The Adidas Company started in 1949 when Adolf Adi Dassler at the age 49 set off to

work with 47 employees in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Dassler submitted the original

shoe that included the famous Adidas 3-Stripes.

The notable shoes were designed as lightweight football boots. The football boots,
better known as soccer cleats, were first used by the German football team when they
defeated Hungary in the 1954 FIFA World Cup final.

The game was believed to be a miracle because Hungary was an undefeated team at
that time.

Adidas and Dassler then became household names on football fields around the world.
The Adidas shoe would later become one of the most popular athletic shoes in the
world.

The tracksuit opened a whole new apparel clothing segment to the company.

The three-stripe was a trademark that allowed the Adidas brand to be distinguished
from all the rest.

The brand became prominent in the athletic world as they began to evolve and gain
trusts from world-class athletes.

Adidas continued to produce innovative products for athletes performing in different

sports. The athletes believed that the shoes allowed them to perform better.

Dassler’s best marketing strategy was meeting with the athletes in personal , and asking
them what could be improved or invented to support their athletic needs.

The Adidas brand continues to excel today because of its consistent goal of meeting
athletic needs.

According to the Adidas mission statement, the group continually aims to be the global
leader in the sporting product industry with brands built for a sporting lifestyle.

The Adidas group strategy is ‘Creating the New’ because they believe that they have the
power to change lives through sports. Everything they strive to do is rooted in sport and
lifestyle. As the health and fitness trends begin to reach their peaks sports are becoming
a way of life. Sport is beginning to play a progressively significant role in people’s lives
whether it be on or off the athletic fields.
As the Adidas group continues to operate highly in the sporting apparel industry, they are
motivated to push the expansion of products. Adidas also strives to excel in customer
experiences and services to influence product desire. They believe doing so will help to
capitalize on the growth opportunities in sports, as well as in sporting casual and active
wear.

The Adidas group believes that the sports are the central to almost every culture and
society and is also the center to a person’s mental and physical health. Initially the Adidas
brand strives to inspire and allow individuals to utilize the power of sport in their lives.

As time progresses the Adidas company has allowed their brand to advance into the
fashion industry. Years ago, you could find Adidas sporting apparel being worn by the
best athletes in the world. Today high fashion models such as Kendall Jenner and Gigi
Hadid are spotted wearing Adidas apparel on the runways of New York Fashion Week.
Adidas has transcended their brand into more than just an athletic footwear company.

The Adidas Company has generated a massive amount of idolization from consumers in
the high fashion industry because of their desire to expand beyond their original
designs. The Adidas Company has also collaborated with hip-hop rapper Kanye West.
The “Yeezy Boost” are the official collaboration sneaker by Kanye West and Adidas.

Kanye West has released twelve sneaker designs with Adidas within the past four years.
The shoes have further allowed Adidas to expand their brand passed the street wear
classic 3-stripe sneaker. Although the Yeezy Boost are an Adidas collaboration, the
sneaker has allowed Adidas to push pass Nike in their variety of footwear.

Strategies such as collaborations, will allow the Adidas Company to become successful
while gaining consumer attention around the world.

Other successful strategies of the Adidas Company are gaining a strong social media
presence. In order to have an effective business a strong social media presence is
required. According to Growth Gorus, social networks are the fastest growing industries
in the world. Social media marketing also expands the brand’s identification and
awareness. Today, about 78 percent of small businesses use social media apps to lure in
new customers. The remaining, 33 percent of customers recognized social media as how
they view new brands and products.

Overall a strong social media presence helps with marketing to consumers while
validating the company’s brand.  The company’s social media presence allows
consumers to know the specific brand is always present, and focused on advancing in
communication with them. According to The Marketing Insider Group, 63 percent of
consumers who search for businesses online will most likely use ones with the strongest
social media platforms. The Adidas Company’s social media platform allows them to
connect with their consumers while increasing awareness about their brand products.
This specific strategy allows them to boost their leads and sales using social media
platforms.

