Who’ll win the FIFA World Cup 2010 – Nike or Adidas ?

I’m back with a post on FIFA…! Its just very difficult to resist the temptation to write on Football; because its FIFA everywhere. We just keep discussing it all the time – be it Spain losing to Switzerland or South Africa’s whitewash; it’s the talk of the town. The Vuvuzelas have created quite a stir. People spend the whole day betting on their favorite teams. I’m searching for the jersey of my preferred footballer (Torres) and keep engaging on fights with people who are against my favorite teams.

This is the catch. This event is a great opportunity to Marketers. It’s the best time when you can engage your customers and create a significant impact. The word will automatically spread and thus the awareness of your brand. Anything unique you create will be given the honor and admiration it deserves. Companies just flood their money into the advertisements as they know that the audience is massive and they don’t want to lose on this occasion.

The same can be said about Nike and Adidas. The FIFA World Cup is just not only about superstars like Messi, Torres, Klose, Ronaldo or Drogba. It’s also about Adidas versus Nike. These are the two of the most Hottest Sports Brands around the globe. These two brands have outpaced and outclassed the other brands like Puma, Umbro and Reebok (now taken over by Adidas). But perhaps these two brands are too ‘Big’ for each other. Hence the title of this post gets this name.

This year’s world cup will be one of the biggest sporting events. While the international numbers for this edition of the World Cup are expected to be several billions, in India alone, it is expected that over 110 million people will tune in. Hence, both the companies are leaving nothing unturned in its efforts to knock off each other.  Adidas alone has spent $200 million on its World Cup sponsorship.

Efforts by Adidas:

•  Creation of some of the most advanced football products the world has seen – Jabulani
•  The lightest Adidas ever — the F50 adiZero (especially for World Cup)
•  The 3-Stripes will be worn by 12 of the 32 teams

In India Adidas has also launched the second season of the Adidas FIFA Fair Play Flag Bearer contest. After the success of the 2006 initiative in India, it successfully conducted another hunt for footballers of the next generation. The on-ground event was conducted in three cities. Kids were chosen on the basis of a ‘Lightening Speed’ test which tested skill, ball control and shooting accuracy. The six kids who finished the test fastest were chosen. This is an once-in-a-lifetime experience for six kids from India who will carry the FIFA Fair Play flag onto the pitch before the start of the Portugal and North Korea match.

Nike on the other side has also been very aggressive on its front. It has done everything on earth to make this an event to remember. Nike has introduced cutting edge football products that include the CTR 360, T 90 Laser III and just a few days ago the Mercurial Vapour SuperFly II and the National Team Kits to be worn by several teams in South Africa. It is trying its level best to make World Cup 2010 a landmark in Nike’s history.  Just recently Nike released an advertising video which brings together some of the world’s greatest players to inspire football lovers and sports fans around the world. The three-minute “Write the Future” film takes people on a journey that dramatically captures that one moment where headlines are written from a single pass, or one strike that can bring a nation eternal happiness, while bringing others to their knees. Special guest cameos have been made by tennis legend Roger Federer and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant.

For India Nike has launched India Football page on Facebook which has garnered over 105,000 fans since March 2010. Nike India’s out of home campaign that began in early June is focused at today’s youth who are technologically advanced. The recent years have seen the gap between the two closes down rapidly and that's why the situation's heating up between the two. Their rivalry has started to reflect in their marketing and ads (it sounds like Coca-Cola and Pepsi).May the best one WIN!!!