Reebok 2007 Annual Report Download - page 50

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ANNUAL REPORT 2007 --- adidas Group GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP -- Structure and Strategy - adidas Strategy
ADIDAS STRATEGY
a
didas has a clear mission –
“
to be the leadin
g
sports brand in the world”.
To accompl
i
sh th
i
s m
i
ss
i
on, the brand com-
p
rises two divisions that re
fl
ect two distinct
market segments:
S
port Performance and
S
port Style. Product and marketing initiatives
a
t adidas primarily focus on fi ve
g
lobal prior
-
i
t
i
es, wh
i
ch are expected to
g
enerate over
80
%
of the brand’s top-line growth until 2010:
running,
f
ootball, basketball, training and
Originals. The adidas brand attitude
“
Impos sible is Nothin
g
” drives all brand com -
mun
i
cat
i
on
i
n
i
t
i
at
i
ves and helps stren
g
then the
brand’s bond with consumers. With a well-
d
e
fi
ned and segmented distri bution approach
a
nd a premium-price strate
g
y, adidas clearly
p
ositions itsel
f
as a to
p
-notch brand in all
markets
.
NEW BRAND STRUCTURE ESTABLISHED In 2007, the adidas
brand continued to gain momentum – both fi nancially
 see adidas Business Performance, p. 096 and operationally. adidas
further evolved its organizational structure, moving from three
to two divisions. With Bernd Wahler in Sport Performance
and Hermann Deininger in Sport Style, adidas appointed two
Chief Marketing Offi cers who have full ownership of their
respective divisions. During the year, adidas not only estab-
lished the two-divisional structure on a global level but also
rolled it out in the regions of North America and Europe.
Further, the brand appointed Patrik Nilsson as new President
of adidas North America to further strengthen its market
position in the region.
EUROPEAN DISTRIBUTION FURTHER STRENGTHENED In
Europe, adidas continued to refi ne its distribution with various
initiatives. For example, the brand extended a strategic partner-
ship with its key account Intersport International Corporation.
Within the scope of this cooperation, adidas offers customized
product ranges in Intersport stores in categories such as
football and running in 32 markets worldwide. Additionally,
adidas and Intersport will continue to work closely on joint
marketing and event-related initiatives. adidas also success-
fully implemented a segmented distribution strategy in the UK
 see Risk and Opportunity Report, p. 104 and continued its strong retail
expansion in Russia.
PARTNERSHIP NETWORK FURTHER EXTENDED adidas
further expanded its portfolio of promotional partnerships in
2007. The brand entered into a Tier One partnership with the
London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games (LOCOG), to become the Offi cial Sportswear Partner
of the London Olympics in 2012. Brand adidas also extended
partnerships with the German, Spanish and Hellenic football
federations. In addition, the brand signed multi-year agree-
ments with race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Texas A & M
University and the University of Michigan. In the Sport Style
division, adidas agreed on a multi-year product collaboration
with a leading denim producer, Diesel, starting in February 2008.
MARKETING CAMPAIGNS LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY With
respect to brand communication, adidas successfully launched
the newest installment of its “Impossible is Nothing” campaign
– the largest global brand campaign ever implemented – in
over 50 countries. Late in the year, adidas also kicked off its
Olympics and global football campaigns for 2008.
INNOVATION LEADERSHIP THROUGH PERSONALIZATION
adidas’ innovation philosophy encompasses every facet of the
brand’s business – from product design and development to
brand marketing, promotion partnerships and distribution. In
this area, personalization represents a key focus. Personalized
product concepts at adidas include:
- Interactive product concepts such as miCoach – a new
individual training system to be launched in March / April 2008,
which can sense, understand and adapt to the consumer’s
needs.
- Customized solutions such as the mi adidas platform or
the TUNiT football boot concept, which offer consumers the
opportunity to specify certain product features.
- A broad selection of well-defi ned product families such
as adiSTAR, adiZero and Supernova and technologies such
as Clima, TECHFIT™, ForMotion™ and BOUNCE™, offering
consumers extensive choice, according to their individually
defi ned needs and requirements.
In marketing and distribution, personalization includes pro-
viding tailor-made offerings – be it online or in stores. Person-
alization will be the brand’s lead innovation concept and a
driving force of the adidas business going forward. It will guide
all efforts in product design and development, (digital) market-
ing and distribution.