Welcome back again, readers, to our popular segment #MarketSpotlights, an exciting series brought to you by Team BUSFAM, an expert social media marketing agency. In today’s write-up, we will discuss PUMA’s viral mistake marketing strategy that turned out to be an innovative and brilliant move by the brand.
When it comes to capturing the audience and establishing a reputed brand identity, top companies focus on creating an image that connects with the audience. However, at the beginning of 2025, we saw a different marketing approach by a leading sportswear brand that is gaining so much hype.
Well, you might be thinking, What exactly is the strategy? PUMA’s recent marketing campaign became the talk of the town and for all the reasons that most people would not even expect.
Let’s dive in and discuss PUMA’s unusual marketing approach that is turning heads and sparking conversations.
While most companies refrain from making blunders, PUMA, known for their impactful advertising campaigns, garnered immediate attention with a signboard showing a spelling mistake.
The brand made waves in the advertising world when it rebranded itself as PVMA instead of PUMA, with store names in certain locations reflecting the change.
While rebranding was intentional, it went exactly as planned. The internet was filled with debates and led to online speculation: Was it simply an error by such a big company or a clever marketing tactic?
In reality, it is a smart marketing move to celebrate the signing of badminton player PV Sindhu as its new brand ambassador. This strategy was adopted to make its mark in the growing badminton market in India.
The partnership between PV Sindhu and Puma will officially commence at the India Open 2025 in New Delhi. Following the collaboration with the ace badminton player, people applauded PUMA’s innovative advertisement, which helped the brand earn a lot of organic buzz and its ability to engage with the audience.
This campaign went in favour of PUMA and further enhanced the brand image in the eyes of the audience in India at a time when its revenue already soared to Rs. 3,000 crores and significantly surpassed Nike’s sales.
This shift from PUMA to PVMA highlights the commitment of the brand to engage with the badminton enthusiast by using the star power of PV Sindhu to appeal to the consumers.
Have you ever come across well-known companies that made spelling mistakes in their brand names? Well, no one would think of doing it as it would harm their reputation.
However, PUMA did. In fact, what most people thought of as just an error was actually a deliberate attempt by the brand to build hype. Unlike other marketing campaigns, PUMA made a small blunder and changed its logo to PVMA.
As a marketer, here are the things to learn from this genius ad campaign by PUMA.
A minor error can make a difference: The marketing campaign was quite simple and no big names would have thought of doing so. The alteration generated interest among the audience and earned massive attention.
The right brand ambassador: The shift from PUMA to PVMA was not just a change in design. Rather, it is an identity to collaborate with PV Sindhu that made the campaign memorable.
Resorting to viral mechanics: PUMA knew spelling errors by big brands would spark curiosity. The brand made use of this technique, and the campaign went viral without any such effort.
With this campaign, PUMA refined the definition of a successful advertising strategy.