PUMA AI Creator Launch with Manchester City
The 7th Annual Awards
- Best Use of Technology
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
In December 2024, global sports brand PUMA debuted the launch of PUMA AI Creator tool in partnership with 2024 Premier League champions, Manchester City. The innovative AI kit design platform gave City fans the unique opportunity to design the club’s official Third kit for the 2026/27 season without the need for any previous design skills or knowledge.
How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?
The AI Creator platform’s debut in December 2024 was an instant success with over 54,000 registered users, 180,000+ Manchester City Third Kits created, and over 1.7 million fan ratings. Upon the top 10 designs unveiled, over 30,000 fans voted for the winning design, which will be unveiled in 2026.
The AI Creator platform smashed the brand’s projected KPIs in just under 24 hours, setting the bar for what authentic fan engagement opportunities can generate when properly executed at a high level, even with a brand as large and global reaching as PUMA Furthermore, the PUMA AI Creator platform represents endless possibilities of engaging fans and consumers alike to influence trends and product design in an accessible way.
Objective
The AI Creator platform was over a year in the making. Created to be easy to use but with endless design possibilities, the launch of the AI Creator tool, in partnership with Manchester City, was one of the first large-scale uses of generative AI design possibilities that PUMA has implemented to date. The goal was to allow all fans - regardless of previous design ability - to be able to create their dream Man City kit in under 60 seconds. Previous jersey design competitions required fans to utilize complicated design software or use colored pencils and paints. With the PUMA AI Creator, all they needed to do was type in their dream kit into the prompt.
In addition to allowing fans an easy and intuitive way to create a kit, they could also submit the kit into a global design competition. The winning jersey will be announced in 2026 and will be Manchester City’s Official Third kit for the 2026/27 season.
Strategy & Execution
In December 2024, global sports brand PUMA debuted the launch of PUMA AI Creator tool in partnership with 2024 Premier League champions, Manchester City. The innovative AI kit design platform gave City fans the unique opportunity to design the club’s official Third kit for the 2026/27 season. The new PUMA AI Creator tool is powered by DEEPOBJECTS, a leading co-creation platform that leverages generative AI to allow fans to design their dream PUMA Manchester City kits using text prompting, customization tools and intuitive sliders. Fans could submit their designs to aicreator.puma.com through December 20, 2024.
The top 10 designs were unveiled in January 2025. Voting was then opened to the public for fans across the world to decide the winning AI design being worn by City players on-pitch during the 2026/27 season, decided by popular vote. The winning design will be unveiled in 2026 ahead of the 2026/27 season and ultimately sold to fans in a groundbreaking first for a professional football club.
Organizations
- PUMA
- Manchester City
- DEEPOBJECTS
Links
Credits
Ivan Dashkov
Director Emerging Marketing Tech
PUMA
Kaylee Kupiec
Senior Emerging Marketing Tech Project Manager
PUMA
Omar Perez Prieto
Teamhead Sports Marketing Teamsport
PUMA
Josele Angulo Rodriguez
Teamhead Marketing Teamsport Licensed
PUMA
Jessica Hyde
Senior Partner Manager, PUMA
Manchester City Football Club
Serena Gosling
Director of Integrated Fan Experience and Retail & Licensing
City Football Group
Chloe Reid
Marketing Communication Executive
City Football Group
Michelle Goulty
Head of Fan Journey, Integrated Fan Experience
City Football Group
Ana Holmes
Fan Journey Manager
City Football Group
David Stamatis
Founder
Deep Objects
Francis Cho
General Manager
Deep Objects
Brett Danahy
Managing Partner
FTR
Jack Roberts
Partnerships Lead
FTR
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 7th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 24, 2025 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
