Traditional endorsement and product placement marketing is very much alive and well. This past summer, Nike offered two beautiful proofs in point that any marketer can learn from.
Tiger Woods & Rory McIlroy on The Tonight Show. The show was heavily marketed as the first time the two had appeared together on a talk show. It was even trumpeted on ESPN. As a sports and golf fanatic, I couldn’t wait to tune in! The casual viewer saw the two youngest golfers ever to win major championships joke, interact and play Face breakers with Jimmy Fallon. I saw a remarkably interactive and funny advertisement for Nike’s new golf clubs performed live. It was a wonderful product placement endorsed by two of Nike’s top marketing assets from the same sport on the top-rated late night show.
Michael Jordan & Roger Federer at the U.S. Open. I was watching Roger Federer play in the U.S. Open and saw Michael Jordan in the stands. Why was Jordan there? Turns out, Federer was wearing the Air Jordan shoe technology and, of course, the announcers hyped the new shoe while panning to Jordan in the crowd. The post-match interviews for the next three matches continued to promote the new shoe, resulting in incredible endorsement with far greater reach than any commercial.
Nike’s ability to blur the lines between placement, endorsement and traditional advertising would be impressive even if they weren’t leveraging world-class athletes. We can all follow their example to keep thinking critically and innovatively about how we do things. Hopefully this inspires you today to come up with new ways to promote your brand.
EMM Group's Marketing for Growth blog is authored by several of our in-house marketing leaders and consultants. To learn more about Tim Mullane, click here.