ADVERTISING STRATEGY OF ADIDAS

Adidas Inc. is a marketer of sports apparel and athletic shoes. The German manufacturer,

through its marketing strategy which rests on a favorable brand image, has evolved into a large

multinational enterprise. In keeping with the brand image is its association with the distinctive logo

and its advertising slogan, "Impossible is Nothing." In order to maintain and sustain this image the

company makes huge investments in advertising and brand promotion.

At the critical time of global economic crisis, Adidas will react to the consumers’ pessimistic

attitude and stressful emotion during this period. It may become a good chance for Adidas, because it

can take advantage of its previous advertising way of “Impossible is Nothing” campaign by sponsoring

sports stars to express the corporate philosophy of grit,determination, passion and humor, giving people

more courage and psychological comfort in

face of economic crisis. But besides that, we also focus more about family function especially in Asian

countries which emphasize a lot on family, which can provide caring emotional communication.

Therefore from both strong-willed hero worship and water-like fork environment, customers can easily

link Adidas image with not only strength, but also warmth. The preferred media we choose are TV,

specific magazines, outdoor and internet.

Adidas was formed by German sports apparel by the founder Adi Dassler during

the 1920’s.While Dassler was in his mother’s wash room he decided to begin an athletic

shoe. After he made the shoe he had help from his brother and

t w e l v e o t h e r p e o p l e t o p r o d u c e a r o u n d 5 0 hand ma de s hoes pe r da y.

Thes e a th l e t i c shoes were made for running and training.“For over 80 years, Adidas has

been part of the world of sports on every level, delivering state- o f - t h e -

a r t s p o r t s f o o t w e a r , a p p a r e l a n d accessories. Today, Adidas is a global

leader not only in the shoe industry, but also in the sporting

g o o d s i n d u s t r y . S h o e s f r o m t h e A d i d a s a r e available in virtually every

country of the world. Oddball is proud to carry quality large size Adidas,”.

R e c e n t l y A d i d a s a n d t h e N B A j o i n e d f o r c e s a n d m a d e “ T h e B r o t h

e r h o o d ” . “ T h e Brotherhood” consists of Tracy McGRady of The Houston Rockets,

Dwyane Wade of The Miami Heat, Tim Duncan of The San Antonio Spurs, Chauncey Bill ups

of the Detroit Pistons and Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards . When it came

down t o i t A d i d a s a n d t h e N B A

c a m e u p w i t h t h e s l o g a n c a l l e d “ B a s k e t b a l l i s a

B r o t h e r h o o d . ”The ma i n focus o f “The Bro the rhood w as A d idas t o spons o r

t he N BA . The w a y th e s e s ix players were selected was by their athletic ability which

is why they are also known as all stars. Then these six players decided to form a series

that would help kids to discover their dream by playing with NBA Stars.

A strong advertising and public Relation events makes Adidas as a worldwide recognized brand and it

would be more sustainable in the world market.

HISTORY OF ADIDAS

The company Adidas was founded in the early 1920s as Gebruder Dassler Schuhfabrik, in

Herzogenaurach in Germany. Adolf Dassler designed a pair of sport shoes in 1925 and

few years later he and his brother Rudolph were selling special shoes for tennis players and began

des ign spec i f i c shoes fo r d i f f e r en t s po r t s . The f a mi l y

c o m p a n y s p l i t i n 1 9 4 8 . A f t e r t h e s p l i t , A d o l f ( A d i ) Dassler founded

Adidas and his brother Rudolph founded Puma. The three-stripe logo was designed in 1941 by

Adi D as s l e r and he r eg i s t e r ed i t a s a t r ade mark fo r A d idas after the split.

The s t r eng th o f Ad id as w as i t s p roduc t i nnova t ion . A d i

D a s s l e r r e g i s t e r e d m o r e t h a n s e v e n h u n d r e d p a t e n t s . Adidas began selling

its shoes in the United States

after 1 9 6 8 a n d i n f e w y e a r s t h e c o m p a n y d o m i n a t e d t h e

A m e r i c a n m a r k e t . T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t m a r k e t i n g breakthrough was the

active promotion of global sporting

e v e n t s , e s p e c i a l l y t h e O l y m p i c s . T h e c o n n e c t i o n o f Adidas to the Olympics

has a rich heritage. At the 1972Olympic game in Munich, every official wore Adidas.

Activities: manufacture and distribution of textiles, shoes and appliances for sport and

related p r o d u c t s . A d i d a s h a s 1 0 7 s u b s i d i a r i e s i n 2 0 c o u n t r i e s , a n d e x p o r t

s t o 1 6 0 c o u n t r i e s . Exploitation of the registered trademark “Adidas” is made where

everitisan opportunity.

