Sanjay Gangopadhyay, MD, Nike, India
With cricket fever at its peak – the ICC World Cup, which is to be followed by IPL, Nike’s latest ‘Bleed Blue’ campaign to harness the sports fervor, has got rave re-views. Sanjay Gangopadhyay, Marketing Director, Nike India, talks to Ruchika Kumar of Pitch about the Bleed Blue campaign and Nike’s other plans for India. Excerpts from the interview:
How was the “Bleed Blue” campaign conceptualised?
Nike aims to harness the passion that millions of Indians have for the sport of cricket and the Indian Cricket team by proving that ‘Blue’ is not just a colour; it is a billion hopes, dreams and aspirations, fuelling a cricket crazy nation. The campaign is a collaborative effort of Nike, its various business associates such as JWT, AKQA and Wizcraft and various young artists.
What is the objective behind the campaign and how would that ensure better ROIs for the company in the coming years?
Through Bleed Blue, Nike aims to provide a platform for cricket crazy fans to express their support for Team India and the sport of cricket. Bleed Blue is a movement and is a long-term campaign that has various legs – be it digital, OOH, grassroots and retail, among others. The campaign is not restricted to one tournament or another, instead it intends to draw energy from the 365-day soap opera called cricket.
As far as sports marketing is concerned, how is Nike leveraging events such as ICC World Cup and IPL?
Sport is in our DNA – global or local sporting events, it is always an adrenaline rush that gives us that boost and motivates us in elevating the sport. Apart from cricket, Nike is also closely associated with the AIFF (All India Football Federation) in the sport of football and is also very actively involved in building the sport of running in the country.
Can Nike’s marketing strategy go beyond sports for the Indian market?
Nike will always remain true to sports. True to our mission, we will bring innovation and inspiration to athletes world over. To this end, our emphasis will remain on bringing in the best in technology and in providing a superior experience. Our objective is to build sportswear in the country and to expand our sports footwear category.
Consumers today are purchasing sportswear as part of their lifestyle and not really for actual sports. How are you leveraging from this growth?
People are not looking for performance sports; however, these products derive their relevance from sports. Thus we have to ensure that the influence of sports has to rub off on the lifestyle segment of the consumer.
What are the other ATL and BTL activities that Nike is aggressive about?
As part of Nike’s commitment to developing football at grassroots, Nike annually conducts the Nike Manchester United Premier Cup in partnership with the Manchester United Club. This initiative was conceptualised to provide a serious and global platform for young footballers in India to nurture and exhibit their talent. In the last six years of conducting this tournament in India, Nike has provided over 12,000 kids
the opportunity to participate in the tournament.
Besides, Nike has been striving to create a culture of running by conducting training runs under the ‘Nike Run Club’ banner for two years now. The training runs are conducted at Bangalore’s Cubbon Park and Kanteerva Stadium and at the Marine Drive in Mumbai. Presently over 12,000 runners have signed up with the Nike Run Club to improve their running performance.
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