With the new campaign, FESI (the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry) primarily seeks to influence the consumer behaviour of online buyers and young shoppers. “It is crucial to make our youth aware of the detrimental consequences that buying fake sporting goods online may have,“ explained Alberto Bichi, Secretary General of FESI.
On the dedicated campaign website, consumers can inform themselves in a total of four languages – English, French, Italian, and Spanish – about the negative consequences of counterfeited sporting goods. FESI also offers sport-loving consumers interesting content on the subject on various social media, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
The campaign was developed in light of the European Football Championship, as large sporting events often cause an increase in counterfeit sporting goods such as team jerseys. The campaign also deals with other sport types: In addition to counterfeited football gear, the videos also cover the negative consequences of, for example, golf and light athletic articles.
The new online campaign is supported by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Last year a study performed by the authority showed that sporting goods manufacturers in the EU suffer some 500 million euro in losses per year due to the illegal trade with counterfeits (cf. our German-language report).