Marketing in 2024 Paris Olympics: Nike Tweeted What Everyone Wanted to Say

Among all sports brands, Nike’s marketing campaigns in 2024 Paris Olympic stood out. It’s memorable phrase “想带走的巴黎纪念品 只有奖牌” (There’s only one souvenir I want from Paris.) has demonstrated how content is the king!

As a rising sports star in tennis court, Zheng Qinwen’s commercial value has been recognized by many brands, including Nike, Yili, CHAGEE, Swisse, Lancôme, Wilson, Ant Group, and Rolex.

Nine years ago, at the age of 13, Zheng Qinwen made a name for herself in the National youth tennis tournament of China, catching Nike’s attention. Therefore, Nike extended its offer and started cooperation with her.

Years of cooperation with Queen Wen’s (Zheng Qinwen’s nickname) allowed Nike to deeply understand her strength and ambition. Therefore, in their campaign before the 2024 Paris Olympics, they tailor made a somewhat bold but very memorable phrase for her – “想带走的巴黎纪念品 只有奖牌” (There’s only one souvenir I want from Paris).

However, Nike faced a significant challenge.

Despite partnering with Queen Wen for many years, Nike cannot easily gain the maximum exposure at her critical moments of glory. In 2022, Adidas officially became the official partner of the Chinese Tennis Association. This means that at the Olympic games that attracted global attention, Zheng Qinwen would compete in the Chinese national team uniform provided by Adidas. And when she stood on the podium for her gold medal, Zhen Qingwen also needed to wear the award ceremony outfit provided by Anta.

How can Nike successfully stand out at such a critical moment and not pour their years of efforts down the drain?

Nike’s marketing strategy in 2024 Paris Olympics is to focus on becoming the voice of millions of netizens, by creating a memorable phrase that really said what everyone wanted to say.

Meanwhile, Nike also printed this phrase on a T-shirt. At the finals, Zheng Qinwen’s team members have been seen wearing this commemorative t-shirt.

After winning the championship in Paris, Zheng Qinwen’s Weibo post echoed Nike’s phrase: “带走了最想要的巴黎纪念品” (I took home the souvenir I wanted most from Paris).

And as a response, Nike immediately elevated its phrase, changing it to “想带走的巴黎纪念品 只有金牌” （There’s only one souvenir I want from Paris – the gold medal). The t-shirt with this sentence printed has had over 1,000 units sold immediately after release.

That wasn’t the full story yet. The day after Zheng Qinwen won the championship, Nike had a giant size commercial featuring Zheng Qinwen in 2024 Paris Olympics posted in one of the busiest subway hub in Shanghai, China, attracting many passersby to take photos and voluntarily posting across social media. Yes, she was wearing Adidas in the tennis court, but who could tell what she was wearing now?

The reason Nike’s marketing stood out with a memorable phrase is that it connected to the netizens emotionally, and consistently addresses an unchanging need – the Olympic audience need a voice to praise the Olympic spirit and exuberantly celebrate the victorious moments. Regardless of how the media environment changes or how social platforms evolve, connecting with the audience emotionally with engaging content is always going to work.

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