MARKETING MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENTON

ADVERTISING AND SALES PROMOTION

SALES PROMOTION – DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO STIMULATE CHANGE

Submitted By:

KAVITA SHARMAN-33

KINSHOOK CHATURVEDIN-35

FMS Part Time MBA Ist year 2009-12

Date of Submission:

15th February 2010

ObjectiveThe objective of the assignment is to assess the advertising and sales promotion strategies implemented by Reebok India for creating awareness among masses.

Overview of the SectorThe Indian footwear retail market is expected to grow at CAGR of over 20% for the periods spanning from 2008 to 2011. The annual domestic consumption of shoes in India is 1.1 billion pairs and it is estimated that the footwear market is around Rs 10, 000 crore and will grow at 10% pa, this offers great opportunities for MNC Brands Sold in India like Adidas, Aldo, Bally, Clarks, Ecco, Florshiem, Ferragammo, Hush Puppies, Lee cooper, Lloyd, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Nine West, New Balance, Reebok, Rockport, Stacy Adams, Levi Strauss , Lee Cooper, Puma and Indian Brands sold in India like Bata, Red Tape, Liberty, Khadims, Lakhani, Metro, Action, Provogue, ID, M&B Footwear. Reebok India commands a 54% market share in the premium sportswear industry in the Rs 2000-crore premium sportswear market. Reebok reaches out to its target customers through its 900 Reebok Stores & 2500 dealer outlets. The company has plan to tap tier II and Tier III cities. Reebok is planning to add 55 new lifestyle stores by the end of this year. It offers different segments for both men and women like sports and fitness footwear, apparel, accessories, fitness equipment and the lifestyle section.

Reebok IndiaReebok started its operations in India in 1995. Headed by Managing Director Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, Reebok India has a pan-India presence with branch offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore and ranks at the top amongst international footwear companies in India. The Company's brand vision is fulfilling potential, its mission – Always challenge and lead through creativity. Reeboks brand values are authentic, individualistic, courageous, empowering, innovative and real.

Advertising AgenciesIn 2004, Reebok hired McGarry Bowen as there advertising agency. Till 2007, McGarry was Reebok’s brand agency. McGarry Bowen was founded in 2002 and has offices in New York and Chicago. McGarry Bowen is a fully-integrated agency with advertising, design, relationship marketing and a digital arm. The Agency has been the recipient of many honors, including Adweek’s President’s Award for the “non-traditional agency having the greatest impact on the industry.” The Agency works with many of the of the world’s best known companies including JPMorgan, Chase, Kraft, Disney, Marriott

International, Chevron, Pfizer, HP, Reebok International, Crayola, InBev, Century 21, News Corp, The Wall Street Journal and the U.S. Olympic Committee.During the period of McGarry Bowen, Reebok had done advertising and marketing for various products. Pump sneakers advertisements, “Two People in Everyone” ad campaign, Runners head game- I am What I am ad campaign were all under this advertising agency.In early March 2009, Reebok appointed DDB Worldwide as its creative advertisingagency.DDB will provide creative solutions across a range of brand advertising and marketing communications and will service the business from three hubs: Berlin, Chicago, and Hong Kong.DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc (www.ddb.com) is the largest consolidatedadvertising and marketing services global network in the world, according to Advertising Age.DDB also has been frequently ranked as the most awarded agency network in the world by Creativity magazine and The Gunn Report, among others. With more than 200 offices in over 90 countries, the DDB Group believes that creativity is the most powerful force in business, building enduring and powerful brand experiences that create TalkValue,™ influence social communities and drive results. DDB Worldwide is part of Omnicom Group Inc.The agency handles brand advertising and marketing communications as the brand seeks to establish the brand in the women's fitness market. The ad campaign “Your Move” was done under this agency.In September 2007 in Hong Kong, Reebok handed its regional advertising business to WPP subsidiary Soho Square. Reebok is the founding client for Soho Square, which will manage Reebok's key markets in the Asia Pacific including Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Australia and India and China.

Analysis of Reebok Taglines and Logos

Reebok Taglines DevelopmentTag lines give a brand the momentum it can only dream of, if it is used the right way. It is very important to develop a catchy corporate tagline in addition to a great corporate logo that will effectively communicate in one sentence what services or products the company sells.In 2008, Reebok joined hands with the celebrity Bipasha Basu to make fitness fun with Reebok. The Easytone campaign prompts people to “Ree-think” the definition of sport. Reebok's challenger approach is to provide consumers with the choice to take the boredom out of working out. Running online, out-of-home,

in-store, and in print, the campaign features fun, engaging taglines such as, "Less work, more play. Fitness is what you make of it. “Your Move" and "Confusing fitness with fun?