A c t iv i t i e s o f t he co mp an y and i t s s ubs id i a r i e s a r e d i r e c t ed f rom A d idas -

S o lo mon A G' s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Prod u ct s :A d id as - F o o t w e a r , a p p a r e l , a n d

h a r d w a r e s u c h a s b a g s a n d b a l l s . Salomon-Wintersports incl.

skis, snowboards,snowblades,s k i b o o t s a n d b i n d i n g s , i n l i n e s k a t e s , h i k i n g , ap

parel. Mavic -Cycle components, Bonfire -Snowboard apparel. Arc'Teryx -Outdoor

apparel,c l i m b i n g e q u i p m e n t , Cliché -Skate board equipment, footwear and

apparel,Taylor Made-Adidas Golf -Golf equipment, golf apparel, golf shoes and

finally,Maxfli -Gol f ba l l s , i r ons and accessories. I n 1990 , Ad idas w as ho ld ing on to

j us t a tw o to three percent share of the U.S. market. Between 1988 and 1992 Adidas

total sales dropped from nearly $2 billion to $1.7 billion. In the same period, Nike’s sales went from

$1.2 billion to more t han $3 .4 b i l l i on . F rom be ing th e U .S . ma rke t l e ade r i n t he

l a t e 1970s , Ad idas ’s marke t sha r e d ropped to 3 pe r c en t i n 1992 . The Eu ropean

mark e t s ha r e s d ropped w h i l e Nike’s shares grew. Ad id as a l s o have had p rob le ms

w i th t he ups t r ea m va lue ac t i v i t i e s i n t he i r va lue cha in . Traditionally, the company

have their own factories and wholly owned subsidiaries. What happened in the '70s and

forward, during the Adidas recession, was that Adidas was unable to ship products when it was needed,

and they had a long supply chain - it took 18 months to get a new shoe into the market.

ADVERTISING METHOD & MEDIA SELECTION

The media that was used of “The Brother Hood” will be television, magazines and Internet.

3.1 Core Advertising Consideration

The co re adve r t i s i ng f ac to r s o f A d idas a r e a s f o l l ow s . Bes ides t ha t a huge

a moun t o f da t a about Adidas advertising related activities. As a multinational company

Adidas have separate advertising strategy in different area of the world.

3.1.1 Media Vehicles:

The media vehicles that were used for television will be ABC basketball games, TNT basketball

games, ESPN basket ball ga mes and ES P N 2 bas ke tba l l ga mes and ES PN ’s S po r t s

Cen t e r. The me d i a veh ic l e s t ha t w e re go ing to be u s ed fo r magazines were

Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine. The media vehicles that are use for Internet were

ESPN website(www.espn.go.com), NBA website (www.nba.com), Adidas

w ebs i t e ( www.shopadidas.com) , S po r t s I l l u s t r a t ed w ebs i t e (sportsillustrated.cnn.com).

3.1.2 Advertising unit:

When it came to the advertising unit for television Adidas only runs: 30 seconds ads since

most of these ads are played during NBA games. The ads in magazines are full page. When it came to

the Internet ads are a top banner. For example, on page five you will see the ad which it a top banner.

3.1.3 Seasonality:

Since “The Brotherhood” is made up of The NBA the seasonality will be during the

fourth-quarter. The r ea s on fo r t h i s i s t ha t

t he ba s ke tba l l s ea s on beg in s i n O c tobe r w h ich i s i n t he fourth quarter. The time of

day in which “The Brotherhood” would be run on television is du r ing the even ing

w h i l e t he N BA i s ho ld ing the i r r egu la r games . When i t co mes to t he Internet “The

Brotherhood” is advertise daily and at all times.

3.1.4 Target Audience:

When i t c a me to an y p roduc t t he aud i ence i s ve r y impor t an t . You need to know

w ho a r e going to be interested in the product. When it came down to this “The Brotherhood” is

mostly for boys ages 8-20 and for older males. For example, on page four you will see TMAC jersey

for boys 8-20 and older males.

3.1.5 Advertising Media Consideration

The reason that this media was selected was because television, magazines and Internet

were the best way in which Adidas were able to show there customers their products. As

you see be low the p i c tu r e on the t h i rd page tha t s a ys “A d idas NBA S hop , ” i n

o rde r f o r A d idas t o promote the “The Brotherhood” they had to come up with a slogan

in which they called it“NBA is a Brotherhood.” Besides Adidas have several technique in

media selection which have discussed in the following sections.

