are these brands trying significantly hard to capture the majority market of the India through hard sell but these are also consistently experimenting on the experiential front by launching unique and diverse concept driven experiences. Nike, Puma and Adidas have all been closely associated with sporting event at regional and national genre in the past but recently the sporting war of experiential has gotten far more interesting.
In terms of brand association Nike and Adidas seems to be having an upper hand as they have a history of associating themselves with international football leagues and the infamous cricket frenzy in India. Since the two brands have been in the Indian market for a considerably longer time than Puma hence their connect and goodwill among the prospective consumers acts as a boon for them. Also among individual campaigns and initiatives Nike been the most active in organizing small and mid-level activations among malls in the urban markets of the country. Puma on the other hand has been instrumental in creating its own IP Puma Urban Stampede which is highly successful challenge that targets the corporate working environment in the country.
Adidas too seems to closely following the both with a distinctive strategy at its play. With the recent launch of its new store in relation with the Sunburn festival it is clear that Adidas wants to target the urban crowd but in a different approach altogether. Also with initaitives like Squash master class with Deepika Pillai and Golf Skool initiative that aims to promote golf as a primary sport among the younger generation Adidas has clearly established itself in a segment that experientially appeals to the a separate segment with ATL consumers.
Speaking of brand ambassadors it is Puma which has always tried to innovate itself and remained ahead of its rivals. With separate brand ambassadors such as Lisa Hayden and the international athlete Usain Bolt being roped in for different initiatives of the brand Puma has truly managed to build in a strong presence amongst the audience who follow national and international celebrities. Nike too had a history of signing brand ambassadors for endorsements but the use of such celebs in experiential ventures are limited in the country. Adidas too has followed suit are though they have executed some magnificent experiential campaigns outside India. They are yet to come up with something out of the box in the country.
So who leads the sporting war of experiential the country currently? Well from the current view point it is Puma who seems to be racing ahead at the constant pace but with some innovative experiential campaigns executed in the past it is only for time to tell how expert and experienced brands such as Puma, Adidas and Reebok hit back with a series of diverse experiential initiatives of their own.
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