Some of the other Taglines of Reebok are:June 2009 – “Have Fun While You Run”Early 2008 – “I am what I am”

“Take the gym with you”“Eye candy for your feet”“Little Said, greatly Felt! ”

Promotion Strategy

Reebok is committed to make fitness fun – challenging men and women to fulfill their potential in sport and in life by providing them with the opportunity, the products and the inspiration to have fun staying in shapeThe company uses various promotional tools to bring awareness among its customers. It offers discounts, vouchers, coupons and custom made sneakers on their products. Apart from this, there are celebrity endorsements, road shows, sponsorship events, television commercials, print ads, billboards, alliance events.

Print Media AdvertisingPrint Media Advertising consists of newspapers and Magazines. It also includes outdoor billboards, transit posters, the yellow pages, and direct mail.

Magazine

Reebok features its print ads on magazines like Flimfare, Cineblitz and Stardust. The famous ad campaign of Mahindra Singh Dhoni and Bipasha Basu were featured in these magazines.

NewspaperReebok features its ad in supplement papers of national dailies like HT City of Hindustan Times, Delhi Times of Times of India, Mumbai Times of Times of India

Electronic Media Advertising

Television MediaIn 2008, Reebok commercial of “Your Move” ad campaign featured celebrities like Bipasha Basu and Mahindra Singh Dhoni.In 2007, global campaign of “Two People in One”, television commercials include Rahul Dravid.

InfomercialInfomercials are also known as direct response television (DRTV) commercials or direct response marketing.

The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals. Reebok arranges several infomercials in the sports based program.Reebok first infomercial was in April 2001 for the Reebok Core Board, a stationary muscle training program. It was a 28-minute infomercial which demonstrated the system, including the workout regimens, user testimonials and the system functions.

Internet AdvertisingReebok.com sells the same products on their web site as they do in the stores, providing the users more ways of getting what they want. The prices of goods sold at Reebok.com are comparable to those sold by their retail partners, so as not to take away sales and revenues from their traditional channel partners.

TIE UPSReebok innovates in colours and styling and has tied up with Manish Arora to launch collections.Reebok recently unveiled “My Name is Khan” collection, which is a fusion of sports and lifestyle and is targeted at a growing, globally sports and fashion conscious Indians.

Other great brands like Whirlpool are tying up with Reebok as they see it as a good value-add, incentivising purchase through Reebok products instead of doling out price discounts. So, it is a win-win situation for everybody involved.

Celebrity Endorsement

This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote them. Reebok India took Indian cricket stars like M.S Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.

Sponsorship AdvertisingReebok sponsors many sports both internationally and nationally.

Reebok IndiaReebok sponsored sports kits for the great rich Indian Premier League teams, such as the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Deccan Chargers in the first edition of the league held in 2008.Reebok also became the official partner of Force India on February 2009. Force India - India’s only Formula One Team - is all set to speed its way into the fast-paced lives of more and more Indians by partnering with premier sports and lifestyle products giant Reebok as its official apparel and footwear merchandising partner for the next 5 years. After inking the association in 2008, the partnership between Force India F1 team and Reebok has rolled out with the 2009 Force India Team wear collection.Reebok sponsors top three football clubs in India including East Bengal club and Mohan Bagan. In Tennis they are sponsoring three budding Tennis players in India.

Reebok below the Line PromotionIn 2007, Reebok India had started with its Run Easy Campaign. In an attempt to encourage consumers to participate in the campaign, Reebok will give away ten thousand pairs of shoes in the first phase. The company has decided to explore the parks frequented by joggers to undertake promotional activities for the campaign.Reebok Easy Vans along with trainers will demonstrate the spirit of Reebok Run Easy at the parks in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The trainers will also teach fitness steps like warm ups,

breathing patterns and foot movements to the joggers. The campaign enables Reebok to associate directly connect with the consumers, unlike cricket where they are involved as mere viewers. Reebok has launched three new footwear collections to attract the consumers who have just started running.

Interview with Subhinder Singh Prem, MD Reebok India published in Economic Times, 11th February 2010, Thursday.

