When Brazil qualified to play Germany in the final match of the 2002 World Cup, the then anticipated game wasn't just to decide who of the two giants will be the new World Champions, but also which of the two Sports brands powerhouses, Nike and Adidas, will be the biggest winner. Nike-sponsored Brazil beat Germany 2-0 and hugely boosted the American brand's net profits for this year as they sold millions of shirts of the Brazilian National Team worldwide, limiting the Adidas-Germany success to the second place. Yet, Nike, the biggest sports brand on the globe and the leaders in running, basketball and baseball fields, still targets similar positions in the football market where Adidas is the undisputed king. NDP Group, a market research firm that provides information on consumer trends, sales and marketing for several industries, says that Nike has 38% of the worldwide branded footwear market in comparison with Adidas that has only 34%. But Adidas leads the worldwide football market with 35% followed by Nike with 30%, a situation that the Americans want to turn into their favor. "Being the No.1 football brand worldwide is our goal," Nike President Charlie Denson said during the build-up for the campaign of the World Cup, a golden opportunity in which such a goal can be achieved. Nike posted a $325.8-million net profit in the first quarter of 2006 and the company forecasts between 5% and 7% of sales growth during the last quarter of the year due to heavy spending on major sports events such as the World Cup. Forbes supported this view as they reported that Nike's presence in the World Cup and the Winter Olympics in Italy will gain them more ground in Europe where they lack influence. Campaigning Digitally Sponsoring eight teams in the 2006 World Cup, including long-time partners and title favorites Brazil, Nike provides playing and training kits, shoes and other merchandise. Nike opted for a huge electronic marketing campaign when they decided to team up with digital giants Google to launch Joga.com, a global interactive portal that speaks 14 languages and targets soccer fans in 140 countries.
The website, whose name was inspired by Portuguese phrase "joga bonito" or "play beautifully", allows fans to join forums where they can discuss the news, rumors of their teams and quotes of their preferred players. It also provides Nike ads and video clips for the company's star footballers in the form of digital files that can be downloaded and shared through mobile phones and personal computers. And Nike officials believe they took the right decision for the right purpose. "It's this enormous focus on everything (concerning soccer) that exists nowhere else that could make Joga.com so rich," Nike's global digital director Stefan Olander was quoted as saying by BusinessWeek magazine. "Kids are talking online, connecting online, it's just a part of their world. Gone are the days of one big ad, one big shoe." However, Adidas seems not worried even one bit about what their archrivals do because, apart from the cyber space, they "almost dominate the World Cup," according to CEO Herbert Hainer. Adidas Rules Adidas, a FIFA partner since 1970 and an official sponsor of the event over the past three decades, conducted the largest campaign in its history to remain in pole position. The German brand, who spends some $200 million on marketing efforts, won the majority of road billboards and outdoor signs around the match venues in all hosting cities. Adidas also bought the exclusive TV-ad rights in the USA for the whole tournament, placing one hand on a big-spending sector of the estimated 28 billion viewers and throwing with the other a knock-out punch at Nike. Counting on one of the most successful TV campaigns in history, "Impossible Is
