Adidas looks to fully utilize arguably their most popular poster boy, regardless of if he plays or not. NBA superstar and former MVP Derrick Rose has been the face of Adidas since the Chicago native signed a 14 year – $250 million contract in February 2012. Rose was very appreciative of the deal, stating “I’m just blessed and feel grateful right now,” and thanked Adidas for their loyalty.
However, the excitement and enthusiasm was short-lived as Rose suffered a horrifying ACL injury in his left knee just two months afterwards. In the blink of an eye Adidas had to quickly shift their focus from Rose’s on-court ability and talent to his off-court recovery and rehabilitation. Under the sponsorship of Adidas, Derrick Rose has been publicized more for his return to the court than his physical attributes, footwear, and apparel.
Adidas had been proactive in ensuring that the basketball world would not forget Rose as he sat out during the 2012 playoffs and the entire 2012-2013 season. A global website sponsored by Adidas, thereturn.adidas.com, was launched and allows fans to watch videos on Rose’s recovery and follow the latest news from the Twitter accounts of Derrick Rose and Adidas Basketball.
It also offers a video series that centers around five principles: belief, hope, focus, push, and drive. There is also a montage of several documentary and motivation pieces. Fans can show support by giving a shootout on Twitter using “I’m all in for @drose #TheReturn because:”, creating a profile picture for Facebook, and posting pictures on Instagram using “#thereturn”. There are over 15 million fans worldwide who are “all in” for Derrick Rose.
Adidas did an exceptional job in marketing Derrick Rose. It seemed as if Rose had never left, aside from his absence with the Chicago Bulls, as he appeared in approximately a half dozen advertisements that highlighted his return. It is also worth noting that Derrick Rose is featured in 17 of the 28 videos for adidasbasketball on Youtube.
Derrick Rose also held a presence in the social media world as he sat out 18 months throughout all stages of his rehab. Twitter boomed as fans and followers of the NBA showed support for Rose by using “#thereturn” and other popular hashtags that eventually became trending. Along with that, photographs of Rose during his recovery process quickly went viral and received heavy traffic on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. The consistency and regularity of Adidas’ marketing of Derrick Rose made his long awaited return a sight to see.
But in the wake of Rose’s latest season-ending injury Adidas will likely continue their marketing strategy for the superstar. A relaunch of #thereturn on Twitter, updates on his recovery, a countdown to his return, and other marketing tools will hopefully give fans hope in an otherwise sad and disappointing situation.
A “Pray For D-Rose” Facebook page has already been created and news of the injury has created a lot of buzz on Twitter, the Bleacher Report, and NBA.com. Rose’s absence is also a huge blow to the Adidas brand. Similar to last year, it will be a long season for the Chicago Bulls and Adidas will have their hands full in changing the concept but maintaining the same value for “The Return 2.0”.