The Adidas Company uses social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat,
YouTube, and Facebook to advertise their products. They also use social media to
connect with their audiences globally. The Adidas Company thrives on all social media
platforms because of their favored content. Each of their channels use a relevant and
specific campaign focused featured video.

The Adidas twitter account has over 3.54 million followers. This account retweets other
brands affiliated with Adidas, while combining the entire Adidas brand as a whole. The
retweets posted by the brand accounts are mainly of videos and images of Adidas
clothing, shoes, and fitness products being promoted. Adidas uses real-life sporting
events to promote their products. For example, at the UEFA Champions League Final,
athletes such as Luis Suarez and Alvaro Morata who used Adidas equipment during the
match were tweeted on the account. Under the Adidas hashtag their pictures were
tweeted on the accounts page. This is a strategy of Adidas marketing that Twitter uses
for global branding.

The Adidas Facebook account is similar, where they have an exceedingly large fan base.
Adidas remains one of the most dominant companies on social media because their
process of integrating their brand channels into existing channels. By liking and sharing
content of other company pages such as Nike or Puma, the Adidas brand also gets their
content shared on these brand pages .

The Adidas YouTube account has 851,238 subscribers and 55 videos. There YouTube
account features seven other Adidas brand channels. The account also features several
Adidas campaigns such as the most recent ‘See Creativity’ campaign. This new ‘See
Creativity ‘campaign is one of the latest chapters of Adidas. This campaign is told
through the lens of female athletes from all over the world. The campaign builds on the
company’s belief that hard work can only get you so far. The ‘See Creativity ‘campaign
includes a multi-athlete video that appreciates creators from around the world who are
confident and courageous.

The Adidas Instagram account has 22.3 million followers, and is primarily used to
generate brand and product awareness. Consumers are highly influenced by the visual
content posted on the account page. The Adidas Company’s effective advertising
techniques on Instagram has allowed them to market to consumers globally. For
example, Adidas supplied the match balls in the FIFA Women’s World Cup played in
Montreal. The company posted an image of the final match ball with a view of the
stadium while using the location Montreal so that people searching for this location
would find the content posted. This is an example of how the company’s strong social
media presence allows them to advertise without hashtags.

Adidas has created several memorable campaigns using their social media platforms.
One of the most memorable campaigns was the “Calling All Creators” created in 2017.
The campaign invited athletes from around the world to find creativity within
themselves. The campaign believes that all athletes should be identified for their
creativity, not only for their athletic abilities. The final result of the campaign is a
celebration of athletes across multiple sports who choose to use their creativity to
change the world.

The “Calling All Creators” campaign has reached multiple media surfaces because of the
brand’s choice identifiable creators from sports, music, fashion and entertainment. The
campaign featured the biggest names in pop culture and sports today. The campaign
cast included stars such as James Harden, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Von Miller, Pharrell
Williams, Kris Bryant, DeAndre Hopkins, Pusha T, Damian Lillard, David Beckham, and
Alexander Wang.

In 2017, the “Unleash Your Creativity” campaign was created to show how individuals
should take an extra step to creatively make a difference in the world of fitness.  In this
process, Adidas recorded influential women in culture, and female athletes to explain
how they constantly challenge themselves mentally to make a physical difference. The
campaign reads that “Hard work only gets you so far.” “To make a real difference, you
need something more powerful. Your creativity. Unleash it and see how far you can go.”

The campaign featured high fashion supermodel Karlie Kloss, professional kickboxer
Ruqsana Begum, and social media figure Hannah Bronfman. Several other influential
women featured in the campaign show how they go beyond average as they use their
creativity to discover the fitness world in their own innovative ways.

In 2016, the “I’m Here to Create” campaign was created to redefine the true meaning of
sports. The advertisement featured several female athletes such as WNBA player
Candace Parker, tennis icon Caroline Wozniacki, street athlete Robin Arzon and DJ
Hannah Bronfman. The campaign consisted of a series of films of female athletes
showing how they add creativity to their sport. The unscripted series was created to
show how each of the female athletes bring their own perspective on creativity to
sports. At the time, the new Adidas brand footwear PureBOOST X was advertised in the
campaign. The series was broadcast in over 50 countries during events such as the
Grammys, UEFA Champions League matches, the BRIT Awards, and the Oscars.

