SET AN AMBUSH

Ambush PR is about riding on the back of someone else’s expenditure, and it happens frequently when companies sponsor events. Although being an official sponsor of a major event such as the football World Cup or the Wimbledon tennis tournament carries a great deal of publicity value, it does cost a lot of money as well, and often the sponsors are lost among a welter of other organizations so that the payoff becomes hard to identify.

During the 1998 soccer World Cup, held in France, Nike and adidas were clear rivals. The major advantage of soccer from a PR viewpoint is its ability to attract world TV audiences, so for global brands such as Nike and adidas the attraction is obvious.

The organizers of the World Cup, FIFA, only allow one main sponsor in each business category, so Nike and adidas could not both sponsor the event. adidas “won the toss” and became the official sponsor, even though some of the competing teams were sponsored by Nike: the sponsorship fee was reputed to be £20 million, but Nike was able to ambush the event for a great deal less.

Nike set up a “football village” among the startling buildings at La Defense, on the northern edge of Paris. Entry was free, and the company laid on a number of “fun” events aimed at young soccer fans. Nike was not allowed to use the World Cup logo, or even refer to the event directly, but most people visiting the Nike village were blissfully unaware of this. The company even set up a “road show” to tour France, giving school children the chance to play against a Nigerian under-17 international team. Nike’s expenditure on the village was only £4.2 million, much less than adidas’s investment, for very similar results.

Ambushing adidas’s efforts not only gave Nike an unearned advantage: it also detracted from the impact of adidas’s PR exercise. adidas were not quick enough off the mark in countering Nike, but it is hard to see what they might have done to prevent Nike’s actions.

Practice

• Find an event that links to your product in a fairly direct way.

• Carry out your own activities in as close a proximity to the main event as you are able.

• Do not make any direct statements linking your firm to the event—let your actions speak for themselves.

• Expect retaliation.