Reebok 2011 Annual Report Download - page 77

adidas Group
2011 Annual Report
GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT – OUR GROUP
73
2011
02.3 Global Brands Strategy adidas Strategy
Five performance benefits
To be relevant to our target consumer as the performance brand,
adidas has identified five consumer benefits which form the basis
of the brand’s innovation pipeline. By serving these benefits, adidas
will remain at the forefront of the industry, building brand image
and allowing the brand to leverage its technologies and positioning
seamlessly across categories.
– Faster: To help athletes be faster, adidas focuses on reducing
product weight, making the lightest products on the market. The
franchise will be built with the adizero platform. Already prominent
in the past two years, this will continue to be a key initiative for 2012
across all major categories.
– Stronger: With adiPower, adidas intends to create a franchise to own
power enhancement in sport. This platform includes products such
as the Barricade in tennis and TechFit apparel.
– Smarter: Through interactive products, adidas is helping athletes
and consumers of all fitness levels to be, train and perform smarter.
The brand works with the best athletes and coaches around the
world. Through platforms such as miCoach, adidas is taking this
knowledge and making it available to every consumer, helping them
to define and work towards their individual goals.
– Cooler: Utilising advanced materials and technologies, these
products are geared to help the athlete to always have the right
temperature (cooler, warmer, wind protection, etc.). This will be
served through the Clima franchise, which is already one of adidas’
best-known franchises around the world.
– Natural: Natural motion is a major trend in our industry. Drawing on
our long history, experience and understanding of the shape of the
foot and movement of the body, adidas is creating a new platform
of products around natural motion and will tailor these products to
individual sports.
In 2012, adidas will continue to innovate around all five benefits,
supplementing and expanding upon existing product technologies and
franchises created over the past 18 months.
Football: expanding strong market position
Being the most popular sport worldwide, football is clearly one of
adidas’ key strategic priorities. For over 50 years, adidas has led all
major developments in boot, ball and apparel technologies. Building
on its success around major sporting events, the brand strives to
increase its strong market position by continuously creating the
industry’s top products and fully leveraging its outstanding portfolio of
sports marketing partners.
Partners include leading football associations (e.g. FIFA, UEFA),
events (FIFA World Cup, UEFA EURO Championship, UEFA Champions
League), national federations (e.g. defending FIFA and UEFA
Champion Spain, Germany, Argentina, Russia, Mexico, China, Greece,
Japan), leagues (e.g. Major League Soccer in the USA), clubs (e.g.
Real Madrid, AC Milan, Chelsea FC, FC Bayern Munich) and individual
players (e.g. three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi,
Thomas Müller, David Villa, Nani, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham).
04 adidas Sport Performance
adizero f50 miCoach
2011 was one of the most successful years in adidas Football history.
The highlight was the launch of the first smart football boot, the
adizero f50 miCoach, the first football boot with a “brain” PICTURE 04 .
But also the new adiPower Predator, the UEFA Champions League,
the Copa América and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011, with the
adidas endorsed Japanese team lifting the trophy, were additional
highlights of the year.
The UEFA EURO 2012 will be the focal point for showcasing the
brand’s key initiatives in 2012, when we expect a new record level of
sales above € 1.5 billion for the category.