Puma’s multiyear endorsement deal with AC Milan and Italian national team F Mario Balotelli is already paying off, as the limited-edition evoPower Stampa boot the company customized after him and debuted during his late December unveiling has already sold out. Balotelli, who was pried away from Nike by the Germany-based company, was officially introduced Dec. 22 along with a photo of him holding the new boot. Puma, which released the personalized, $350 evoPower Stampa in five different cities worldwide, went with scarcity in making less than 1,000 of them originally and now has none remaining, according to company VP/Strategic Planning, Brand Management & Marketing Tara McRae. The uniquely designed shoe, which is part of Puma’s new evoPower line that launches Friday, was emblazoned with photos of actual newspaper clippings involving the mercurial player. It also featured the text, "Why Always Puma?" in a spinoff of Balotelli's infamous "Why Always Me?" shirt he exposed after scoring a goal during the '11 season, when he was playing for Manchester City and seemingly always making the English tabloids' front pages. The boot is just the first facet of an endorsement deal in which the company intends to make Balotelli the featured endorser of the evoPower line, which is the successor to its PowerCat collection. Puma also released a short New Years ad of him celebrating the mark of a new calendar in which he is holding a lit sparkler, no doubt a reference to a highly publicized incident in which he accidently set part of his Manchester house on fire after playing with fireworks in it. The spot foreshadows the big role he will play with the company's marketing plans around this summer's ’14 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
ON THEIR RADAR FOR A WHILE: McRae did not reveal when the company began negotiations will Balotelli, but said it had been in talks with him for "a little while." She added Puma pursued him because the company seeks "the athlete that stands out, and we felt as though Balotelli was absolutely that player, when looking at the global landscape of soccer players." On top of Balotelli, Puma for the World Cup also will be working with other players from its stable of endorsers, including Spain MF Cesc Fàbregas, Côte d'Ivoire MF Yaya Touré and Argentina F Sergio Agüero. This is part of Puma's overarching global campaign for the World Cup entitled "Nature of Believing," which will begin in earnest in late spring and is set to feature an aggressive digital and social component. Puma recently changed lead creative agencies to JWT, N.Y., but worked with Droga5 for the “Nature of Believing” campaign.
FOCUSING ON THE AZZURRI: While the headline-grabbing Balotelli was always likely to be a major part of World Cup plans for whichever company he was with during '14, he will now play an even more pronounced role because Puma has decided to designate Italy as its anchor team for the tournament in Brazil. That status means the country will receive the lion’s share of the company’s marketing focus during the competition. This is a switch from '10, when Puma designated its bevy of African teams as its anchor in part because the tournament was being played on the continent for the first time. McRae said the pursuit of Balotelli and the Italy decision were separate, but admitted it made for welcomed, natural synergy. She would not confirm if Balotelli would be part of the company's jersey unveilings for Italy in March, when it will be debuting new kits for all of the eight teams that it will sponsor at the tournament. However, given his newfound ties to the company, it is reasonable to assume he will.
THE ITALIAN STALLIONS: The Balotelli angle is only one part of the greater North American campaign Puma will be basing around the Italian team during the World Cup. In the U.S., the company is planning to hold Italian-themed activation events in several cities that have considerable Italian-American heritages, including N.Y., L.A., Boston and Chicago. At the events, which will be held during Italy's big games in the tournament, the company will attempt to give a taste of the European nation with music, cuisine and other traditions from there -- all while showing the game on TVs. Puma is looking at having a competition element at the events as well as having customization hubs, where some apparel and jerseys could be customized on the spot. The events will be held in conjunction with both brand-name and mom-and-pop retailers depending on the city, and most will be held at the retailers' brick-and-mortar stores. Puma would not reveal which companies it will be working with because details are still being ironed out, but all the events will feature pop-up shops solely selling Puma merchandise. McRae said Puma, which has designed Italy’s kits since ’03, decided to make the country its anchor for '14 because it is "extremely, extremely popular in the States. And I think the Italian national team being so strong as it is, is another key reason we did that."
