Asics Seals A Novel Global Endorsement With A Dog    

Popular Japanese sports brand Asics has appointed a rather novel endorsee recently; unveiling a global deal with Felix the Samoyed, a well-travelled dog influencer.

The news came right after research, which surveyed 28,000 people across 14 markets including Japan and China, revealed that 65% of dog owners identify their pet as their primary motivator for physical activity—more than family members, celebrities, or personal trainers.  

It also found 79% of dog owners feel less stressed and 83% feel happier after exercising with their dogs, further emphasising the influential role of dogs in promoting physical activity and improving mental wellbeing.

Following the announcement, Gary Raucher, Global Head of Marketing at Asics, stated, “No one motivates us to move for body and mind more than our canine friends. Every day around the world, dogs motivate us to lace up, get out, and move.”

“Our mission at Asics is to encourage as many people as possible to feel the uplifting power of movement. It’s why we’re called Asics, an acronym for the Latin ‘Anima Sana in Corpore Sano’ or ‘Sound Mind in a Sound Body.’  We are delighted to have signed Felix as our official Ambassador and share dogs’ infectious love for movement with the world to motivate us all to get out and move for our minds.”

According to ASN data, Asics (2.3%, ~US$28.6m) is the 5^th largest spender for its category in the Asian sponsorship market since Q322, with an average quarterly investment of US$2.6m during this period.  Unsurprisingly, the bulk of the sponsorship investment (85.3%) is focused in Japan while China (8.6%) and India (4.9%) are the second and third largest shares respectively. The brand’s forecast for Q225 is tipped to hit US$2.9m, slightly above the usual average, after a rather muted Q125, which only saw investment of US$265k.