Challenge

April 2012, the unthinkable happened: Derrick Rose, NBA MVP/Rookie of the year-point-guard for The Chicago Bulls, suffered a season ending ACL-knee tear only two months after signing an exclusive deal with adidas for his own signature brand. Now the launch of the adidas DRose 3 basketball shoe line was in jeopardy. The entire campaign would have to be rethought for a player now on the bench.

Solution

Our plan was to inspire fans, worldwide, through a mobile and digital content driven platform.

A 6-part Web series called “The Return” told the story of Rose’s personal recovery moments.

A digital hub (adidas.com/thereturn) – that aggregated fans reactions to the content and allowed for delivery of messages of encouragement to Rose - acted as the anchor of the platform.

#TheReturn would represent and aggregate the real time connections Rose and fans would have after each episode.

A groundswell of fan support would be created for Derrick. This groundswell inspired others to engage, participate and share.

How it worked:

We created a scalable HTML5 platform, accessible from any device but focused in mobile given our younger audience.

It consolidated the episodic documentary content of Rose’s return, profiled his upcoming shoe, and more importantly showcased a consolidated stream of social fan support from across diverse sources (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, OOH, and retail). We also gave visitors and fans a variety of exciting ways that they could show support of their own, including painting their Facebook profile pics red and sending Rose an “All In” personal message, posting inspirational instagram photos, or, our favorite, linking a tweet back to the actual documentary film content.

We ensured that communication and engagement was seamless across all media (Documentaries/Broadcast/Print/Youtube/Twitter/Search/Retail). Targeted TV, endemic print, mobile ads, digital take-over’s, social posts and products, search and outdoor inspired fans to continue connecting with and supporting Rose via #TheReturn.

Results:

Sales:

• Despite a $60 price increase and Rose unavailable on court, sales objectives were successfully met, including double digit sell-through: An industry goal

Twitter

• #TheReturn trended 3x without Bought media

• #TheReturn was mentioned/supported Rose 300,000+ times outpacing all other sports brands during the same period

• @adidasbaskebtall grew by 100%

YouTube

• 9 Million and counting viewed 18 mins of content

Facebook:

• adidas basketball ‘chat’ grew by 200%

Search

• Search volume was on par with the sports category for the same period despite Rose’s absence on court, unlike competing athletes.

• 400% increase in volume