ADIDAS

The company was founded by Adolf "Adi" Dassler who made sports
shoes in his mother's scullery or laundry room in Herzogenaurach,
Germany after his return from World War I. In July 1924, his older
brother Rudolf joined the business, which became "Dassler Brothers
Shoe Factory" (Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik).The electricity supply in
Herzogenaurach was unreliable, so the brothers sometimes had to use
pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.

Dassler assisted in the development of spiked running shoes (spikes) for

multiple athletic events. To enhance the quality of spiked athletic
footwear, he transitioned from a previous model of heavy metal spikes
to utilising canvas and rubber. In 1936, Dassler persuaded U.S. sprinter
Jesse Owens to use his hand made spikes at the 1936 Summer Olympics.
Following Owens' four gold medals, the name and reputation of Dassler
shoes became known to the world's sportsmen and their trainers.
Business was successful and the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of
shoes everyBoth Dassler brothers joined the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in
May 1933 and also became members of the National Socialist Motor
Corps. Furthermore, Adolf took the rank of Sportwart in the Hitler
Youth from 1935 until the end of the war. During the war, the company
was running the last sport shoe factory in the country and predominantly
supplied the Wehrmacht with shoes. In 1943 the shoe production was
forced to cease operations and the company's facilities and workforce
was used to manufacture anti-tank weapons. From 1942 to 1945 at least
nine forced labourers were working at both sites of the company.
The Dassler factory, used for production of anti-tank weapons during
World War II, was nearly destroyed in 1945 by US forces, but was
spared when Adolf Dassler's wife convinced the American soldiers that
the company and its employees were only interested in manufacturing
sports shoes. American occupying forces subsequently became major
buyers of the Dassler brothers' shoes year before World War II

OBJECTIVES OF ADIDAS
 save electricity and reducing carbon emissions
 save your bath
 minimize the use of more environmentally friendly non-renewable
raw materials
 contact key success measures
 use management framework to ensure quality improvement.
 MACRO FACTORS OF ADIDAS

Political
factors within the company are issues such as their employees’ health
and safety, in addition to Adidas as an organization ensuring that their
employees rights are kept.

Economical
issues within Adidas’s organization are the fact that they provide
employment within a variety of countries worldwide; moreover to
decrease outlay Adidas has agreed ‘manufacturing contracts’ to other
countries. Likewise, ‘Labor charges’ to manufacture their products are
significantly higher in Germany where the foundation of Adidas was
established. Therefore, the majority of factories are based within the
Asian region. (Hale,2002)

Social
elements that need to be considered within Adidas’s organization are,
for example, Adidas sell their foot ware products worldwide; however
they need to consider where their highest potential customers are. Within
the United Kingdom there are many cities which most of them have
local football teams. Moreover within London alone they have several;
therefore the United Kingdom has a substantial consumer base.
Furthermore, Adidas should take opportunity of this within the football
seasons by promoting their products to expand their sales revenue.

Technological
equipment should be utilized to the best of its ability. For example,
using quality information systems and consistently updating their
webpages. By doing this it gives Adidas the opportunity to have
efficiency in operations which primarily will improve their overall
production. Therefore by doing this it will offer a high standard of
customer service, likewise it can keep them in the lead of their market
and may even give them an advantage over their competitors.

Environmental
issues concerning Adidas are matters such as animal rights. This is
because Adidas foot ware is produced from animal skin. Furthermore, as
mentioned above Adidas produce their products mainly in China. The
main reason for this is because of cheap labor, therefore Adidas need to
consider the publicity they will receive.

Legal
matters within the company such as adhering to the advertising
standards and the sales and supply act. Adidas will need to obey these
procedures in order not to be fined.
 SWOT OF ADIDAS

Strengths
within Adidas’s organization are that they are highly associated as a
leading brand for popular sports around the world.

Weaknesses
concerning Adidas as an organization can be issues such as their
advertisement agencies are considered not to be at a higher standard as
some competitors.

Opportunities
are widely available to Adidas; they can take advantage of new
technology, in addition to improving their current online business, which
will result in demand for higher sales as their products are more easily
accessible. Furthermore, Adidas has joined Reebok therefore it opens up
opportunities for new business ventures.

