Puma is gaining ground in the race to win over Gen Z as it tries to turn around its business in the competitive sportswear landscape.
The German company—one of the “big four” sportswear brands alongside Nike, Adidas, and Under Amour—has seen its reputation improve since launching its largest ever global campaign in March.
In the U.S., Puma’s favorability score among Gen Z climbed from 31.5 in March to 34 in April, according to Morning Consult, a data analytics firm that tracks how consumers perceive thousands of brands each day.
The brand’s latest marketing effort also coincides with a change in consumer behavior. In late March, web searches for Puma rose on Amazon, Walmart, and Target, according to data from Stackline, an AI-enabled retail intelligence and activation platform.
“Go Wild,” created by Puma’s new agency partner adam&eveDDB, represents an intentional shift in marketing strategy to better resonate with younger audiences. It also saw Puma increase its marketing investments by 40% compared to last year.
Puma’s marketing push is part of a turnaround strategy as it grapples with weakening business performance, forecasting slower sales growth this year. The company plans to cut 500 jobs worldwide and close unprofitable stores as part of a cost-reduction program.
Puma also announced earlier this month that it is replacing its chief executive Arne Freundt with Arthur Hoeld, Adidas’s former sales head. Hoeld, who takes over the top job in July, said in a statement that “sports authenticity and an exciting brand proposition” will be Puma’s “key focus in the future.”
That new proposition aims to “elevate Puma and turn it into a loved brand,” Julie Legrand, senior director of global brand strategy and communications at Puma, told ADWEEK.
Like other legacy rivals such as Nike, Puma has had to pivot amid an increasingly competitive sportswear sector that has been disrupted by challenger brands including Hoka and On.
“[For a long time] the market has been dominated by a few big players. Now we’re seeing new players and it’s become more competitive,” Legrand said. “The positive side is this shows there is space for other ideas about sports.”
