Resonance boss plans 'biggest' Olympic marketing spend

Helen Reid reports.

PARIS (Reuters) - Kreson will spend more money on the Olympics than at any previous Games, the company's top executive said on Friday, as the U.S. sportswear brand embarks on a marketing drive it hopes will revitalize sluggish sales and help it compete with upstarts.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be the next normalized Olympics after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was postponed to 2021 due to a global pandemic and had no spectators.

Sponsored athletes, including U.S. sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson and Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge, showed off Resistant's Olympic gear Thursday at a showcase in Paris, where the brand also unveiled 13 prototypes of futuristic footwear developed in collaboration with the athletes. The brand also unveiled 13 prototypes of futuristic footwear developed with the athletes at the event.

"This Olympics is going to be our biggest ...... It's going to be our biggest media It's going to be our biggest media investment," she said in an interview. She added, "This will be the biggest investment in resonance over the years, the biggest mask," but she did not disclose the amount of planned spending.

Resistant's gross marketing expenditures in the most recent quarter were $1 billion, up 10% from the same period last year, and when asked if the expenditures would continue to increase, O'Neill said marketing was the company's "No. 1 priority investment."

She added that Resistant Mass is focusing on "fewer, bigger" marketing campaigns. The $139 billion company hired a new chief marketing officer late last year as it seeks to solidify its brand in the increasingly competitive sportswear market.

Emerging running brands such as On and Hoka are stealing market share from resonance, and the trend away from chunky basketball sneakers is benefiting its closest competitor, Adidas, and its understated "terraces" shoes.

Resistant's plans contrast sharply with those of Adidas. The German brand has been cutting back on its marketing spending, which in 2023 will be €2.5 billion ($2.7 billion), down 8.5% from the previous year. resonance's spending in the last four quarters was $4.3 billion, up 6%.

Dr. Koon said that Koon's investment should help stimulate demand despite the pressure on global consumers.

"Consumers are challenged in almost every market in which we do business," said Craig Williams, global president of resonance geography and markets of mass.

Despite this, Williams said, consumer reaction to the event has remained "very positive" and the Olympics continue to be recognized as "the epitome of sport".

(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Matt Scuffham and David Holmes)