Threats
that mainly concern Adidas are their main competitor Nike. Nike is the
leading brand in foot ware over Adidas and spends a considerable
amount more on advertisement than Adidas. Furthermore, Adidas foot
ware is considered as expensive therefore the average person cannot
always afford their latest product. This has resulted in counterfeit Adidas
products being copied.
 4P’s OF MARKETING MIX OF ADIDAS

Product
Adidas boasts a diverse portfolio of high-quality products ranging from
sports equipment and shoes to apparel, watches, eyewear, and many
more. Focusing on its strengths in soccer gear and training wear, Adidas
has attracted legions of fans, especially young people.

With sustainability becoming crucial for investors, Adidas took a

leading position by introducing more than 60% recycled polyester
products in the market in 2021. Most impressive, the brand strives to
evolve to recycled polyester from 2024 wholly. Some of the recent best
selling Adidas innovations are:

Adidas Ultraboost
Adidas Stan Smith
Adidas MD R1 Sneakers
Adidas Adilette Comfort Slides
Adidas Tiro 19 Training Pants

Pricing
Adidas thrives through skimming and competitive pricing strategies to
remain afloat in the current cutthroat market scene. The firm sets a high
and steep price in the skimming pricing strategy. This approach is most
successful for the short term if there are substantial barriers to entry or
when demand is relatively inelastic. In most cases, Adidas uses a
skimming strategy when launching a more superior to what main
competitors like Puma and Nike offer.

On the other, the competitive pricing strategy revolves around prices set
by nearest rivals. All in all, Adidas target affluent clients who value
optimum quality. It is worth pointing out that the elevated prices assure
superior quality only associated with the brand. Unfortunately, such
exorbitant price tags can be out of reach for most people.

However, even with cheaper imitations flooding the market, the impact
does not affect the company's sales. After all, the high-end target
audience remains loyal, thanks to Adidas's incomparable status and
quality.

Promotion
It has become extremely tough to market a product that shares similar
features with others in the current competitive environment. For this
reason, companies must get out of the box and move an inch higher in
convincing customers to pick their products over others.

Adidas never disappoints in its promotion strategies, and some of the

well-known methods used include magazines, television ads, and
billboards. With the emergence of social media, Adidas puts more
athletes in the top races and on the biggest stages than any other sports
brand. It's an impressive roster that includes multitudes of the world's
best footballers in clubs ranging from AC Milan and Bella Vista to Real
Madrid and Bayern Munich. Additionally, they sponsor the world's best
golfers, tennis players, plus legendary athletes like Usain Bolt, Candace
Parker, and David Beckham.

Place
Placing products in the market is a necessary process of any marketing
mix. Currently, Adidas serves athletes in more than 170 countries and
territories around the globe, both offline and online. Online shoppers can
take advantage of exciting Adidas offers at Myntra, Flipkart, or Amazon.

Likewise, customers can peruse the official website for available

products. The positive aspect of this approach is that customers enjoy a
unique personalized service never experienced before.
 MARKETING SEGMENTATION
KIA

MARKETING SEGMENTATION
Market segmentation is a marketing strategy that uses well-defined
criteria to divide a brand's total addressable market share into smaller
groups. Each group, or segment, shares common characteristics that
enable the brand to create focused and targeted products, offers and
experiences.
A brand's total addressable market can have a variety of needs,
challenges, preferences and buying criteria. Market segmentation carves
out focused portions of a target market in order to create messaging,
products and services that are customized to those segments.
Market segmentation can be a competitive differentiator. Customers
served by market segmentation campaigns may perceive that a brand's
messaging and products were specifically tailored to them.

