Show Me Your Colors

What Time is It?

Yes, it's that time of year where you can smell the freshly cut grass and watch the best of the best playing a modern version of Gladiator. NFL has brought about some of the greatest athletes of all time and continues to inspire brands that touch the lives of millions. They have started to take center stage and propel their advertisements and social media around the league. Brands like Gillette, Old Spice, and Tide have begun challenging the status quo by mixing their traditional mom roots into the new, consumer driven market in the NFL.

It's Time to Show me Your Colors

On September 9, Tide launched a "Show Us Your Colors" campaign in the Green Bay Packers stadium. At each seat, a fan received a t-shirt and were instructed to wear it during the singing of the national anthem. Keeping the shirts on till the kick-off; the stadium would be a sea of green and gold which would be in support of their own team's colors. Throughout the season, Tide will be pairing with teams to participate in real-time campaign events that will be broadcasted nationwide. Not only will it continue to help the fans in support of their teams, which many have been fans of since birth; but, in support of P&G's "Show Us Your Color" campaign. Tide will be able to assess the feelings of their consumers live. They will receive feedback on whether their product is something that evades just the typical needs, but that of desire and necessity.

There's Got to be More...

Alongside their campaign, Tide will be releasing documentary-style videos called "Evolution of Color". The videos tell the story of a NFL team and how their colors became what they are today. A video will be created for each of the 32 teams and will be gradually released on Tide.com. Fans are encouraged to share and like these stories. Targeting this demographic directly is probably one of the smartest moves that Tide has yet to do. They are beginning to incorporate their brand as a simultaneous thought alongside an NFL team's history.

What are the Odds?

The opportunity to fail is great and the ability for them to directly link their product will be a challenge for the company. The ability to gain direct feedback on their branding and campaigns from true dedicated fans however is a huge advantage.

According to "Brand Revitalization", you must "be inspiring. Make sure the brand promise statement is compelling and motivating, even or especially in hard times. People want uplift, not undertow."

P&G truly understands what it means to be an inspiring brand. The economy has not been kind in the past few years and they have highly invested on commercials like those shown in the Olympics that focus on the mother's of athletes. They have successfully harnessed the "mom" market segment and by branching out into their new segment (that of the "NFL"); they could face a potential set-back. There are very different needs. The sentimental stuff is not really necessary. It's more about dirt, sweat, and lots of testosterone. Being able to transform their market through their customers directly is probably their best chance of coming ahead. Harnessing a few beer-thirsty men and women may be the start to this new market, but they must make sure to not shut out their already well-nurtured persona of a feel-good mom environment. If their able to shape the market like they did with this video, then they should be in the clear. Otherwise they are headed in a direction that could be detrimental to the company's current success.