3.2 Advertising Media

Co mme rc i a l adve r t i s i ng med ia can inc lude

w a l l pa in t ings , b i l l bo a rds , s t r ee t f u rn i tu r e c o m p o n e n t s , p r i n t e d f l a y e r s a n d

rack cards, r a d i o , c i n e m a a n d t e l e v i s i o n adverts, web banners, mobile

telephone s c r eens , s hopp ing ca r t s , w eb pop-

ups, skywriting, b u s s t o p b e n c h e s , human billboards , magazines, newspapers, town criers,

s i de s o f bus es , banne r s a t t a ched to or sides of airplanes ("logo-jets"),in-

flight advertisementsons ea tb ack t r a y tablesor overhead storage bins, taxicab

doors, r o o f m o u n t s a n d passenger screens, m u s i c a l s t a g e s h o w s , s u b w a y

p l a t f o r m s a n d t r a i n s , e l a s t i c b a n d s o n disposable diapers, stickers on apples in

supermarkets,shopping cart handles(grabertising), the opening section of streamingaudioand

v ideo , pos t e r s , and the backs o f even t t i cke t s and supe r ma rke t r ece ip t s . A n y

p l a ce an "identified" sponsor pays to deliver their message through a medium is advertising. O ne

w a y to me as u re adve r t i s i ng e f f e c t i ven es s i s know n a s Ad Tracking. Th i s

advertising research me thodo log y meas u re s s h i f t s i n t a rge t ma rke t pe r cep t ions abou t

t he b r and and product or service. These shifts in perception are plotted against the

consumers’ levels of exposure to the company’s advertisements and promotions.The

purpose of Ad Tracking is generally to provide a measure of the combined effect of the media

weight or spending level,the effectiveness of the media buy or targeting, and the quality of

the advertising executions or creative.

Adidas use several advertising media to promote their product in the marketplace.

Different adve r t i s i ng med i a u s e i n t he i n t he ma rke t l i ke co mme rc i a l

adve r t i s e men t ,P r in t me d ia

a d v e r t i s e m e n t , c o v e r t a d v e r t i s i n g , I n f o m e r c i a l s , C e l e b r i t i e s a d v e r t i s e m

e n t , O n l i n e advertisement, Public transport advertisement, e-mail etc.

3.2.1 Covert advertising

Covert advertising is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media.

For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the

movie Minority Report , where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton ow ns a phone w i th

t he Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo.

Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot , whe re ma in cha rac t e r p l a yed b y

Will Smith mentions his Converse s hoes s eve ra l t i mes , c a l l i ng t h e m

" c l a s s i c s , " b e c a u s e t h e f i l m i s s e t f a r i n t h e future.I , R o b o t and

Spaceballsa l s o s h o w c a s e f u t u r i s t i c cars with the Audi and Mercedes-Benz logos clearly

displayed on the front of the vehicles. Adidas also use this advertising technique.

Advertising Strategy of Adidas:

3.2.2 Television commercials

The TV co mmerc i a l i s gene ra l l y cons ide red the mos t e f f ec t i ve ma s s -ma rke t

adve r t i s i ng format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for

commercial airtime during popular TV events. The majorities of television commercials

feature a song or jinglethatl i s t ene r s s oon r e l a t e t o t he p roduc t . Vi r tua l

adve r t i s e men t s ma y be i n s e r t ed i n to r egu l a r television programming through

computer graphics. It is typically inserted into otherwise b l a n k b a c k d r o p s o r u s e d

t o r e p l a c e l o c a l b i l l b o a r d s t h a t a r e n o t r e l e v a n t t o t h e r e m o t e b roadcas t

aud i ence . A d idas ha s a l a rge amoun t o f TV co mme rc i a l adve r t i s e men t s i n t he

worldwide TV network like BBC, CNN etc.

3.2.3 Infomercials There a r e tw o t yp es o f infomercials, de s c r ib ed a s l ong fo r m and

s ho r t f o r m. Long fo rm in fo me rc i a l s have a time length of 30 minutes. Short form

infomercials are 30 seconds to 2 minutes long. I n f o m e r c i a l s a r e a l s o k n o w n a s

d i r e c t r e s pons e television(DRTV) commercials or direct responsemarketing.The main

objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse

purchase, s o t h a t t h e c o n s u m e r s e e s t h e presentation and then immediately

buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone

number or website. I n fomerc i a l s de s c r ib e , d i s p l a y, and o f t en ,d e m o n s t r a t e p r o

d u c t s a n d t h e i r f e a t u r e s , a n d

co mmo n l y have t e s t i mon i a l s f ro m cons umer s and industry professionals. Adidas arrange

several infomercials in the sports based program.

