Nike: The Lioness Crest [Supporting Images], 1

Credits & Description:

Brand NIKE
Entrant WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM

WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Entrant Company
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM Amsterdam, The Netherlands Idea Creation
NIKE Hilversum, The Netherlands Idea Creation
NEW AMSTERDAM FILM COMPANY The Netherlands Production
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM Amsterdam, The Netherlands PR
NIKE Hilversum, The Netherlands PR
MINDSHARE Amsterdam, The Netherlands Media Placement
Eric Quennoy Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Executive Creative Director
Mark Bernath Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Executive Creative Director
Evgeny Primachenko Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Creative Director
Craig Williams Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Creative Director
Hannah Smit Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Art Director
Christopher Cryer Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Copywriter
John Felipe Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Director
Joe Togneri Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Head of Broadcast Production
Javier Perroud Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Producer
Lizzie Murray Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Studio Director
Steele Bonus Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Designer
Malia Killings Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Designer
Hiro Ikematsu Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Editor
Stephane Missier Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Planning Director
Anna Leonte Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Junior Planner
Jocelyn Reist Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Communications Planner
Kathryn Addo Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Group Account Director
Amber Martin Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Account Director
Molly Rugg Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Account Manager
Loes Poot Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Project Manager
Michael Graves, Belen Jerez Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Business Affairs
Al Merry Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam Creative Director
Joe Burrin Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam design director

Synopsis
Dutch football may be experiencing it’s darkest times, well at least the men’s team. The women’s team, however, has been experiencing an upswell of energy and excitement. And without any real support or exposure.
This environment has fostered a unique mindset in women’s football in the Netherlands - especially among young girls. A mindset forged away from shiny stadiums, spotlights and endorsements. A mindset of girls who have pure love for the game.
With Netherlands hosting the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017, Nike wanted to celebrate this unique mindset, elevate women’s football, and inspire all Dutch female athletes.
The project’s budget was around €150k and ran across all of The Netherlands.
Strategy
During the Women’s EURO 2017 tournament, Nike wanted to put women’s football in the spotlight for the first time and provide young Dutch female athletes (13-17 year olds) with a message to rally behind.
To further understand our audience, we interviewed 20 Dutch females between the ages 13-16 about their perception on women in sports in the Netherlands, the culture of football in the Netherlands and barriers to the sport. From the interviews, we learned Dutch women have a distinct mindset and attitude (bikkel - a word used to define someone with grit and will), which ultimately led to our strategic point of view and creative platform.
Outcome
The campaign saw success across press, engagement metrics, product demand and, most importantly, the culture:

- Press described the design as “simple, brilliant and empowering” with coverage from the likes of Buzzfeed, Its Nice That, and DeZeen.

- Campaign events were attended by 360+ fans and media and the film’s completion rate was highest among our target audience, reaching 1.1M.

- Demand for Women’s Football product on Nike.com is up 360% vs. last year.

- The work had significant cultural impact, with the crest being unveiled in front of the Dutch Royal Palace and minted onto official coins & stamps.

- The energy was contagious - the Dutch-hosted UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 saw a new record set for attendance of a women’s football match in the Netherlands (+21K) and was the the most watched Women’s Euro in history.

Execution
We unveiled the crest change with a large manifesto in Dam Square in front of the Dutch Royal Palace. We invited 250 fans to the event and offered an exclusive Q&A with athletes.
In the days leading up to the first match, we leveraged the voices of local Dutch influencers, the KNVB and the national football team to spread our messaging and unbox special influencers kits with the new crest.
Throughout the tournament, we took over social feeds through athlete and victory tacticals. We also had on-the-ground presence in key cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht.
To cap off the campaign and celebrate the team’s epic win, we changed all Leeuwenstraats (Lion Streets) in the Netherlands to Leeuwinnenstraats (Lioness Streets).
Campaign Description
For 46 years, the Netherlands Women’s National Football Team have been known as ‘de Oranje Leeuwinnen’ - the Orange Lionesses. It’s what they’re called by the press, by their fans and by themselves. But for 46 years, they’d worn a lion as their crest. We worked in partnership with Nike and the KNVB (The Royal Dutch Football Association) to change the national team’s crest from a lion to a lioness.
Brief With Projected Outcomes
Compared to other countries in the EU, the Netherlands have a pretty even playing field when it comes to gender equality. For the most part, that attitude is also reflected in sports. Though, football stands as an exception and is still generally regarded as a man's sport.
Through our research we found women who play football have significantly less opportunity, facilities, media exposure and resources, leading to lower participation numbers. One interviewee even mentioned needing to have her dad had to step in as a referee because the referee didn’t show.
UEFA set out to change this during the EURO 2017 Women’s Tournament with a massive initiative aiming to make football the number one participation sport for girls and women in Europe by 2022. This, coupled with the growing talent and energy of the Netherland’s women team, helped provide a strong kicking off point for our crest change.