SUBHINDER SINGH PREM MD, REEBOK INDIA In India, cricket has made us a masstige brand

HE HEADS the biggest sports and fitness brand in the country, a brand that enjoys over 54% market share in India. Yet Reebok India managing director Subhinder Singh Prem is still running to the fun beat. A company displaying challenger mindset, Prem says that the brand will continue to expand operations, explore new distribution models and offer innovative products to the consumers. Reebok recently unveiled My Name is Khan collection, which is a fusion of sports and lifestyle and is targeted at a growing, globally sports and fashion conscious Indians. In an interview with Amit Sharma, Prem discusses about winning strides of Reebok. Excerpts:

Your brand has been quite proactive in exploring marketing tie-ups. Tell us more about the strategy.

We have explored a new distribution route through tie-ups. With over 900 stores in 325 cities, we have the largest distribution network in the country. But over the years, the pattern of shopping has changed a lot in India. Earlier, people used to go to the store to shop. Today, they go on the internet, direct media or they order stuff over the phone. Young India is experimenting with shopping in a very different way. One of the big things in favour of home shopping is that it gives us great pan-India reach. The price of the goods is kept low because many consumers are experiencing the brand for the first time. So, it is more of a penetration strategy where we try and get more people to experience the brand. Other great brands like Whirlpool are tying up with us, which means that they are seeing us as a good value add, incentivising purchase through Reebok products instead of doling out price discounts. So, it is a win-win for every party involved. But we have to make sure that the association has to be synergetic.

What is the next step in the evolution of brand Reebok here

Sometimes companies tend to relax when they become the leader. But we have tried to always challenge ourselves. And as industry leaders, it is our responsibility to innovate and make people look at this industry in a different manner. Take, for instance, the Easytone campaign. Targeting women in their 20s and 30s, the project prompts people to Re-think the definition of sport. The sneakers are designed by NASA engineer Bill McInnis and the balance pod system generates up to 28% more activity on the muscles than ordinary trainers. Through this campaign, Reebok is positioning the brand as a lifestyle sportswear company rather than a hardcore sports brand. We also want to bring joy back in sport and fitness. Then we came up with HexRide shoe that enables people to do things faster. So, the key is to ensure people enjoy getting in shape. The communication had Bipasha Basu and MS Dhoni running together, being playful. We are also into the kids business. We created a website where they could have fun playing games and contests and we got over two million hits on that site. We have done innovation in colours, styling and have tied up with fashion designer Manish Arora to launch collections.

Your brand is largely perceived to be a cricket-only brand in India. Do you agree with the label?

It would be inappropriate to say that. Yes, we do have a strong association with cricket in India. But cricket is one sport that appeals to all consumer segments. It helps us become a masstige brand- a mass brand with prestige. Then there is football. Globally, we have footballer Thierry Henry as our brand ambassador. In fact, his line of clothes is doing very well with Indian consumers. We sponsor the top three football clubs in India including East Bengal club and Mohun Bagan. In tennis we are sponsoring eight budding tennis players of the country.

REEBOK INTERNATIONAL APPOINTS DDB WORLDWIDE AS LEAD CREATIVE AGENCY

CANTON, MA (March 20, 2009) – Reebok International has appointed DDB Worldwide as its

lead creative agency, Rich Prenderville, Reebok’s Head of Global Brand Marketing announced

today.

DDB will provide creative solutions across a range of brand advertising and marketing

communications and will service the business from three hubs: Berlin, Chicago and Hong Kong.

Amir Kassaei, Executive Creative Director of DDB Germany will spearhead global creative efforts

on the account.

"DDB showed us incredible depth of creative resources around the world, deep thinking in non-

traditional arenas and a passion for creative solutions beyond advertising," said Prenderville.

"Under the leadership of Amir and the team he and DDB have assembled, we are on the global

offensive to drive great creative results for our brand."

“Reebok is a fantastic brand and we are delighted with our partnership with Rich and his team,”

Chuck Brymer, President and CEO of DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc, said. “I am

also very proud of the partnership and creativity our DDB offices have once again demonstrated

on behalf of a client.”

Kassei, who is known for his work on such brands as Volkswagen and Ikea, noted, "There is

great heritage and strength in the Reebok brand, and it will be a great honor and opportunity to

create a clear, differentiating point of view for it on a global basis."

Bibliography

1. Interview with Subhinder Singh Prem, MD Reebok India – published in the Economic Times, 11TH Feb 2010, Thursday.

2. www.reebok.com , http://corporate.reebok.com/en/news/2009/Reebok_Appoints_DDB.asp

3. U Magazine, January Edition.