- European sporting goods retailer Intersport is celebrating the World Cup by hosting immersive clubhouse experiences in big cities across Europe including: Berlin, Paris and Istanbul.
- The activation brings to life the brand’s global campaign “Your Passion. Your Place. Make it Your Game.” The effort features football (soccer) players Joshua Kimmich, Frenkie De Jong, Bradley Barcola and Sandy Baltimore.
- The clubhouses are designed as community spaces for fans, players and local communities to connect.
Intersport’s “Your Passion. Your Place. Make it Your Game.” campaign highlights how sports bring people together across cultures, communities and levels from the pros to the weekend hobbyist. The effort shows off footwear, apparel and equipment from brands carried at the retailer including: Asics, Brooks, Under Armour, New Balance, adidas, as well as the in-house label energetics. Brand Innovators caught up with Andy Hogg, head of global marketing & omnichannel at Intersport, to discuss the activations.
What is the strategy behind the Intersport clubhouses?
The clubhouses are about taking everything Intersport stands for and making it real in a physical space. We talk a lot about being the place where people connect through sport, and the clubhouses give us a way to bring that idea to life. They’re spaces where fans, athletes and local communities can come together, discover products, take part in activities and simply enjoy being around sport.
More importantly, and what I really like about them, is that they go beyond traditional retail. They’re designed as community hubs where local sporting culture meets the energy of global sport. That’s very much the role Intersport plays as a multi-brand retailer. We bring together different sports, different brands and different types of athletes, all under one roof.
Why is it important to you to show up in key tentpole moments like the World Cup?
I’ve always felt that major sporting moments remind us why people care so deeply about sport in the first place. Global sporting events create a sense of connection that’s hard to replicate. You see people coming together through shared passion, emotion and excitement, whether they’re lifelong fans or just getting caught up in the moment.
For Intersport, those moments are incredibly important because they align so closely with our purpose. We’re all about connecting people through sport, and during events like these that connection becomes visible on a global scale. It’s also a significant moment for us as a brand. This is our biggest global campaign to date, spanning everything from TV and social media to ecommerce, in-store experiences and the clubhouses themselves. What’s exciting is seeing all of those elements work together to create one connected experience across markets, from Australia to some of our biggest European markets like France and Germany.
At the same time, it’s important that we bring that global energy into local communities in a way that feels authentic. That’s where the clubhouses play such an important role. They give people a place to experience those moments together.
How does this support your brand platform?
Our platform, “Make it Your Game”, is all about making sport feel personal and accessible to everyone. The clubhouses are probably one of the clearest examples of that idea in action. They create a space where people can engage with sport in whatever way feels right for them, whether that’s playing, competing, discovering new products, learning from our in-store experts or simply soaking up the atmosphere. It’s important for us to recognize that everyone’s relationship with sport is different. Some people are highly competitive, while others are there for the social connection or sense of belonging. The clubhouses embrace all of those experiences. They also reinforce our belief that Intersport can be the common ground of sport, a place where everyday athletes, passionate fans and professionals can all come together, supported by the expertise and guidance that sit at the heart of our business.
How are you working with brand partners like adidas, Nike and Puma on the activation?
What makes Intersport unique is the strength of the relationships we have with our brand partners. Partners like adidas, Nike and Puma play a central role in this year’s campaign and clubhouse experiences. They help us create more meaningful connections with consumers, whether that’s through athlete ambassadors like Joshua Kimmich, Frenkie de Jong, Bradley Barcola and Sandy Baltimore, or through the products and experiences that bring the campaign to life.
What makes it work is that we’re not just showcasing products. Together, we’re creating experiences that people genuinely want to engage with. In the clubhouses, consumers can explore the latest collections, take part in activities and interact with brands in a much more meaningful way than they would through a traditional retail experience. As a multi-brand retailer, our role is to bring all of those partners together in a way that feels seamless, relevant and valuable for consumers.
What do you hope consumers takeaway from these experiences?
At the simplest level, we want people to feel connected to sport, to their community, and to us as a brand. We want them to come away feeling that Intersport understands their version of sport, what-ever that looks like, and that there’s a place for them. That’s really at the heart of the campaign, and at the heart of sport itself, where we see our role as bringing people closer to it. If we get that right, people leave with more than just a product experience. They leave with a stronger emotional connection to sport, to their community and, hopefully, to Intersport as a brand.