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Overall these campaigns have been effective, and have received many positive
responses from audiences over the world.  Over the years, these campaigns have
empowered people to thrive through their creativity whether they are a professional
athlete or not. These campaigns also inspire women globally to challenge themselves to
explore their creativity through athletics. These campaigns have become favorited by
female audiences because they have allowed women to interrupt the preconceived
notions that come along with them in the athletic world.

The Adidas Company’s Global Brand Marketing is ran by Eric Liedtke. Liedtke is
responsible for all communications, marketing research, and public relations. He has
worked with the Adidas Company for over 12 years. With his leadership skills he has
managed to progress the brand’s communication efforts in the North American market.
Liedtke continues to strengthen the brand because he knows its weaknesses. He has
worked and operated with the Global Communications team and agency network.

The global primary agency for Adidas’ sports is 72andSunny. The agency was founded
by John Boiler, Glenn Cole, and Robert Nakata in 2004. The advertising agency also has
offices in Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and New York City. This advertising and marketing
agency creates global brand campaigns such as “Unleash Your Creativity”, and “Calling
All Creators”.

The agency is responsible for creating campaigns for basketball, soccer, and running
efforts. 72andSunny has made outstanding campaigns that have received positive
reviews globally. While the Adidas Company plans to be aggressive in their marketing
campaigns, their intent is to continuously go big.

The Adidas Company remains dominant in marketing through their sporting campaigns.
The “Adidas All In” marketing campaign was the largest in their history.

The brand displayed their presence amongst different lifestyles and cultures that
combine the sports world. It captured the passion of athletes, artists, and musicians who
love what they do. This campaign allowed the brand to create a powerful relationship
with audiences and consumers by inspiring and recognizing a blend of interests and
passion that brought all creators together.

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Adidas marketing strategies have allowed them to remain dominant as one of the best
sporting brands in the world. Their unique marketing strategies have allowed them to
inspire while reaching consumers.

Besides their dominance in marketing campaign efforts, the company struggles in

premium price ranging, outsourced manufacturing, and their limited product line.
According to Marketing91, the high price range due to new technology and production
procedures have made Adidas difficult to purchase for consumers in third world
countries. The Adidas brand also has only two brands under their group, which means
that there is more range for a product line expansion in the future.

Opportunities for the company come in different ranges such as market development,
expansion in product line, backward integration, and increasing demand of premium
products.  As a global brand, the Adidas Company faces threats from their competition
from the Nike Company that remains one above Adidas.  Other threats include supplier
dominance and government regulations in other countries. Because a majority of the
Adidas productions are outsourced, the company does not have as much bargaining
power as the suppliers. Import regulations in China and Asia also play unfavorable roles
with pricing and affluence of the brand.

Overall, the Adidas Company is ranked number five in the apparel industry, and 61 for
the World’s Most Valuable Brands. Over the years, the company has positioned itself as
powerful leaders in the world market. Its drive by innovation and fuel for creativity has
set them apart from other apparel brands in the apparel industry. As they continue to
assist athletes in making a difference in their performance they continue to grow as a
brand. The Adidas brand believes they have the power to change lives through sports
and creativity.

The brand will continue to excel by creating the best products and services for their
consumers around the world, while allowing them to explore and create new
dimensions of sports and athletics.

