Footwear giants adapt marketing tactics during COVID-19

High-profile footwear brands are finding themselves in a unique position during the pandemic, turning to technology to shift products. 

Never before has it been so important for people to remember the positive impact that sports can have. At the moment many of us striving to achieve a happy mind through a happy body, using exercise to uplift ourselves and find motivation in our newfound free time. With physical activity being one of the many ways people are coping with movement restrictions and social distancing at the moment, it makes sense that the sportswear industry would be booming — but that’s not to say that it hasn’t changed.

Tapping into this notion and reluctant to let the unique opportunity slide is sportswear manufacturer ASICS. ‘We wanted to support athletes to perform at their best in big competitions, which is why we’ve launched at this time, with huge sporting occasions in the offing next year,’ says executive officer at ASICS Institute of Sport Science, Kenichi Harano. ‘We also want to keep doing what we can to help everyone achieve their fitness goals during this difficult period.’

However, having initially organised the large-scale launch to take place at this year’s innovation summit in Tokyo, ASICS found itself rapidly rethinking how to ensure the new products would get the publicity they deserved. 

With lockdown measures enforced to reduce the spread of the virus, the company has turned to technology to provide would-be-attendees of the launch event (and eventually consumers) with an experience that would match.