• by Karl Greenberg , February 16, 2015

Action-gear company Oakley is launching a global digital push, "One Obsession," whose goal is to get people to “join the brand’s global network of renowned athlete ambassadors in living out their passions,” the company says.

Oakley says the multichannel brand campaign spans 22 countries and includes digital, social, advertising, outdoor, retail activations, live events and a digital microsite, oakley.com/oneobsession.

The global social movement encourages fans to participate in tweeting with Oakley's brand ambassadors, some 450 athletes, about their own physical “places of obsession” around the world. Oakley will reward some of the #LiveYours contributions with surprise experiences and access to the athletes they admire.

The effort includes a digital film, “One Obsession” starting today on Oakley.com, as well as on the company's social and digital channels. The film features professional and non-professional athletes and teases a year-long series of profile pieces on the Oakley-sponsored athletes. The profiled athletes include skateboarder Eric Koston, surfer Gabriel Medina, cyclist Mark Cavendish, all-star baseball player Matt Kemp, Moto GP champion Marc Marquez, cricketer Virat Kohli and badminton player Lin Dan.

Then this Spring, Oakley will launch three physical brand hubs, each focusing on  a different athletic pursuit: a Los Angeles pop-up will be about skateboarding; London's footprint will be on urban cycling; and a venue in New York will be all baseball. 

Oakley, which competes against brands like Adidas and Nike, and which had handled marketing in-house, last year tapped San Francisco-based Eleven as AOR, with the task of creating an overarching global brand position. The new campaign advances the company’s strategy, which CEO Colin Baden articulated last year, of going after Nike’s emotional positioning.