A New Brand Identity in 9.69 Seconds

By Paul Schrimpf, August 27, 2008 — This year’s summer Olympics had a plethora of historical moments with many claiming it to be the most watched games in history. The host country of China made a statement to the world both with its opening and closing ceremonies, and its gold medal count. Michael Phelps set a new Olympic record, winning 8 gold medals. The China versus USA basketball game was the most watched basketball game of all time. And with a time of 9.69 seconds, Puma solidified a new brand identity.

That’s right — while the world was watching Usain Bolt pound his chest as he crossed the 100 meter finish line, Puma marketing executives were giving each other high fives. Puma, a brand that revitalized itself over the past decade by positing itself around fashion, has recently been pushing to gain credibility in the sports arena under what they call “Sportlifestyle”. On August 16, 2008 and with the help of Usain Bolt, Puma did exactly that. We are witnessing the resurgence of the Puma brand.

Many would argue that Puma’s strive towards “Sportlifestyle” is too broad. Moreover, it’s hard to deliver if Puma’s touting their “Peace One Day” support while Bolt is being perceived by many as arrogant and cocky. However, he’s already taking steps to override this perception. Within days of his gold medal hat trick, he was in Sichuan visiting earthquake victims and made a $50,000 donation to the Red Cross Society of China. Now that fits tightly with what Puma is striving for. So what if people think he’s a bit arrogant. It didn’t stop Mohammad Ali (Sports Illustrated and the BBC merely considered him Sportsman of the Century). Steve Prefontaine did it for Nike. Lance Armstrong did for Trek. And now Usain Bolt is doing it for Puma. This Sportlifestyle thing now has credibility. What other shoe brand credibly meets the need of the high-performing athlete and the fashion-conscious diva?