Marketing: Adidas Case Study

Who is Adidas targeting? Who should they be targeting and why?

Currently, Adidas is looking to target women, 22-35. Adidas should be targeting those that believe sports can change lives. Adidas needs to target those who believe similarly and will support Adidas mission to help athletes make a difference. Someone who falls under this belief would be an individual that supports powerful figures in sport. By this I don’t just mean the best players, but those that are making a difference in the game, in life, and in the world.

What’s a job to be done for this target?

Through research on online, specifically Twitter Advanced Search, I was able to identify that a functional pain point was inequality in Adidas products. Many complaints online included the lack in availability of women’s soccer cleats, shoes, and beyond in comparison to the variety offered to males. Not only were women noticing this, but it was a common theme across my research. This contradicts the belief of the target network that sports should be able to change lives-- by Adidas equipment being more accessible and to some than others. A gap in gender equality in their products is a functional issue they can work to change. If there is a favoritism to a certain gender or socioeconomic background in their products, they’re not “changing the world,” it holds some back in sports.

How might Adidas fulfill this job?

Adidas might fulfill this job by creating a campaign Equipment for Everyone campaign. If equipment is equal and fair to everyone, then Adidas can truly show how sports can change lives, not just some lives, but anyone’s life. I don’t think they truly walk the talk on sports changing lives and the world, if there is a favoritism to a certain gender or socioeconomic background. They could create different lines for all genders and potentially different socioeconomic backgrounds to make their products more accessible to everyone. Having powerful disruptors in sports and more specifically equality in sports can bridge the gap between Adidas’ mission and the specific pain point of consumers of unequal products.

Based on your previous responses, what ‘influencer’ would you recommend Adidas engage for its women’s training efforts and why?

I initially thought of women of USA Hockey and USA Soccer, both of which teams went on strikes against their national organizations for equal pay and benefits in the past few years. I think someone like Kendall Coyne Schofield is someone that aligns with Adidas belief of making a change through sports because of her own Schofield Family Foundation (with her husband, an NFL player). Kendall’s foundation actively supports Adidas belief through her mission in youth sports, that states: “Empowering today’s youth to build active friendships, confidence, core values, and teach life lessons that go beyond the playing field.” Kendall bridges the gap in her own fight for equality, something Adidas should work for, and the shared value with Adidas that sports can change lives. For these reasons I believe Kendall is a great example of an influencer. Others I would suggest would be Alex Morgan, Meghan Duggan, and Megan Rapinoe for similar reasons.

Monetization of Sports Social Media Feeds

Detroit Red Wings

How many posts on each platform (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) were sponsored in one calendar week in March '19?

• Instagram-37

• Facebook-290

• Twitter-187

What type of posts are sponsored? (e.g. Game preview, #TBT)

Instagram posts were completely game previews and between period stats. Facebook had way more videos, especially those of longer length. Twitter included shorter videos, like post game comments, and mainly game day previews, line charts, and between period stat updates.

In your opinion, do these sponsored posts resonate with the target audience? Why?

Almost all of the posts were sponsored by local banks, I think they would resonate for getting brand recognition. I think there is also a positive brand image transfer in these posts and when young adults are looking to open bank accounts, they are likely turn somewhere they are familiar. Which if you are an avid Wings’ fan, would be Huntington Bank and Comerica.

Who in your opinion does the sponsorship benefit more (based on the post) The team or the sponsor? Why?

I think the team benefits more because having gameday and score graphics sponsored is such a minor distraction from the information on their graphics. If followers want to know the score, or game information, they’ll read it and the logos aren’t taking away from that. It’s no cost to the team to put the logo on their pages with so many followers!

If you were in charge of this team's social media feed, what do you think is the most valuable content to sponsors?

I think the MOST beneficial to sponsors would be special interest pieces and getting to know players off the ice. I think that those videos are still out of the norm and still out of the usual, which attracts viewers and are less likely to get scrolled through. I also think moving logos, like in GIFs and then at beginning and ends of videos, are beneficial because they draw attention.

What opportunities do you see for monetization of the social media feed that are not being utilized by this team?

I think you could very easily implement subtle sponsorships, especially media that includes players off the ice and products they use beyond the ice. An example I think of instantly (from class) is the Bose sponsored posts of just players wearing Bose headphones. I think the Red Wings could definitely use something like this as the could use more posts of their players off the ice.

Social Media Blog Post, Det. Red Wings (SM 313)

https://twitter.com/DetroitRedWings

https://www.instagram.com/detroitredwings/

Does the team have a consistent look, identity & personality? Does the team have a consistent voice across multiple platforms?

I believe this team has a consistent look, identity & personality. The consistent look includes clean cut lines using only the white, red, and logos. The font usage is also consistent across platforms which I like. The only time I see they account is slight off from its normal look and feel is when it is a collaborative post with a sponsor. The identity of the accounts show a very community centric Red Wings and revolve around being “hockeytown” which is on brand. The personality itself is both playful, but short and sweet. The personality isn’t as out there as others, like the Vegas Golden Knights, but still keeps up with social trends and can have a more playful side, especially on Twitter as compared to Instagram. The voice across both of these platforms mainly because it sticks to being short and to the point, as well as often using hockey lingo. Using these terms familiar to hockey fans relates back to the identity and personality of truly being hockeytown.

Does the team have unique creative to support their brand?

I think they could do more to make their content more creative while still staying on brand. Often gameday posts and score updates I feel like could get glanced over quickly because of their repetitive nature. I however, really like their current cover photo commemorating Ted Lindsay and believe they have potential. I think they could have a more creative videography crew.

Does the team interact with fans/followers?

On Twitter, they are good about liking fans/followers tweets for sure, but not necessarily interacting in the sense of replying. They do not reply to comments on Instagram, which in my past experience, I found to be the best thing because of the backlash you can face from fans and unhappy followers! It’s best not to get involved in my personal opinion.

Do the posts build excitement about the team or create an emotional attachment?

The team posts build both excitement about games and the season as well as build emotional attachment. The team posts draw excitement by showing a lot of behind the scenes before the games and practices leading up to the next game. I think the emotional attachment comes from focusing on the history of the Red Wings and the entirety of the Original Six. Another thing that is common on the account is featuring the players and their families, babies, dogs, etc. that are important for fans to feel an emotional attachment to the players and their lives off the ice.