REFERENCES
https://www.marketing91.com/adidas-swot-analysis/

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14091819/1/adidas-is-latest-major-brand-to-have-a-
serious-pr-nightmare.html

https://lbbonline.com/news/adidas-2018-brand-campaign-invites-the-world-to-see-
creativity-in-sport/

https://www.72andsunny.com/

Adidas was founded in 1954 and is based in Germany. It became Adidas-

Salomon AG in 1997. In 2006, Adidas-AG acquired Reebok and continued
forging its position as one of the top athletic brands in the world. The company
has three main brands which are Adidas, TaylorMade and Reebok. Each of
these brands have signature campaigns and merchandise but the focus of this
paper will be on the Adidas brands and campaigns. The Adidas Group’s
mission is to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry while
providing their users brands that are built on a passion for sports and a
sporting lifestyle. As clearly stipulated on the Adidas website, “…adidas’
mission is to be the leading sports brand in the world. One major lever to
achieve this is the brand’s broad and unique product portfolio spanning from
apparel and footwear for professional athletes to premium fashion”. The two
main groups in the Adidas Sport Style are the Originals Group(Adidas Original
label) and the Fashion Group (Adidas Y-3, Adidas Porsche Design Sport,
Adidas SLVR and Adidas NEO labels).
Even though Adidas already has social networking sites, they were not
integrated for uniform information sharing. Information across existing
platforms could be viewed as standalone messages for specific brands and
product styles. YouTube, Twitter, WordPress and LinkedIn pages that were
created for the research under the Adidas Share Your Stripes Campaign were
linked to the Adidas Show Your Stripes Campaign Blog using existing
functionality. Any message posted on the blog for any of the Adidas product
groups was automatically shared on Twitter and LinkedIn. It also had the
capability of posting directly on Facebook. This integrated marketing
communication strategy was and is still missing in current Adidas campaigns
on social networking sites.
 ADIDAS IMC
CAMPAIGN TO
RECREATE
BRAND IMAGE
Adidas: The Leader in Sports for over 60 years
Description of Organization
Adidas Group is the second largest sportswear company in the
world. They’re dedicated to helping people perform at their best.
They are one of the leaders in innovating new technologies to help
people perform at their highest level and succeed. The Adidas group
has a variety of brands under their umbrella such as Reebok, Taylor
Made, CCM, as well as Adidas itself. Adidas Group continues to
excel by adapting to the customer’s demands in an ever-changing
society. Since 1949 Adidas has been a leader in the sports wear
industry.

Statement of Situation
Although Adidas is second largest sports brand in the world behind
Nike, they are getting crushed in the U.S. market. This past year
they have recent fallen behind Under Armor in U.S. retail sales in
sports apparel and footwear. The United States is responsible for
40% of the world’s sneaker market and is the leader of the world’s
sneaker culture. In the sports apparel industry what sells is what is
considered to be “cool” and Adidas simply has not been producing
what the consumer wants. Adidas has already made strides in
changing their business strategy in order to make up for this loss. An
integrated marketing campaign will be implemented to
accommodate the consumer needs and bring a new excitement
around the Adidas brand in order to win back the old business and
create new customers.

