The Campaign

Because we weren’t allowed to say a word about the Olympics, we found another way to speak. Inspired by watching volleyball players using hand signs to communicate within the team, we created our very own hand sign. We call it the Adidas 3 Fingers. Anyone could use it to cheer on the China Women’s Volleyball Team, who were participating in the Olympics. It was a clever way to connect with the team—as encouragement when they lost a game, or as motivation to drive them towards winning more games. Fans did the sign all over social media, and during the matches in Rio, spreading a hand sign created by a brand that wasn't an Olympics partner, during the Olympics.

Creative Execution

Every step of the way—from introducing the hand sign to cheering the team on with every match—Adidas created relevant content posts to stay on top of the conversation. We created original artwork that was shared throughout social media to encourage, motivate, and inspire. Each artwork is uniquely designed by different artists, capturing not only the excitement before each game, but also the exhilaration of every win and hope with each loss.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

221,523,736 Video Impressions 75 Million Celebrity Video Impressions 330 Million Viewership on Social Media 149,000 User Engagement

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

The campaign seek to create response during the Olympics and the brand’s sponsorship of the volleyball team by inviting the audience to be part of a movement supporting the team. It also seek to strength the relationship between the audience and the brand in the social and cultural space.

After we created the Adidas 3 Fingers, the China Women’s Volleyball Team took to social media and introduced the hand sign to the fans. We leveraged on the players and KOLs to encourage fans to show support for the China team. Adidas rallied for support from the fans, inspiring user generated content before and after each match. Throughout the entire journey until the finals, Adidas reacted with content posts for every situation along the way, making sure to stay on top of the conversation. When China won Gold, the hand sign was seen on a multitude of fans, all over social media, and even gracing the Shanghai skyline.