Never Settle, Never Done – how Nike inspired the next generation of female footballers by building a truly unique partnership with TikTok
Nike and TikTok crafted a partnership around the UEFA European Women’s Championship (WEUROS) that focused on two objectives: change the way female athletes are seen and instill a love and joy for football. Ultimately, Nike wanted to ensure that young women start and keep playing the beautiful game.
Right from the start, Nike’s WEUROS campaign had a TikTok-first focus with football freestyler, Emani (@emankassem79) being front and centre of the tournament hero film across all destinations. Nike’s creative also had a star-studded cast including England captain Leah Williamson, French legend Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Ballon D’Or winner Alexis Putellas, all set to the powerful and inspiring original sound ‘Shake it to the Ground’ by DJ Blaqstarr & Rye Rye.
Nike wanted to utilise TikTok in a way that felt native to the platform, so they partnered with 36 TikTok creators and launched a Branded Hashtag Challenge, #NikeShesBallin, in six key European markets – UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – supported with TopView, Top Feed, In-Feed and Spark Ads.
The #NikeShesBallin challenge was designed to raise the game for everyone and actively engage fans to show how they’re a baller both on and off the pitch. The world responded by demonstrating their epic skills and insights into their lives with a passionate energy and sense of community.
This was also a true partnership, with two TikTok creation booths set up at Nike’s WEUROS events in London that encouraged attendees to create their own Hashtag Challenge submission with a 180-degree slow-mo robotic arm camera.
On TikTok, Nike’s campaign was showcased centrally as the sponsor of the official Women’s Euros hub that featured daily branded content and was spotlighted across the platform and in tournament stadiums.
The campaign saw incredible results with 3.6 billion views of the Hashtag Challenge on the platform. The TikTok creators also drove excellent audience reach; for example, @ben with 15.7M, @liriansantoss_ with 9.7M and @sara_guzo with 7.9M views each.
Ultimately, with #weuros2022 trending number 1 in the UK, this was a groundbreaking moment for women's football and Nike was at the heart of the movement on TikTok.