IMPORTANCE
Market segmentation results in more effective and efficient marketing,
advertising and sales. Rather than targeting a broad audience with
generic messaging and offers, market segmentation enables brands to
provide offers specifically tailored to each segment's needs.
Consider an advertising campaign organized around a particular market
segment. A brand can select relevant targeting criteria to reach users
who fit the criteria of that market segment.
Market segmentation can result in a campaign that is both effective and
efficient: Audience segmenting and customized messaging drives higher
success rates, while advertising dollars are only spent to reach the
defined audience. The same non-segmented campaign would suffer from
lower response rates, with a portion of the advertising budget wasted on
the wrong audience.
 KIA
FOUNDER : Chung Eui-sun
FOUNDED : June 9, 1944; 78 years ago
INDUSTERY : Automotive
HEADQUARTERS : Seoul, South Korea
AREA SERVED : Worldwide (except Japan and North Korea)
TYPE : State owned company
PRODUCTS : Automobile civil and Military aero engines
KIA was founded on June 9, 1944, as Kyungsung Precision Industry, a
manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts, eventually producing
Korea's first domestic bicycle, the Samchully, in 1951.[1] In 1952,
Kyungsung Precision Industry changed its name to Kia Industries,and
later built Honda-licensed small motorcycles (starting in 1957) and
Mazda-licensed trucks (1962) and cars (1974).
The company opened its first integrated automotive assembly plant in
1973, the Sohari Plant. Kia built the small Mazda-based Brisa range of
cars until 1981, when production came to an end after the new military
dictator Chun Doo-hwan enforced industry consolidation. This forced
Kia to give up passenger cars and focus entirely on light trucks.[11] Kia
assembled a few hundred more cars in 1982 and 1983, after the ban had
taken effect, but no passenger cars were built in 1984 and 1985.
Prior to the forced 1981 shutdown, Kia had rounded out its passenger car
lineup with two other foreign models assembled under license: the Fiat
132[13][14] and the Peugeot 604.[15][16] The import of these knock-
down kits was permitted as long as Kia exported five cars .
GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
Geographic segmentation is dividing the overall market based on
different geographic units such as – countries, continents, zip codes,
states, trading blocks, cities, and neighborhoods. Geographic
segmentation is highly efficient for Rolls Royce Holdings plc in the
international markets because the prospective customers have different
culture, preferences, and administrative systems. Secondly, if the cost of
transportation is critical cost in the value proposition delivery then it is
prudent to do geographic segmentation as the costs of serving customers
in different locations will be completely different.

DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
Demographic segmentation is dividing the mass market into smaller
segments and groups based on gender, income, occupation, age, life
cycle stage, ethnicity, religion, and generation. As the products of Rolls
Royce Holdings plc provide a superior value proposition, it should
segment the customers based on two main demographic criteria –
income of the prospective customer and life cycle stage. One of the most
widely used demographic segmentation frameworks in United States by
various marketers is – PRIZM.
PRIZM® is the geo-demographic segmentation system that combines
geographic data with various demographic, consumer behaviors, and
other data to help marketers identify, understand and reach their
customers and prospects. PRIZM classifies every U.S. household—
assembled by zip code—into 66 demographically and behaviorally
distinct segments.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
In the marketing world, lifestyle oriented interests, activities, and
opinion, are categorized under psychographic variables. Rolls Royce
Holdings plc can use psychographic segmentation to divide the potential
buyers into different segments based on – personality characteristics,
buying patterns, consumption opinion, opinion on social issues, leisure
activities, hobbies, and many other dimensions. Psychographic
segmentations are effective because people in the same demography can
have different psychographic characteristics based on individual life
experiences and growing up environment.

BEHAVIOURAL SEGMENTATION
Behavioral segmentation divides buyers into groups based on their -
attitudes, product knowledge, product uses, and other responses to a
product. Many marketing experts believe that behavior variables are a
good starting point to build consumer segments. For example for any
service – Freemium model is a far more effective segmentation strategy
than geographic, demographic, or psychographic. The behavior
segmentation can help the organization to focus on key features, and
provide the consumers with features that they are more likely to use.
Continuous engagement leads higher customer satisfaction rates and
high net promoter score.
 RODUCT MIX IN MARKETING

Adidas is a German Multinational corporation founded in 1959 by Adolf

Dassler, headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It is one of the
oldest footwear brands that is still considered a major style statement by
youngsters worldwide. Even after facing intense competition from the
traditionally competitive US sportswear market, Adidas through its
creative and appealing marketing campaigns has managed to remain one
of the leading brands in the world.

Having operations in over 100 different countries, Adidas is a large and

multifaceted organization that employs 62000 people all over the world.
Since its establishment, Adidas has opened its successful brand
subsidiaries including Reebok, TaylorMade, and Runtastic.

Now that we have a brief about the company, let us dive straight into
Adidas’ Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix of Adidas
Marketing Mix refers to the foundation model of any business which is
centred around mainly the 7Ps which are product, price, promotion,
place & distribution, people, process and physical evidence. Companies
lay out strategies and marketing techniques around these to reach out to
their target audience to achieve their marketing objectives.

