Tumblr has “sold a month-long campaign” to adidas, which “launched an official soccer Tumblr blog in time" for the start of UEFA Euro 2012 on Friday, according to Cotton Delo of AD AGE. The blog “plans to promote the site with paid placements in the Tumblr ‘Radar’ slot on the user dashboard, which will continue to feature a continually rotating selection of Tumblr blogs picked by the editorial team, but now can be bought as an ad unit for an entire day as well.” adidas will also promote the site on Tumblr's "spotlight" page for sports blogs, where the ad “runs three times wider than the teases for organic picks.” Tumblr Product Dir Danielle Strle said that adidas “already had a compelling presence on Tumblr with its fashion- and design-oriented ‘Adidas Originals’ blog.” The new adidas Football Tumblr blog “has a Pinterest-like aesthetic with an array of static images and animated GIFs.” A YouTube video on the blog features several top international soccer players "welcoming visitors to the account by saying ‘Tumblr’ in their various accents.” Strle said that the video was also “being featured in the Radar spot” last Thursday, but adidas “intends to promote fresh content in the spot as Euro 2012 progresses" (ADAGE.com, 6/8).
MAY THE BEST BRAND WIN: REUTERS’ Nivedita Bhattacharjee noted Nike and adidas are vying “for the top spot in selling gear for the world's most popular sport.” adidas has been associated with soccer “since the German company was founded in 1949.” Nike, whose roots “date back to the 1960s, did not enter the soccer business until 1994.” Just two years later, it “scored an impressive goal when it signed Brazil's national team to a sponsorship deal.” The most recent sponsorship battles between adidas and Nike “were fought over the German and French national soccer teams.” adidas “managed to keep its home team, but France was won over by the money Nike offered.” Some experts said that adidas is “defending not just its merchandise sales against Nike, but also trying to safeguard its history and prestige in the sports world.” Nike, with annual sales of more than $20B, said that in FY '11 it “had $1.8 billion in sales from soccer.” adidas sponsors six of the 16 teams taking part in the tournament, compared to Nike’s five. Nike unit Umbro “will outfit three teams” (REUTERS, 6/8).
SPONSORS WEARY: BRAND REPUBLIC's John Reynolds reported that sponsors of Euro 2012 are "'on red alert' as they seek to avoid any association of their brands with reported cases of racism in the Ukraine during the tournament." BrandRapport Dir Sports Marketing Nigel Currie said, "This is obviously a concern for brands. It goes without saying they don't want any sort of controversy or nastiness, or anything that detracts from the game." There is no indication that UEFA sponsors are pulling back on activity because of the threat. However, there "is a sense" that the tournament has been overshadowed by the Olympics and the Queen's Jubilee, which has meant "brands have found it difficult to get standout" (BRANDREPUBLIC.com, 6/8).
