• Business Week, Thursday, July 20, 2006 2:45 PM

Athletic gear marketer Nike is getting into the online community trend and is using soccer as the lynchpin of its efforts, reports Business Week. The company launched a new social networking site called Joga.com as part of its overall World Cup marketing strategy. Users can use it for a host of activities: blog, create fan communities around a favorite teams or player, such as Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho, organize pickup games, download videos and rant against the encroaching commercialism of the game. The program was launched during the World Cup, but it continues beyond the tournament. The site is just one piece of a $100 million multilayered campaign known as Joga Bonito, Portuguese for "play beautiful." Last fall, Nike started feeding video clips that spotlight Nike-sponsored soccer players onto popular video-sharing sites, including YouTube and Google. It created JogaTV, a virtual soccer TV station, where it releases a new video clip every few days and fans can upload their own clips. It's all part of the marketer's efforts to expand its messaging beyond traditional advertising.

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