Key Publics
1. Employees are the most important public a company can have.
Everyone in the organization needs to be onboard and believe in
the integrated marketing campaign in order for it to be successful.
The employees are the one’s who will be working most closely
with the customers and helping to design and market the
products. They must believe and buy into the image the company
is trying to portray in order for the campaign to work.
2. The Adidas Group has a vast array of customers due to its
many different brands that help meet all of their consumer’s
needs and demands. In order to effectively meet all of the
customer’s needs we need to divide the customers into specific
groups.
a. Loyal customers. These are the customers that have stuck
by Adidas through the best and worth times. They do not need
to be influenced to return to Adidas because they stand by their
products, however they do need to be reminded that their
business is greatly appreciated and does not go unrecognized.
b. Previous customers. These are past customers who use to
stand by Adidas products but have turned away due to
competitor’s products. These are the customers that Adidas is
trying to win back. They new strategy will show previous
customers that Adidas is still a leader in sports style and
innovation with new and upcoming products and partnerships.
c. Prospective Customers. These are new customers that
Adidas hopes to win along with the old customers that have
turned away from the company. These are customers who have
never supported the Adidas brand but with their new
innovation they want to win over. They will do this buy
creating a new excitement around the business to convince
them to purchase their new products.
d. As partial owners of Adidas shareholders feel they should
be informed and involved with the campaign. Although sales
have fallen in the U.S. the Adidas stock is still up and there is a
lot for investors to be excited about. With the new campaign to
 increase revenue in the U.S., it only gives the company more
upside for investors to want equity in the company.
e. Adidas is a publicly owned company, which means the
government plays a distinct rule in the company’s practices
and regulations. The government must also work with
companies such as Adidas because it is one of the biggest and
most valuable company’s in world, so if Adidas is success so is
the U.S. government. By generating sales through a new
business strategy the government will support their efforts.
Integrated Message Platform
1. Adidas delivers an elite, innovative, and stylish sportswear
with state of the art technology and quality that helps people
succeed at everything they do.
a. Adidas has a large umbrella of products that meets all the
consumers’ demands sold in stores all over the U.S.
b. Adidas has some of the top professional athletes in the
U.S. along with many of the nation’s best sports teams wearing
the latest and most fashionable Adidas apparel, footwear, and
equipment.
2. Adidas is confident in their brand and resilience. The company
is already an international powerhouse, but aims to recapture the
U.S. market.
 a. Adidas has been making premier sports products for over
60 years and has been a titan of sports fashion and street wear
throughout the years
b. Adidas took a few major hits in the footwear industry by
losing the signings of Michael Jordan and Lebron James to
Nike. They have lost billions of dollars by not landing these
contracts that have transformed the sports market today, but
they still have managed to be innovative enough to stay in the
game.
c. The company’s main rival is Nike, but other competitors
have been eating up pieces of the sports apparel pie. With the
new marketing campaign and business strategy, they will
regain old revenue and generate a new market.
3. With new business strategies, Adidas regain buzz around the
brand and become the leader of what’s cool in sports wear in the
U.S.
a. They have already signed hip hop artist Big Sean and
shoe contract with Kanye West to create new excitement
around their casual urban footwear.
b. They have forgone renewing their contract as the NBA’s
official sponsor in order to pursue endorsing more professional
athletes and NCAA programs.
 c. They are beginning to revive the Reebok brand and
changing their focus to more of a fitness brand although they
still have a vast influence in the footwear market
Key Public Relations Strategies
1. To create an new excitement and buzz around the Adidas
brand and increase awareness of the new business strategy by
creating a stronger and cooler image
2. To educate publics of the new products Adidas Group is
putting on the market and endorsing more professional athletes
and NCAA sports teams.
3. To establish a new brand perception of Adidas as being a cool
brand again while still upholding the high standards of
innovation, technology, and iconic history that has made Adidas
one of the most valuable and recognizable brands in the world to
date.
Strategic Public Relations Objectives
1. To create a 25% awareness of the new business strategy among
all key publics
2. To generate a 35% recognition amongst all key publics of the
new and improved value of the quality of Adidas products in the
U.S. in comparison to competitors
3. To establish a 40% percent increase in Adidas brand
perception among all key publics.
Brainstorming Grid
 
Publics Values Messages Media

Create more jobs Newsletters,

Job retention better training company
integrity of programs and bring department
Employees company in meetings, Direct

New and Improved

quality of products
and bring an exciting
buzz around the
brand, new Print, Broadcast,
Quality product endorsements and Media, Email,
Customers low prices partnerships sponsorships

Growth and Earning

by showing all of the
new ideas we are
planning to
implement into the Media investor
Shareholders Stock price company relations

Global
expansion
national Safe Imports
Government security Congress agencies
Will Spur democracy

 
Key Marketing Strategies
The key marketing strategies for the “Adidas: The Leader in Sports
for over 60 years: campaign include, but are not limited to, the
following:

1. To increase sales revenue by selling more merchandise in the

year 2016.
2. To increase market share in the sports wear industry through
the establishment of the brands under the Adidas Group umbrella.
3. Gain “share-of-mind” in key publics through spontaneous
brand identity
 

Strategic Marketing Objectives

1. Increase sales revenue by 25% by promoting the affordable
quality and innovative products the Adidas group offers
2. Increase market share to 40% in the sportswear industry by
attracting new customers and winning back previous customers
3. Increase “share-of-mind” in customers by increasing
spontaneous brand identity to 75%.
 

