Marketting Strategy and Strengths Of Adidas †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Marketting Strategy and Strengths Of Adidas. Answer: Swot Analysis Adidas has various strengths and some weaknesses associated with it. It is a recognized brand worldwide and is a strong player in the sportswear sector. It has gained enough experience over decades of operations and enjoys the loyalty of a large number of professionals, for whom good quality sportswear is crucial to their performance. It has a long range of products catering to requirements of sports like tennis, football, sprint etc. As new generations of sportspersons evolve, their icon players inspire them. This is beneficial for Adidas since it is a widely accepted brand by eminent sports personalities. Adidas can also afford a well-focused and technically advanced research and development unit, which in turn helps it make superior products like ultra-light running shoes, which helps in increasing an athletesperformance. It has also introduced a technology known as optimum shock damping that uses sensors and a computer chip to reduce stress on the foot while running. It is widely regarded as a next level innovation. Adidas also has some weaknesses, one of which is itsmarketing activity. In US, its strongest competitor Nike spent $1.47 Billion in the year 2016(Statista, 2017). Compared to that, Adidas spent just $ 415.4 million during the period (Statista, 2017). This has also resulted in an inferior ad campaign for the brand. While other brands such as Puma and Nike are increasingly pursuing theme-based campaigns, Adidas simply looks to highlight its products and quality, while relying on its brand recognition to connect with the consumers. Adidas has a good opportunity to expand in emerging markets where it can tie up with local players to better understand the needs of the consumers. With big events like Olympics, FIFAworld cup and other premier events being held around the globe, the enthusiasm for sports, and therefore the demand for sportswear, is bound to increase (WiseGuyReports, 2017).Adidas also faces threats on various fronts, more serious among t hem coming from competing brands like Puma, Nike and Underarmour. While Nike is already the number one brand in the sportswear segment, Underarmour is also gaining market share in certain regions, which can be a cause of concern for the company. Recently it overtook Adidas in the crucial North- American market (Germano, 2014). If these issues are not addressed, it can cause Adidas to lose its position among its competitors. While making SWOT analysis of Adidas, few highlighted points those were analyzed are shown in the figure below. Marketting Strategy Adidas has always focused on positioning itself as a company that makes performance-oriented products for sportspersons. As such, it has adopted a strategy to keep its core brand Adidas as its main product, and has promoted Reebok as the brand, which offers casual sportswear. Adidas Fun and Rockport labels offer products catering to Sports Fashion segment. Thus, Adidas looks to maintain its brand essence in each of the sub categories by projecting different labels for each of them(Bhasin, 2017). This strategy of segmentation reduces risk of brand dilution as one brand is perceived as specially made for that particular segment. Target Market Adidas produces goods that are mostly used by people in the age group of 14-29 Years (Morgan, 2012). As such, it has to understand the basic psychology and needs of its target consumers, and it is crucial for the company to get young adults loyalty towards its brand. In addition, since Adidas is a premium brand associated with high quality products, its target consumers further shrinks to upper and upper middle class of consumers(Shetty, 2017). It is important for Adidas to maintain that status so that its brand is always looked at as a high value choice. Positioning Adidas has to maintain a difference between itself and mass-market products in order to keep its brand image and appeal among its target consumers. The young generation of sports enthusiasts is more likely to adopt the brand if they perceive it as a specialist, which will help them perform better. Even if they are not sure about its performance enhancing effects, they are likely to judge it by its brand membership. If they see elite sportspersons wearing it and acknowledge the fact that it is not a regular run of the mill product, they will respect the brand more. Thus, the company has positioned its product as a performance oriented and in the premium category. Marketing Mix Adidas has devised two different types of pricing strategy in its marketing mix. For its premium and newly launched products, it uses skimming price strategy, whereas for other regular products like caps etc., it uses competitive pricing strategy in order to compete with its main competitors (MBASkool, 2017). Adidas also has an adequate line of exclusive stores and presence in multi brand retail chains, so it has a good exposure among its consumers. It has also made an online presence through websites like myntra.com, while also maintains its website where it sells to retail consumers directly. Thus, Adidas maintains a good chain of supply for its products through exclusive outlets, multi brand showrooms as well as through online fashion websites. Adidas also has a good promotions strategy in its marketing mix, where its association with popular sports icons like Lionel Messi, Sachin Tendulkar and others help it in creating a formidable brand image for its products. Its tagline Impos sible is nothing seeks to associate the brand with a powerful statement that can be remembered(Bhasin, 2017). This tagline features in large billboards where the company portrays images of the likes of Muhammad Ali or Roger Federer and underlines the image with this line. The idea behind this strategy is to associate the brand with great achievers and whenever people look at the brand logo, they are filled with a sense of confidence that they too can achieve what they aspire. It also generates a lot of fan following through social media and promotes its products through YouTube videos as well. These medium provide an instant connect with the youth and the use of print and television media completes the overall reach of its promotional campaign. References Bhasin, H., 2017. Marketing strategy of Adidas. [Online] Available at: https://www.marketing91.com/marketing-strategy-of-adidas/ [Accessed 18 September 2017]. Germano, S., 2014. Adidas Slips Behind Under Armour in U.S. [Online] Available at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/under-armour-edges-out-adidas-in-u-s-1409940825 [Accessed 18 Spetember 2017]. MBASkool, 2017. Adidas Marketing Mix. [Online] Available at: https://www.mbaskool.com/marketing-mix/products/17006-adidas.html [Accessed 18 September 2017]. Morgan, R., 2012. Adidas Marketing Strategy. [Online] Available at: https://prezi.com/-mzf9jbpifc4/adidas-marketing-strategy/ [Accessed 18 September 2017]. Shetty, A., 2017. Marketing Strategies By adidas. [Online] Available at: https://www.scribd.com/doc/43300948/Marketing-Strategies-by-Adidas [Accessed 18 September 2017]. Statista, 2017. Adidas Group: ad spend in the U.S. 2012-2016. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/307386/adidas-group-advertising-spending-usa/ [Accessed 18 September 2017]. Statista, 2017. Nike: ad spend in the U.S. 2009-2016. [Online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/463063/nike-ad-spend-usa/ [Accessed 18 September 2017]. WiseGuyReports, 2017. Sportswear Market. [Online] Available at: https://www.crossroadstoday.com/story/36247924/sportswear-market-demand-growth-opportunities-and-analysis-of-top-key-player-2021 [Accessed 18 September 2017].