Away all suspense. When the Red Devils unveil their new shirt, you will know (again) what is coming. Why do those involved fail to keep everything secret? Search for a leak that appears impossible to find/seal.
You’ll just be a marketer for Adidas or the Belgian Football Association.
The partners have undoubtedly been making creative plans for months to unveil the Red Devils’ new European Championship shirts in a creative way.
But there will be no surprises.
The digital designs of the home and away shirts were leaked for the first time three months ago – some media then cautiously picked them up.
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But when photos and videos of the “real” jersey surfaced this week, the spoilers were unstoppable. In recent days, everyone has already dressed up in the Tintin outfit of our national team.
Anyone who follows the official presentation will be watching a film of which he already knows the ending.
Well-kept secret
The striking thing: this is far from the first time that the Belgian Football Association has missed out on its first. The previous Devils shirts also all came out early.
But anyone looking for the mole should not look in our association building.
Because the jerseys of almost all other major football countries and international top clubs are also floating around on the internet months before the official release. From Adidas, but also from Nike or Puma and many other manufacturers.
Almost always the source: the well-known/infamous website Footy Headlines. Since 2012, they have made it a sport to be the first to release football outfits.
The Belgian shirts are not the only ones that can be admired on Footy Headlines.
Successfully.
The platform has become a reference in the football world and has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. But who is behind the platform is a well-kept secret.
On an information page, Chris and Pat (both without surname) are listed as founders. But they cannot be traced in any way. Our interview requests through official channels also went unanswered.
Too bad, but on the other hand: what were the chances that they would have revealed their lucrative secrets?
Then another track.
Instead of focusing on the whistleblower, it may be better to identify who the potential informants are.
Needle in a haystack
It is therefore interesting to know who is involved in the design and production of a shirt before it is released.
Spoiler (again): that’s a lot of people.
The entire process from idea to launch takes approximately two years for unique jerseys. And as time goes on, the number of parties and people involved only increases.
In the initial phase, only a creative team works on a case. Subsequently, limited delegations from country/club and manufacturer will be added. But when production is actually pushed into motion, the number of people with insider knowledge multiplies exponentially.
Of course, you have the workers who make the shirts. But also the retailers who purchase products in advance, external parties who participate in the launch and logistics partners who have to distribute the shirts all over the world.
The chance of leaks is high, especially in the final phase, say people with knowledge of the matter. “The larger a club or country internationally, the wider the distribution and the more vulnerable you are,” it says.
That is why the shirt of the Red Devils – now a global brand – is leaking, but that of, say, Union is not.
A look inside an Adidas factory in Pakistan.
To indicate how extensive the entire network is: the official Adidas website lists no fewer than 700 (!) factories involved in production. From a primary supplier in Argentina to a subcontractor in South Africa.
For example, in a leaked video of the Belgian shirt, the copy in question states “Made in Indonesia”, where Adidas has more than 50 factories with thousands of employees.
Tracing a leak there is simply looking for a needle in a haystack.
Insiders assure that there is indeed a hidden market in which employees in low-wage countries – and therefore susceptible to manipulation – send photos of new products to known websites for a fee.
Free talking point
Due to the complexity of the problem, there is no ready-made solution.
But how do the parties involved actually view the situation?
“The biggest challenge is that premature shirt leakage fuels counterfeit trade,” said Frank Basters, Brand Director at Adidas in the Benelux.
“That production is questionable to say the least and is at the expense of income that flows directly and indirectly back to football and the fans. That is why we at Adidas do everything we can to prevent such leaks by continuously tightening our processes. “
Of course in an ideal world you would have one big big bang, but from a marketing point of view this was great advertising.
Manu Leroy, director of marketing and communications
On to the Belgian Football Association then. They will soon be organizing a press moment without tension. Or yes?
“Sometimes I see things leak and I think: how do they get there?”, says Manu Leroy, director of marketing and communications at the Football Association, but still something is missing.
“Ultimately, we are still in control. Only this morning will we tell the full story behind the new shirt.”
Moreover, Leroy also sees advantages to the viral leaks: “We were the topic of conversation on websites, newspapers, news and talk shows. Of course in an ideal world you have one big big bang, but from a marketing point of view this was great advertising.”
The sales figures will probably confirm this soon.
2024-03-14 05:15:00
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