Malaysia's Olympic win leads to spike in social and web traffic for Bata's Power shoes

The Tokyo Olympics might have ended but it is still a golden moment for Bata Malaysia as it basks in the positive chatter and online engagement resulting from the recent Olympic win of professional track cyclist Azizulhasni Awang. Shortly after Azizulhasni clinched silver, several netizens enquired on Bata Malaysia's Facebook and Instagram pages if it will be selling the Power Sports shoes worn by the cyclist and where they could purchase them. Some also complemented the nice design. In July, 200 pairs of Power Sports shoes and 200 pairs of men’s and ladies shoes with an estimated retail value of RM 85,000 were handed out to the participating athletes as part of Bata's sponsorship with the Olympic Council of Malaysia.

Head of marketing Diana Wong told A+M that the brand received more than 100 private messages on Instagram and about 150 direct messages on Facebook concerning the shoes. It also witnessed a 30% increase in website traffic compared to a normal Monday as a result of consumers searching for the limited edition Power Sports shoes. Interactions on its Instagram also jumped 148% yesterday. Unfortunately, Bata is unable to sell the Power Shoes worn by the national athletes at the Olympics due to its agreement with the Olympic Council of Malaysia.

However, it ran a contest from 23 July to 8 August offering 20 consumers a chance to win the limited edition Power sneakers worn by the national athletes. At the same time, it is also celebrating the Power brand and sports by offering a 30% discount off the second pair of Power shoes on its website and at retail stores that are currently open. 

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"We are happy that this sponsorship has put the Power brand in the spotlight again," Wong said. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no investment in media spend for the Power shoes. According to Wong, the brand is conserving its marketing budget until its stores reopen. "But if we had spent money, the shoes would have been even more viral," she said. The brand has also given out 100 pairs of Power shoes to the Paralympians ahead of the Paralympic Games commencing on 24 August. 

Aside from enquiries to purchase, Bata also received calls to tweak the shoes' design and colour slightly and make them available to consumers. While there are no plans to do so as of now due to lockdowns and market volatility, Wong said Bata might consider doing it for next year's SEA Games. "Most of the comments and enquiries are in Malay and they are probably hardcore fans of Azizulhasni, which is a new audience segment for Bata," she explained.

When asked how it plans to target this new audience segment, Wong explained that Bata's long term strategic plan is to continue building on the Power brand and ride on the sneaker phenomenon currently happening globally. This will be done via its nationwide Sneakerfest campaign happening in October this year to highlight its sports and sneaker offerings. "We cannot do a massive campaign now as 80% of our stores are still closed due to the lockdown. The current plan is to ensure that stores will comply with safety measures when we open and to remedy operations and stock issues since we were closed for so long. Hence, it is still too early to think about marketing beyond the Sneakerfest in October," she explained. 

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