How Adidas is using WhatsApp as successful marketing channel
Adidas has long understood how well WhatsApp works as a global marketing channel. The German company has been using WhatsApp to interact directly with its end customers since 2015. With its current ‘Rent-a-Pred’ campaign, the sports equipment manufacturer demonstrates how effective one-to-one communication is in marketing.
Soccerbible talks about the smartest marketing trick of the decade, when discussing Adidas’ latest campaign! The German company has long since recognized how simple and effective direct communication via WhatsApp with end customers is.
How does Adidas’ WhatsApp-Marketing campaign work?
With its current ‘Rent-a-Pred’ campaign, Adidas is helping London football teams to solve the tiresome problem of unreliable playmates: But how? If a player cancels a match on short-notice, the understaffed football team simply writes a WhatsApp to the “Rent-a-Pred” WhatsApp hotline, answers a few basic questions about the location and time of the match and then finds out in the morning of the match day whether they will receive a “100% unfair support” from a substitute player – of course fully equipped and sponsored with Adidas Predator20 Mutator equipment. Some of the best football players in the city were recruited to support the understaffed team in a “100% unfair way” as Adidas-sponsored substitute footballers. The world star Kaká was also part of the substitute team!
“It’s allowed us to build direct relationships with a smaller community of influential people in an ongoing way that doesn’t feel transactional and allows for a conversation, rather than just a broadcast,” said Laura Coveney, managing editor for Adidas’ newsroom in London.
How has the campaign been promoted?
Adidas’ WhatsApp campaign has been promoted on all social media channels: The sports retailer promoted their WhatsApp campaign in adidas London Instagram feed and channel, on their Facebook page and also on Twitter.
Has a team-mate let you down? Whatsapp PRED to 07444 081 752 now and we’ll send you one of London’s best ballers in their place.
Seems unfair? Rent-a-Pred is unfair. 100% Unfair. pic.twitter.com/vuYRsgSRs4
— adidas UK (@adidasUK) February 4, 2020
Of course, other media directly took up this great advertising campaign and also reported on Adidas Rent-A-Pred marketing campaign.
Adidas WhatsApp marketing campaign
Why on WhatsApp?
“WhatsApp was perfect for the more functional elements of the ‘Rent-a-Pred’ hotline as it allowed consumers to share private information one-to-one with us for review, before being allocated a Predator player near them.”
Adidas has long recognized the trend of the future: Messaging apps are the most popular communication channel on a smartphone today. Worldwide, the usage numbers of messaging apps are increasing continuously and also across all age groups. The direct communication channel also allows the sharing of private information, e.g. concerning the football match. One-to-one communication via messaging app remains one of Adidas’ central marketing strategies.