7 Ps of Adidas
1. Product Strategy of Adidas
Adidas deals in various product lines including footwear, apparel,
accessories, football kit, golf equipment, etc. The range of Adidas
products is also divided according to different sport games for which
Adidas provides kits and equipment. Some of the sports games where
the company majors in supplying the team kits globally are: Association
football, Baseball, Basketball, Cricket, Gymnastics, Ice hockey,
Lacrosse, Running, Skateboarding, Tennis, Kabaddi, and Golf.

Adidas has gained huge popularity by opening its subsidiaries including

Reebok, Runtastic, TaylorMade, and Rockport. Though there are around
110 subsidiaries of Adidas Worldwide, the subsidiary that overtaken
Adidas itself is Reebok footwear and apparel. Whereas Runtastic is a
digital health and Fitness app, TaylorMade is centred on golfing clothes
and Rockport offers outdoor footwear, apparel and accessories.
Though this company offers various products, its major product line is
Footwear. Given that Adidas’ foundation was built on footwear itself, its
footwear is still deemed the most robust and athletic in the market,
followed by its apparel and accessories

Adidas Shoes | Marketing Mix of Adidas | IIDE

2. Price strategy of Adidas

Adidas includes Skimming Pricing and Competitive pricing in its
marketing mix. Competitive prices are used for its mill products to
compete with brands like Nike and Puma and skimming prices are used
for the newly introduced products in the market.
Under Skimming pricing, high prices are kept for newly launched
products to maintain exclusivity and gradually the prices are reduced
with time until it reaches the market average.
When it comes to Apparel, Adidas mostly uses a skimming price
strategy because of its brand equity. Thus, the Target audience of Adidas
includes the upper-middle class as well as high-end customers.
Matter of fact, the High-price strategy of Adidas makes it a luxury brand
among people. Folks go for Adidas even when the prices are high
because psychologically, they think that high prices mean high quality
and confirmation of authenticity.

3. Place & Distribution Strategy of Adidas

Adidas has its production houses in around 55 countries and has 800
factories pinned across different continents. The major source through
which its products are sold is Retail Stores i.e., Adidas outlets. It has
more than 2800 retail outlets globally.
The second major way of distributing Adidas products is through multi-
brand showrooms. The showrooms get the products from the distributor.
These showrooms put on display the brands’ products.

Adidas Shop | Marketing Mix of Adidas | IIDE

In today’s world, no major brand is complete without an Online Store.

Thus, Adidas has an online website too and some of the products like
apparel are sold through various famous fashion stores like Myntra and
Amazon too.

4. Promotion Strategy of Adidas

It is a well-known fact that the TV ads of Adidas are Adrenaline
pumping. Knowing that Adidas’ strength is derived from sports, their
ads are robust and passionate. The major source of promotion for Adidas
is marketing through television.
Another major promotion method of Adidas is product placement.
Product placement means where references to brands are made by
featuring them in other works like movies and television programs. The
popularity of Adidas is also because of all its tie-ups with sports icons
such as Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.Messi promoting Adidas Shoes |
Marketing Mix of Adidas | IIDE
Along with tying up with major sports celebrities, Adidas also sponsors
some popular sports teams such as Real Madrid and in football, Great
Britain which helps the company in building its brand image.
Apart from this, Adidas has been known for its creative marketing
campaign and event marketing. Social Media is another way through
which this company keeps up with folks across the world. There are
millions of followers of Adidas on both Facebook and Instagram. The
sports angle in their social media handle makes it more magnetic and
appealing.
The most recent campaign by Adidas “Own the Game” was introduced
on virtual investor and media day. The campaign is to strengthen and
uplift the authenticity of the brand and proliferate the company’s activity
in sustainability. This campaign has been created with the expectations
of sales and profitability until 2025.
Adidas has recently announced that actress Jenna Ortega will be the face
of its new Sportswear label and the “All That You Are” campaign. The
campaign promotes comfort and self-expression and features diverse
creatives and athletes. Ortega, who starred in the Netflix series
“Wednesday,” is the newest addition to Adidas’ global family.
Marketing Mix of Adidas - All That You Are Campaign

5. People Strategy of Adidas

There are 4 main departments under Adidas which are contributing to its
smooth and systematic working-
The first one is Mediator, These people work with the suppliers to obtain
the raw materials and have a significant role in improving the quality of
the final product.
The Sales Team is the key element for the sales and marketing of the
company. They are trained with convincing and marketing techniques to
help customers find their relevant choice.
People working at retail stores, these people directly help the customers
on-site by answering their questions and giving them a good experience
at the store.
The customer support department helps customers when there is an issue
with the product and communicates with the consumer to resolve the
problem.

