Growth Strategies Case Study

Adidas : Cashing In on World Cup Football

OR

Abstract:
The adidas Group (adidas), the second largest sports goods manufacturer worldwide behind Nike, was the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup ‘06, the greatest football tournament across the world. With the World Cup’s global TV and web audience exceeding that of the Olympics or any other sporting event, adidas aimed to capitalise on the four-yearly sporting extravaganza and expected to achieve record sales in the football category. adidas expected to generate Euro 1 billion in revenues from football in 2006 itself and aimed to benefit from the extensive visibility of the brand through World Cup-specific product offerings.

The case, while providing a broad overview of the company, discusses the promotional strategies of adidas and its competitor Nike for the 2006 FIFA World Cup

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the dynamics of sports and sporting lifestyle market
• To understand how promotional activities and advertising campaigns are used in brand-building measures of adidas
• To understand the viral marketing strategy as applied by Nike
• To critically analyse the pros and cons of Above the line (ATL) and Below the line (BTL) communication strategy
• To understand how event sponsorship is being used to reach to the mass market.

Keywords : adidas Group; Football; 2006 FIFA World Cup; Advertising; +10; Teamgeist; Impossible team; Nike; Joga.com; Taylor-made adidas golf; Reebok; Growth Strategies Case Study; Herbert Hainer; Impossible is nothing; Germany

Contents : 
Introduction
Adidas’ World Cup Strategy
Nike’s Counter Moves
Consumer-Oriented Structure Of Adidas
Financial Highlights: Five-Year Overview
Adidas’ Teamgeist Ball