PUMA's Digital Marketing and Sustainability Strategy

PUMA was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler and is one of the world's leading sportswear companies that designs and creates footwear, clothing, and accessories. For many years, Puma has been famous for its complete union of fashion and functionality reason that makes it a company of great significance to the sneaker market (Correia, 2019, p.2). Puma has been upping the ante lately in creating eco-friendly sneakers, especially with their "Forever Better" campaign targeted at sustainability, recycling, and cruelty-free ways of production. It is on course to reduce carbon and decrease the harm that it does to the planet. Its journey toward sustainability is part of the trend in the global footwear industry, as companies begin to handle environmental responsibility and ethical production as a core factor that arises as important for brand reputation and consumer trust. With the projected growth of the sneaker industry to reach $403.2 billion by 2025 due to increased discretionary spending and design trends, it puts tremendous pressure on brands like PUMA to balance innovation with sustainability to stay competitive (Niskanen, 2019, p.1).

Discussion

Puma was selected due to its standing as one of the most recognizable brands worldwide, which has embraced sustainability in its products and practices. This brand has shown commitment towards green production by using different sustainable materials and taking an active environmental and social responsibility stance with active social networks, crucial for its marketing (Almestarihi, 2024, p.11). It utilizes social media platforms in terms of consumer engagement for sustainability.

At Puma, the "Forever Better" program is particularly salient showing that well-established brands implement sustainability into their supply chain and product offerings. It has committed to the usage of 100% sustainable cotton, 75% recycled polyester, and the development of cruelty-free products made of environmentally friendly materials (Markuz, Ple?aš & Ban 2022, p.177).

Sustainability is one of the main differentiators in the marketplace, it is relevant to analyze how Puma uses digital platforms to reach out and connect with eco-conscious consumers when trying to communicate its message of sustainability (Marques, 2019, p.26).

Audit & Analysis

The core digital marketing for Puma is focused on its website and social media presence across channels like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

PUMA frequently showcases its line of eco-friendly sneakers, including the RE: SUEDE and other products manufactured with recycled materials, on both Instagram and Twitter (Atram, 2023, p.46). The company's website touts the "Forever Better" campaign initiative that has made information about eco-friendly operations publicly available from reduced carbon footprint to using sustainable packaging and renewable energy.

Figure 1 About the RE: SUEDE products

(Source: PUMA RE: SUEDE)

As for engagement Puma's social media platforms are interactive, comprising different forms of content in images or videos that maintain the audience. For instance, posts on Instagram alone comprehend influential influencers, athletes, and eco-conscious consumers in their Puma products (Gray, 2019, p.12).

Figure 2 Instagram Marketing & Influence

(Source: Instagram, 2024)

Puma is implementing hashtags like “Forever Better” and Sustainable Style to encourage engagement and promote its sustainable products. In reviewing Puma's social media using Quesenberry's Social Media Audit tool will find that this brand is using such social media effectively to engage its audience (Shankar, et al., 2022, p.544).

Figure 3 Sustainable products

(Source: Twitter, 2024)

The PUMA Instagram stream appealingly brings its products in line with the brand's sustainable ethos. PUMA Twitter makes noises regarding timely updates on its environmental efforts and creates a conversation around eco-friendly fashion (Chistiakov, 2024, p.8). While Puma has no doubt mastered the influencing of product promotion and most influencer marketing, there should be more improvement made in terms of customer interaction instance, answering direct consumer inquiries of sustainability in a more personalized manner.

Figure 4 Recycled sustainable products

(Source: Twitter, 2020)

The company also expresses its Corporate Social Responsibility in all social networks through sustainability influencers and professional athletes to educate on eco-friendly products. At Puma, commitment towards sustainability could be reflected very well through product development, marketing strategy, or human resource engagement with partners who share concerns for the environment (Novello, 2020, p.48).

Figure 5 Sustainable Materials

(Source: More Sustainable Materials, puma)

Recommendations Using Porter's Value Chain Model

Porter's Value Chain model can help Puma in developing broad marketing and sales initiatives by considering each of the primary activities of the company. For this recommendation, these three key recommendations include:

Inbound Logistics-Sourcing of Sustainable Materials: Puma can be more transparent about its supply chain on its social media by including continuous information on sourcing its sustainable material supplies, such as organic cotton and recycled polyester. This will help build trust in customers and align with the emerging demand for brands that are transparent in their modes of production (Öndo?an, et al., 2022, p.403).
Marketing and Sales-Digital Campaigns: Puma would gain more publicity if it incorporated more interactive campaigns on Instagram and Twitter-featuring its customers directly in its journey of sustainability. When Puma announces a campaign where customers share their eco-friendly sneaker stories. It can reward the most innovative ideas with discounts or exclusive products, leading to higher customer engagement (Czinkota, et al., 2021, p.575).
Service: Customer Interaction & Sustainability Education is a matter where Puma will be able to enhance its service function by providing full details on its website and social media regarding the long-term environmental benefits of its products. For example, Puma could create specific sections on its social media portals where consumers could learn about how to correctly recycle or dispose of their sneakers (Bonfanti, et al., 2023, p.100).

Conclusion

PUMA should focus on expanding its customer engagement initiatives to pave the way for more effective marketing strategies that stimulate greener and cleaner revenue streams. It can make this possible by creating more interactive and educational campaigns on various social media. Newer social media platforms, such as TikTok, which is increasing its users from the Gen Z group, may be targeted by PUMA to catch a wider audience. Furthermore, Puma is in a position to provide virtual events and webinars on sustainable fashion, the environmental impacts of consumer choices, and contributing to a greener future.

Recommendation

Expand Transparency on Sourcing: PUMA needs to give detailed information about how the company sources its sustainable materials. This can be done by videoing and taking pictures of the sourcing process and posting them on all its social media pages (Perez, 2022, p.18).
Introduce Interactive Campaigns: Puma can design user-generated content campaigns that would encourage consumers to show how sustainability has been integrated into their lifestyle with the help of Puma products (Weber, 2020, p. 20).
Consumer Education: Educating consumers about recycling and the environmental impact of their purchases will be taken more forcefully by Puma. It will create more content that calls for responsible behaviour from consumers after purchase (Jain, et al., 2021, p.2). It builds better relationships with the audience, enhances the value proposition, and positions Puma as an industry leader in sustainable fashion.

References

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Atram, A. A. (2023). From Athletic Wear to Athleisure Wear: How Companies Have Used a Narrow Function Advantage to Become a Major Brand, a Master's Thesis Case Study on Three Companies: Nike, Lululemon, and Under Armour. North Carolina State University.

Bonfanti, A., Vigolo, V., Vannucci, V., & Brunetti, F. (2023). Creating memorable shopping experiences to meet phygital customers' needs: evidence from sporting goods stores. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 51(13), 81-100. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJRDM-12-2021-0588/full/html

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https://www.instagram.com/p/C_jEVB5Pvbk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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MORE SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS, PUMA, https://about.puma.com/en/sustainability/product#:~:text=As%20part%20of%20our%20sustainability,over%2095%25%20recycled%20paper%20content.

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Foundations of Information Systems Research Report: PUMA's Digital Marketing and Sustainability Strategy

Table of Contents

Introduction