Paris, Europe, Copa America...... 2024 can be said to be a veritable year for sports. In the strong sports atmosphere created by various global sports events, major sports brands have begun to exert force.
On April 10, PUMA, the world's leading sports brand, took the lead in releasing its 17 sets of Olympic outfits prepared for the Olympic Games, including track and field and basketball uniforms for Switzerland, Sweden and other national teams, and launched its first global brand renewal in a decade in Paris, France, "FOREVER. FASTER. - Heroes, see the difference".
With this brand refresh, PUMA intends to take advantage of the competition to strengthen the brand's professional image and highlight the positioning of the world's fastest sports brand, which is undoubtedly a wise move.
So what does "fast" mean for professional athletes, the general public, and sports brands like PUMA?
Rejuvenate does not change the "heart", and has always been the "fastest" sports brand for 75 years
We often say that "the world's martial arts, only fast is not broken". Speed is the key to the success of a great athlete.
PUMA has joined forces with many world-renowned athletes such as pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, track and field talent Karsten Warholm, soccer star Neymar and basketball player Breanna Stewart.
Outpacing your opponents faster is engraved in the DNA of these great athletes. Constantly speeding up and becoming their game-changing superpower. Only by constantly breaking speed records can the foundation stone of success be laid.
Speed is in PUMA's DNA.
Back in 1948, when Rudolf Dassler founded PUMA, his vision was to create sneakers that would make athletes agile, flexible and fast, like the literal translation of the brand's name: Puma.
FROM 1970, WHEN THE PUMA KING FOOTBALL BOOT AT THE FEET OF THE FOOTBALL KING PELE ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF A LARGE NUMBER OF FANS, TO MARADONA LIFTING THE HERCULES CUP, FROM SCHUMACHER CREATING A PADDOCK MIRACLE, TO BOLT DOMINATING THE TRACK AND FIELD FIELD...... In every historic sporting moment, PUMA can always be seen. For the past 75 years, PUMA has been working with the world's fastest athletes, clubs and sports associations.
From the past to the present, PUMA has always been the "fastest" sports brand in the world. So, how should we look at the PUMA brand rejuvenation and highlight the deep relationship with speed again?
First of all, in the horizontal dimension, PUMA is accelerating the coverage of professional sports to a wider public.
People are accustomed to self-challenge and self-transcendence in sports. PUMA understands that speed unlocks everyone's athletic performance and winning potential. The challenge of speed should not be limited to the great athletes, but should also be popularized by the general public. Therefore, in this brand refresh, PUMA invites everyone to push their limits, unleash their best and become a better version of themselves.
Secondly, in the longitudinal dimension, PUMA gives a deeper meaning to "speed" – speed is not only in motion, but also in spirit.
In fact, speed represents an enterprising spirit. Great athletes such as Usain Bolt and Schumacher not only broke through the limits of speed, but also brought great inspiration to the world by constantly breaking through themselves mentally.
With this brand refresh, PUMA is paying tribute to those who have been inspired by the motto "FOREVER. FASTER.” Great athletes for the faith. Their spirit of continuous self-breakthrough has not only made them the best in sports, but also the spiritual leaders of many ordinary people.
Overall, PUMA redefines the meaning of "speed" with a unique perspective and redefines the meaning of "speed", so that more athletes and ordinary people can inspire greater potential and become better versions of themselves.
With professional speed, create a passion for growth
"People who see the essence in a second and those who spend half a lifetime can't see the essence of a thing clearly, naturally have a different fate. There is such a classic line in the movie "The Godfather".
Similarly, brands that can quickly gain insight into the essence have a different fate from those that are difficult to perceive the essence. In the course of its development, PUMA has always been the first to perceive changes and make changes quickly with intuition. At this point in time, the PUMA brand has been renewed, also because of the insight into some essential changes.
1. Consumers need speed
As early as 1935, the Nobel laureate economist Hayek proposed the theory of "consumer sovereignty", which pointed out that in an era of extremely abundant materials and oversupply, the market balance was tilted in favor of consumers. The supply of brands should be determined by consumer demand.
In today's sports shoes and apparel industry, which is also in the era of "consumer sovereignty", brand actions should be tightly anchored to consumer demand. In recent years, the public's enthusiasm for sports has become more and more intense. According to the "China Outdoor Sports Industry Development Report (2022-2023)", in 2022-2023, outdoor sports such as road running and cycling have shown explosive growth, and many fields have recovered to or even exceeded the pre-epidemic level.
Among them, more and more sports enthusiasts are beginning to be interested in professional events, which has created a demand for sports specialization. They prefer better sports equipment, better sports venues, more professional sports skills, and so on.
When sports enthusiasts are more inclined to specialization, their requirements for the specialization of sports brands also become higher. If a sports brand can't meet the requirements, it will be abandoned by consumers. PUMA's rebranding at this time, including through its sponsorship of the Jamaican Olympic team, highlights the brand's connection to speed and will help to continue to strengthen the brand's professional image in the minds of consumers.
2. Speed leads the industry
It can be seen that in order to grasp the growth opportunities of the big year of sports. On the one hand, the main products have changed from fashionable sports and leisure to professional running shoes, fitness clothes, etc., and on the other hand, they have adjusted their strategic layout to accelerate brand iteration. Among them, PUMA responds quickly to market needs and innovates itself.