Key Advertising Strategies 

The key advertising strategies for the “Adidas: The Leader in Sports
for over 60 years: campaign include, but are not limited to, the
following:

1. Create a Direct Response Strategy though a multi-media mix,

including digital media, and increase social media advertising
2. Create an award winning creative advertisement campaign
with our decorated athletes.
3. Achieve high rates of recall through a strategic and creative
advertising campaign athletes, sponsorship, and many others
 

Advertising Objectives
 

1. Generate 800 website hits per every $1000 spent.

2. Win at least three advertising awards, including, but not
limited to, IACA awards, AAF awards, Communication Arts
Awards, and D&AD awards.
3. Achieve reader and viewer recall scores of 80% per each 1000
impressions.
 

Integrated Tactical Plans

The following is a list of strategic public relations and marketing
tactics that will be implemented throughout the campaign.

Newsletters and Emails

This tactic will be used monthly with newsletters and weekly with
emails to let our employees know exactly what is going on with the
company and what direction we planning to head in. Since
employees are the most important key public to Adidas Group, they
need to believe in the Adidas mission and goals more than anyone
else. They need to know everything going on with Adidas and it is
important the employees are treated well, appreciated, and they
realize their hard work is not going unnoticed. This platform can
also be used a recognition to show the hardest workers in the
company. 
Advertising
An innovative and creative advertising campaign must be
implemented to put emphasis on the multiple products the Adidas
group has to offer customers.

Annual Report
This tactic will be beneficial in managing the relationship between
Adidas Group and all of their key publics. It will present readers
insight to every aspect of the company, such as the company vision,
mission, products, and financial information. This will be produced
once a year, at the end of the fiscal year.

Pitch Letter
This tactic will be demonstrated in order to secure an unsecured
media source, such as a newspaper or magazine. Adidas wants to
show customers their new business strategy to make their quality
and innovative products and be the leader of what’s “cool” in the
sportswear industry and a media story will help them attain this.
Adidas group will send their story out 2 months before they want
their story to appear in the media.

Evaluative Research
Research must be conducted in order to track the success of the
campaign throughout the year and make adjustments throughout the
campaign as needed. In terms of marketing, the research should
focus on the customer’s wants and needs along with the company’s
market share. Research must be done before, during, and after the
campaign for total evaluation of the results.

Marketing Tactics
 

Product New Releases

This tactic will be vital in creating the exciting new buzz around the
brand that Adidas wishes to create in order to gain more market
share. The targeted key public is customers, so they can be aware of
all of the cool new high quality and innovative products Adidas
group is producing in order to named the leader in the sportswear
industry. These will be released on the website and also sent out via
email blast to all old, current, and potentially new customers.

Advertising
A creative and innovative advertising campaign must be
implemented to create an exciting buzz around the brand and show
all key publics all of the new innovative and quality products being
introduced by Adidas group. This will be a crucial component
around the holiday season, which is when Adidas earns over 80% of
their annual profit. Smaller advertisements will be applied regularly
throughout the year, but the most money will be spent on the drive
for the holiday season.

Special Events
Adidas group will utilize special events and promotions in order to
reward loyal customers and attract new customers to shop buy their
products by using incentives. Adidas group will use a rewards
program that offers specials and discounts to loyal customers and
attract new customers. There will be deals and sales for members
who hold an Adidas account every month, and there will be
discounts for new members to turn them into loyal customers who
will choose Adidas as their sportswear brand.

Social Media
Adidas will implement a strong social media campaign in order to
raise awareness of their brand and let key publics know of
everything happening with Adidas. It will be an easy and cheap
tactic to promote the “Adidas: The Leader in Sports for over 60
years” campaign launch. Adidas can use platforms like Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram to inform the public about the campaigns
take off, release dates, promotions, special events, discounts, and
links to their website with a click of a button. Incorporating social
media into the campaign will also promote participation, openness,
conversation, community, and connectedness between key publics
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