Joga Bonito in Michigan: futsal events read for the retailer

What it is

Joga Bonito was a Nike soccer program. In Michigan in spring 2006 it ran as a series of futsal events, each tied to a retailer and a local partner. Futsal is a small-sided form of soccer played with its own ball.

The Dunham's events ran with the parks and recreation departments of Southfield and Waterford on six dates between April 24 and May 9. The MC Sports events ran in Grand Rapids at Orchard Hills Stadium, with a partner listed as GRASA, and at a second site, on six dates between April 26 and May 12. The three-year plans for both accounts, written in September 2005, already called for community events that connect the retailer and Nike and generate sales.

What Khounlavong did

• Attended the majority of the events in both Grand Rapids and Detroit.
• Wrote a recap deck for each account, and sent the recaps to Nike's soccer and marketing teams.
• Counted participation and shoe trials by week at every site.
• Ranked the shoes kids chose to trial. The Legend ranked first, with the Total 90 and the Vapor behind it.
• Recorded the demographics of each town, and what players wore by brand in footwear, apparel and accessories. Footwear on the field split evenly between Nike and Adidas.
• Drew takeaways for the accounts: club sponsorship seemed to drive brand loyalty, Adidas was the main competition, communication to the stores needed to improve, and both Waterford and Southfield offered more opportunity.
• Listed the recap among his contributions to other departments in his January 2007 accomplishments.

Results

• Attendance at the two Dunham's sites ran from 78 to 172 kids a week, with 22 to 68 shoe trials a week. One site drew 84 kids in the rain.
• One Grand Rapids site drew 78 to 134 kids a week with up to 67 shoe trials. The other drew 11 to 44, and the recap names weak club and parks support as the reason.
• Futsal balls sold through very strongly at Dunham's. The recap adds that Rochester Hills ran out.
• The events carried a radio remote, signage and branding that showcased each retailer's partnership with Nike.
• The recap records that the events taught consumers what futsal was.
• No sales figure for footwear is recorded for the events.

At a glance