This can be seen in the financial report, which shows that PUMA's footwear business revenue continues to lead in 2023, with a year-on-year increase of 12.4%, driven by continued strong demand for football, basketball and high-performance running categories, as well as athletic styles. It can be seen that PUMA's specialized products have won the favor of consumers and are already accelerating commercialization.
In terms of regional performance, in 2023, PUMA led the way in revenue growth in the Asia-Pacific region, with a year-on-year increase of 13.6%. In the Chinese market, PUMA's revenue increased by 19% year-on-year, achieving four consecutive quarters of positive growth. In order to launch products that are more in line with the needs of Chinese consumers, PUMA will strengthen its design and production capabilities in China. According to the disclosure, in 2024, about 40% of Puma's products will be locally designed in China, and about 80% of its products will be produced in China.
This time, PUMA's brand renewal is further strengthening the professional sports attributes, and it is also taking advantage of the trend to meet consumers' needs for specialization. It is foreseeable that with the continuous deepening of PUMA's specialization and localization, it will further enhance its competitiveness in the future and gain more market share.
3. Grasp the time of the sports year
Another consideration for PUMA in choosing to refresh its brand this year may be to take advantage of the sports year to improve the efficiency of its brand marketing.
This year is a big year for sports, and many large-scale events such as the Olympic Games, the European Championship, the Speed Skating World Cup, and the Short Track Speed Skating World Cup have been held one after another. For sports brands such as PUMA, this year is a good time for a brand refresh. Because the intensive top-level sports events have a huge influence, they can enable brands to increase their voice on a larger scale, collaborate with the whole region, and achieve accelerated growth.
The "breaker" of the rules, dare to be the first in the world
"There is nothing that comes out of nowhere, and if you don't have a lot of accumulation, you won't get things done. Han Han, who is both a director and a top racing driver, once said.
The same applies to brands such as PUMA. The outside world only sees the current development speed of the brand, but ignores the perennial accumulation and a large number of innovations behind it.
1. Fast, dare to enter the land of no one
It can be found that PUMA has the innovative spirit of "daring to be the first in the world" and the innovation speed of continuous breakthroughs in many fields.
In many sports, F1 is very closely linked to speed. Since the mid-80s, when no sports brand was associated with racing, PUMA has been creating fire-resistant racing suits, racing shoes and other high-performance professional racing gear for many F1 drivers.
It can be said that this is undoubtedly a creative collaboration for sports brands, and the market is fair and will reward this innovation. Today, PUMA has developed into a leading brand in the professional racing gear and sports fashion category in the field of motorsport.
As an official partner of Formula 1 racing, PUMA has exclusive rights to design and produce apparel for fans of all 10 teams and a diverse audience from 2024, as well as to allow the sale of Formula 1 licensed apparel in the track's business district. In addition, PUMA will provide track gear for F1 crews.
In the past F1 Chinese Grand Prix, PUMA's presence in the field undoubtedly attracted the attention of many spectators. With years of accumulation and deep integration with racing culture, PUMA has also continuously strengthened the image of PUMA as the "fastest" brand to the public.
2. Be fast, don't be afraid of the constraints of rules
Times are always changing, and the secret to keeping the brand evergreen is "not broken and not standing". Specifically, it is the ability to constantly perceive change and then continue to change oneself.
PUMA has always played the role of "rule breaker", constantly creating innovative products that enable professional athletes and consumers alike to become faster and stronger in sports.
At the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, a number of athletes broke world records in PUMA SACRAMENTO sprint spikes with 68 small steel spikes on the forefoot of the only 4mm in length. SUDDENLY, THE IAAF WAS OVERWHELMED AND BANNED ATHLETES FROM WEARING PUMA SACRAMENTO ON THE FIELD, CITING "TOO DANGEROUS" AND "HARMING PLASTIC TRACKS", TWO REASONS THAT SEEMED TO HAVE LITTLE TO DO WITH THE SPORT ITSELF. Since then, the number of studs in track shoes has never exceeded 10.
Today, despite knowing that the IAAF stipulates that the sole of a running shoe should not exceed 40 mm thick and no more than one insert, PUMA has rebelled and created the Puma FAST-RB, which has a 60mm high sole and a three-layer midsole structure and inlay design.
Behind the seemingly rebellious is PUMA's dedication to speed and professional ability. As the PUMA shoe product design team says, "We create to learn, and many times, we can only learn more by breaking the rules and apply it to the design of compliant shoe products." "That's why we've seen PUMA build on the concept of the PUMA Fast-RB and bring a World Athletics compliant shoe, the Puma Fast-R 2.
PUMA's history is one of accelerating innovation. Innovation is the driving force of PUMA's growth, and speed is its differentiator.
Now, Hugh says that speed is not enough. PUMA's brand renewal tells us that it is speed that makes "heroes, see the difference", and speed is also PUMA's superpower as a competitive sports brand. With this brand refresh, it is reasonable to expect PUMA to accelerate again on the road of innovation, bring better products, services and brand concepts to the market, and continue to write a strong chapter in the history of world sports.