3.2.4 Celebrities

This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popu la r i t y t o ga in

r ecogn i t i on fo r t he i r p roduc t s and p ro mot e s pec i f i c stores or products.

Advertisers often advertise their products, for example,when celebrities share their

favorite products or wear clothes by

specific b r a n d s o r d e s i g n e r s . C e l e b r i t i e s a r e o f t e n i n v o l v e d i n a d v

e r t i s i n g ca mpa igns s uch a s t e l ev i s ion o r p r in t adve r t s t o adve r t i s e s pec i f i c

o r general products. Adidas use David Bekham as t he i r b r and a mb ass ado r and many more

celebrities in every region to promote their product.

3.3 Advertising approaches

The positive impact on the market of the Adidas Originals communication approach

makes Adidas Originals continue their successful new creative marketing tonality. The

Fall/Winter 2005 campaign is, as the one from Spring/Summer 2005, photographed by

Karl Lagerfeld and underlines Adidas Originals’ lifestyle relevance.

To Ce l eb ra t e Or ig ina l i t y, and in a p l a yfu l oppos ing ma nne r t o l a s t

s ea s on , A d idas ha s s w i t ched f rom the b l ack and wh i t e S S 05 execu t ions ,

h igh l igh t ed on l y b y the i con ic b lu e Tre fo i l , to bright and energetic colours in FW05 ads;

an engaging creative idea supervised by

Adidas G loba l C rea t iv e D i r ec to r M icha e l M icha l s k y and Vi s iona i r e ’s S t ephen G a

n . The shooting took place at Karl Lagerfeld’s studio in Paris. The frame of the ads shows

humor and translates the freshness of the “High Energy High Style” concept. The result is

a new advertising campaign that clearly communicates Adidas Or ig ina l s ’

s t r ee t r e l evanc y. Ad id as Or ig ina l s con t empora r y s t r ee t w ea r co l l e c t i ons a r e

inspired by the brand’s historical anecdotes. The Fall/Winter 2005 ads will break globally in July 2005

issues of key lifestyle and fashion publications such as Kult, Pulp and Black book as well as

magazines such as Arena Home Plus and Teen Vogue. All Adidas Originals marketing

communication efforts will evolve around three pillars in 2005: to energize, globalize and con

temporize Adidas Originals.

CONCLUSION

Both Adidas and Nike have used the same theoretical systems to create their brand

building p rog ra ms . The compan ie s a r e bench mark ing ea ch o the r, u s ing the

t e chn iques f ro m each o t h e r s s u c c e s s e s , w h e n N i k e l a u n c h e d t h e i r s u b

b r a n d p r o d u c t A l p h a l i n e w h i c h w a s bench marked on Adidas already launched

sub brand of the Equipment product line for the e l i t e o f s po r t s men . We can f i nd

man y s imi l a r i t i e s l i ke endo r s emen t s s t r a t eg i e s and the companies advertising

strategies. What differs in the endorsement strategies is that Adidas focuses in sponsoring

teams and global events, while Nike have their center of attention on stars in specific sport

like basketball and Michael Jordan or in golf and Tiger Woods. About advertising do both

companies have about the same scale and scoop of advertising but they try to

communicate different messages. These messages from Adidas is; the only one you

compete with is your self whereas Nike communicate a provocative, aggressive

winner attitude which can be related the American sports attitude “You don’t win silver,

you lose go ld” . A s w e can unde rs t and the tw o co mpan ie s a r e a i ming a t nea r l y

t he s a me t a rg e t ed customer group but with a slightly differentiation of attitude. Adidas

stand for a competing and winning over your self-attitude, and Nike stands for a winning over

everyone attitude. We in the group think this differentiation is based on the differences in

culture between the two companies and between Europe and USA. As an overall reflection one

can see that Adidas had to overcome, that the both companies had the same target group.

Adidas choose a brand-building strategy that built on the same theoretical criteria as

Nike. But they created a differentiation in identity of the brand (see comparing analysis in

the Kapferer Prism Model above) compared to Nike. Adidas had the same strategy within

creating equity value to their brand. They

challenged N i k e i n e n d o r s e m e n t s t r a t e g y , a n d i n a d v e r t i s i n g , b u t w

i t h a s l i g h t d i f f e r e n c e i n communicated message, by doing it trough the same

medias. To differentiate them self and make totally own awareness activities, events like

Adidas Street ball Challenge was created. Events like those communicated the Adidas brand

around the world. According to the results and positions the brand-building programs have

given both Adidas and N ike i n t he spo r t i ndus t r y, one can s a y tha t b r and ing have

been a t o t a l l y de t e r mi n ing factor. On top of that they made it so good that they are used as

models in higher education.