With 'Want it More', ASICS urges athletes to step up training: Rajat Khurana

True sport performance brand ASICS has rolled out its latest brand campaign – ‘Want it More’ – which is a direct call for all athletes to step up their training efforts and realise ever-greater achievement. Focusing on how far athletes across all sports – and of all ages – will go to reach their goal, the campaign is designed to support ASICS global strategy to expand its footprint beyond running and reach a wider, younger audience.

Creative execution for the campaign has been conceived by 180 Amsterdam. Chosen for his authentic and sensorial storytelling in sport, Henry Alex Rubin, Academy Award-nominated, feature-and documentary- maker, directed the films.

The campaign also paves the way for new product launches across multiple categories, including running and a new training collection. Both will feature technological advancements from ASICS Institute of Sport Science, delivering improved performance, style and comfort.

The ‘Want it More’ campaign kicks off with an open letter inviting the community of professional and amateur athletes to come together through their shared dedication to achieve a goal at #wantitmore. This fully-integrated campaign will publish across media platforms, including out of home, sponsored-events, multimedia, and major social media outlets.

Watch the ‘Want it More’ video:
https://youtu.be/ETyxVQWKPzw

From March 1 and throughout 2016, the ‘Want it More’ digital platform will keep pace with the annual sporting calendar, and inspire the community to stay motivated during workouts via two key components:

Fitter in :15 Campaign: Focusing in on the hard work of training, the Fitter in :15 campaign kicked off on March 1 with a community-building effort featuring a collection of 15-second training optimisation films that reveal different ways to take your workout to the next level. With tips and challenges from ASICS elite roster of sponsored athletes, experts, coaches and training influencers, these films will live on the ASICS Instagram account, offering a feed of useful content.

Train-offs: Emphasising the competitive spirit in sport, the campaign will also feature ’train-offs’, short films in which athletes – from pros to influencers to everyday athletes –demonstrate how hard and far they can train, and then challenge each other to train-offs all posted to #wantitmore. As the year progresses, ASICS will shift from sponsored-athlete  train-offs toward challenging the world to try and ‘out-train’ its elite athletes.

‘Want it More’ taps into the heart and soul of the ASICS brand, encouraging athletes of all ages and abilities to push themselves to their limits in order to better their best. For over 60 years, the company has remained committed to youth and hope through sport by driving technological innovation that supports athletes’ tireless pursuit of continuous improvement.

“With this campaign, ASICS aims to inspire and motivate athletes to reach their goals,” said Paul Miles, Senior General Manager, Global Brand Marketing Division, ASICS Corporation. “We know success in sport comes from the human pursuit to take performance to a whole new level. Through this effort, ASICS celebrates the passion that connects professionals with everyday warriors, and shares that spirit across the world.”

In an email interaction with Adgully, Rajat Khurana, Director, ASICS India, shares more on the campaign objective, digital initiatives and more.

What is the objective behind the campaign and the expectations you have from it?
The ‘Want it More’ campaign is a call to all athletes to step up their training efforts to realise ever-greater achievement. Focusing on how far athletes across all sports – of all ages – will go to reach their goals, the campaign is designed to support ASICS global strategy to expand its footprint beyond running and reach a wider, younger audience.

Is the campaign targeting a specific product or sports gear?
No, there is no specific product or sports gear targeted by the campaign, the sole focus of this campaign is to motivate and encourage aspiring and amateur athletes to ‘Want It More’.

ASICS will be introducing some exciting – and very distinct – new products in the footwear category in 2016 as it expands its footprint beyond running into training and other core performance sports categories.

First, there is the global launch of a new performance running shoe. It will offer feather-like lightness and response while maintaining sufficient durability for long runs. It will be the first shoe to feature a new revolutionary full length midsole, the lightest ever created by ASICS, and is targeted at those who want to be faster than everyone, and is good for all distances.

ASICS will also bring to market some colour updated versions of our versatile running footwear range that fuses performance and style for a new generation of runners looking for versatility and design.

Finally, we are adding a versatile training footwear range, equipped with training-specific upper for 360 degree support and fit, and low-profile platform for greater efficiency. We believe this shoe will meet the needs of those who want to look good and are committed to regular training.

Has the campaign officially been launched for India?
Yes, the campaign kickstarted on February 18 and will be executed globally throughout 2016.

Was this ad globally released?
Yes, ‘Want it More’ is ASICS’ new global ATL campaign that will be executed globally throughout 2016. The fully integrated campaign will publish across multi-media platforms, including TVC – of varied lengths – in six key markets, including Japan. This will be supported globally by out of home, print, digital, social and sponsored events as the campaign aims to reach and engage with new audiences.

Are you planning to come out with an India specific campaign?
Most of our campaigns are executed globally, however, we do come up with various contests on social media platforms.

What are the other initiatives been undertaken for the digital platforms. Will they encompass the Indian consumers?
Executed across multi-media platforms, the campaign will extend beyond traditional marketing channels as it seeks to engage in two-way conversation directly with consumers.

Our digital mix comprises focusing on key social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. The brand has created various assets to enable triggering the campaign across videos, online films, social media posts and more.

Please tell us about ASICS’ presence in India.
We have a total of five stores in India out of which three are in the Delhi NCR region. Our latest store launch is at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon. We are also present on leading e-commerce websites along with various multi brand stores.

The stores are located in:
Mumbai: High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel
Chennai: Express Avenue Mall, Whites Road
Delhi: Select City Walk, Saket
Noida: Mall of India
Gurgaon: Ambience Mall