((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto)) by Helen Reid
German sportswear brand Puma is using this year’s Olympics and its partnership with sprint champions Jamaica to emphasize speed, as it vies with Adidas and Nike to carve out a niche for itself. place in an increasingly competitive running and lifestyle market.
Puma chief executive Arne Freundt seeks to boost sales of “performance” products such as running shoes and soccer cleats, and revamps Puma’s “Forever Faster” message as part of his first brand campaign for ten years, Wednesday in Paris, host city of this year’s Games.
As Puma attempts to appeal to more serious, everyday runners, its sponsorship of the Jamaican Olympic team and some of the world’s best sprinters, like Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah, helps associate the brand with speed, has said Geoff Lowery, an analyst at Redburn in London.
“You’re never going to sell a lot of running shoes, but in terms of iconic teams that give you credibility as a performance brand and associate you with some of the most exciting athletes, Puma has a very strong relationship,” said Mr. Lowery.
Freundt traveled to Jamaica at the end of March, attending the country’s top high school track and field meet for the first time, to launch the Jamaican Olympic kit at the event considered a proving ground for young athletic talents.
“We have to be very clear that Puma is about speed,” Freundt, who has been in the role for just over a year, said in an interview with Reuters before the campaign launched. . “This is something we still need to reinforce in the minds of consumers
Like other sportswear retailers that sponsor Olympic athletes and pump marketing dollars into the Games, the bet is that record-breaking athletes in Puma gear will keep spectators flocking to the entire its product line, creating a potential “halo effect” for everything from marathon shoes to everyday athletic shoes.
Brands like Puma, Adidas and Nike will also be allowed for the first time to celebrate their Olympic athletes’ medals on social media during the Games, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to relax rules governing online marketing as part of a “pilot project” with the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry.
“With the new IOC rules, we will be able to make better use of this moment, congratulating them [les athlètes] also through social media, I think it’s a win-win situation both for the Olympics and for us,” Freundt said.