6. Process Strategy of Adidas

Adidas has an intensive process from ordering a product to delivering it.
They have a system installed in retail stores wherein retailers can inform
whenever the inventory is low, they do this to keep the stores full and
products available. For the website, they have a computer-based system
where the order is received and the relevant product is shipped to the
delivery chain.

The company is also extensively involved in market research and

customer feedback to understand consumer choices and problems, to
bring changes accordingly.
7. Physical Evidence Strategy of Adidas
Adidas has a website that is user-friendly and helps customers view their
products in high-quality images. They also have a customer service
department that helps consumers with all their issues.
For their retail stores, the company has separate specially designed
shelves to make it easier to locate products. The products are also
packed in different colorful packaging, again to make them unique and
easily identifiable.
So, these were the 7P’s of Adidas, we can see how the company has
used everything perfectly in their favour which has led to its strong
brand identity. Let’s sum up the above marketing strategy of Adidas.

Conclusion
With the above-mentioned 7Ps, it can be concluded that the 71-year-old
Adidas is still a robust and successful company out there. It has come up
with some of the most creative campaigns and its creative team has
never failed to boost the confidence of sports lovers and youngsters in
the company worldwide. Adidas has maintained its authenticity and
credibility by always catering to its target market by providing quality
products. Their thousands of outlets all over the world have made the
brand easily accessible. With their signature branding, Adidas has
created for itself a distinguished position in the market.

Found the blog interesting? If you want to learn further about Digital
Marketing, do check out our 45 minutes Free Digital Marketing
Masterclass by Karan Shah, the founder and the CEO of IIDE.
 FMCG PRODUCTS GROWTH IN RURAL
MARKETS
The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Sector in India
Consumer packaged goods (CPGs), also referred to as fast-moving
consumer goods (FMCG), are non-durable commodities that consumers
use on a daily basis. FMCG products include things like prepared foods,
soft beverages, cosmetics, and home cleaning supplies. The FMCG
market in India is dominated by the personal care and home sector,
which generates more than 50% of the industry's overall revenues.
Additionally, FMCG profits have grown from 5% between 2010-14 to
almost 7% during 2020-22. The FMCG business is poised to grow by
US$ 310.5 billion between 2022-2026, primarily due to rising
consumption of ready-to-eat food products. In fact, it is predicted that by
2025, consumer spending on food will be equal to US$ 8.85 trillion.
Over the next few years, the demand gradient will also be propelled by
rising consumer awareness and the growth of organised retailing.
According to Crisil, the FMCG sales in the country are likely to climb
by 7-9% in terms of revenue in FY23, driven by increasing prices, while
the volume growth will be restrained at 1-2%. Additionally, in the
previous fiscal year, the industry had an 8.5% increase in revenues and a
2.5% increase in volume.
The Indian FMCG market has surpassed the global market, with a
double-digit growth rate over the last two decades. The quick expansion
in population is inversely correlated with the rise in consumer goods
consumption. Similar factors include regular new product launches,
increased consumer awareness of various FMCG products, rising
middle-class disposable incomes, easier access to consumer goods, a
noticeable shift in consumers' lifestyles in developed and developing
 nations, strong brand advertising and attractive price points, strong
logistics and distribution channels of such companies, expansion of
online commerce, and increased R&D spending by both established
players and newcomers in t he market.

FMCG major Nestle India is on a path to accelerated growth in rural

areas amid a big question over the performance of these markets in
India, company chairman and managing director Suresh Narayanan said
on Thursday. The company is increasing its reach in what it terms
'Rurban'—a combination of rural and semi-urban areas.
When there is a big question on rural India and rural growth, I do admit
that rural play of Nestle is only 20%, but you see the growth has been
around 25-26%. Again, rural India for Nestle India is resonating and we
are on a path to accelerated growth in rural markets as well," he told
analysts in an earnings call. Narayanan said distribution will be key in
achieving growth from the smaller marke
However, the company is mitigating a part of it through relationships,
partnership and accelerated economies of scale and sharp procurement
strategy. "We are confident of mitigating a part of it. We are confident
of being taken care of by some additional opportunities for growth.
Premiumisation and upgrading would come too. There is considerably
still some pressure under the bonnet as far as whea.