Creative Brief Logic Tiffany Clark J451 Winter 04
Competition: Adidas currently holds 15 percent of the world s market share for sporting goods, including shoes, apparel and equipment. Our main competitors are Nike, with a similar target market, Reebok, with an older target market, Skechers, which draws those looking for fashion without athletic desires, a younger female crowd and Puma, a brand that has both athletic ability as well as trends, but is not highly accessible and is less promoted than any other brand listed above, purchased by athletes familiar with the brand who want trendy athletic looking street shoes. Puma: This competitor has a major market in the soccer industry and has also been regarded as a trendier shoe brand than Nike and Reebok. In 1929 the Dassler brothers created a company that later split into Puma and Adidas in the late 1940s. These German made shoes both have a retro feel, but to our advantage, Adolf Dassler, the founder of Adidas, was the main inventor of the duos shoes. This factor makes it our number one target since we are focusing on the trendy ness of our Originals line, and both lines came from the original company Gebruder Dassler Shuh Fabrik. Nike: Nike, number one shoe manufacturer in the United States holds approximately 40% of the market share. Although its average consumer is very similar to ours, Nike has done a better job at marketing its variety of shoes and creating an emotional attachment to the brand, just do it. When focusing on the men s market Nike is definitely a major competitor because we have to get people past swoosh into the fashionableness of shoes, which some men seem to have a problem accepting. Skechers: The newest brand to the scene, Skechers success comes from the high adaptability of their brand. Within months of a new style of shoe, Skechers is able to imitate the shoe and offer it at a much reduced price in comparison to the brand name shoe. The average consumer
for this brand is a high school age girl who is attiring a closet full of shoes for a variety of occasions. Reebok: An older brand famous for its position in the 80 s aerobics class craze. This brand features similar products as the traditional Nike and Adidas athletic shoes, but has an older style and feel that seems out dated. When people are looking for trendy shoes these, they do not go to purchase a pair of Reeboks. An average Reebok wearer is aged 35-44, much older than our target market and makes an average household income of $50,000 - $75,000 annually. Although this is not a main competitor in terms of target market and style, we do need to keep in mind that when people think about retro in terms of the 80 s, Reebok may frequent their mind, and if they are wanting something along that style, they may decide to go for the shoes known best for their match with hot warm-ups. What we re really trying to do: Get people to think of Adidas as a trendy brand. Since shoes are basically similar in components, unless you vary between athletic and dress shoes, it is difficult to differentiate a shoe brand. Since Adidas has the Adidas Originals brand established and the retro trend is coming back, what better time to use our history as a selling point? We need to be known as the trendy athletic shoe, so that we can beat out the purely emotional aspect of our main competitor Nike, once this fashion fad changes. Originally we had focused on the quality of the shoe, then moved to the history of the shoe, and realized that we could tie in Adidas strong tradition background, creating Olympic shoes since the 1950s, to the current industry hype of fashionable shoes. The best part of this strategy is that the product line is already in place. The selling point of these shoes is that they are reproductions of original historical shoes. They re not new shoes that are trying to look retro, and they aren t just current shoes with a different name slapped on them, they are really the
same shoes that were used in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and this is what we are playing on. This strategy will work because people are always looking for something original, an original idea, and original design, or an original fashion. And we ve got it ready for them. Of course, not everyone is going to think that having the Melbourne Olympic shoes is cool, but for those people we have the superstars, which have already been introduced in retail stores across the country, and have fared quite well in sales of the line. We re going above and beyond the call for new shoes; we re giving those looking for something original, the answer to all their foot problems. We offer a comfortable, long lasting and fashionable shoe that don t look like every other street shoe available in the market and that s why advertising adidas originals as the original retro shoe will put move us up the ranks for US shoe sales. Who we re talking to: In the brief presented to the class we had stated we were looking to hit the target market of fashionable men and women in their 20s. I disagree with the ages for this market and have changed the enclosed brief to hit the fashionable men and women between the ages of 18-24. The reason is that, although our average consumer is a male age 18-34, the majority of sales especially for fashionable street shoes take place in the 18-24 market. I also don t want to exclude women from this target because they always need a new pair of shoes to go with a specific outfit or pair of jeans, this way we might sell multiple retro shoes to them, so that they can coordinate with all their new clothes. This target is similar to our main competitors in terms of age, although we are targeting a much narrower group, which spends more on jeans than any other market, tying into our retro look with 80s style clothing. We are also focusing on those who keep up with fashion trends, as opposed to the market as a whole. The only other brand that targets those following fashion
this specifically is Skechers, but we have an advantage in this market, because those in that market aged 18-24 don t want to settle for knock-offs they want the original brand, therefore adidas originals. Other competitors such as Nike, Reebok and Puma target athletic people as well as those that just need shoes to wear on a casual weekend, but yet again, these shoes don t fit the needs of our target market, which is why we will succeed in selling adidas originals as the original retro shoe. What we know about them: Our target market of fashionable men and women aged 18-24 has multiple facets to look at. First, they have disposable income; they want to purchase their own style of shoes and clothes, due to their recent separation of ties to their parents. Although disposable income may be minimal, if we sell a product that suits their style, they will buy it, but normally only if they have seen it used somewhere before like in fashion magazines such as Cosmo, Lucky, Seventeen, or men s magazines such as GQ and Rolling Stone. This market is also the leading purchaser for jeans, which go hand in hand with the retro look, so therefore with adidas originals. This market doesn t want the wannabe retro look they want the original retro styles and products. They are trying to find their own sense of style, but really turn back to brand names to categorize themselves in their age group. This is why our brand image of tradition and high quality shoes will help us reach this market because they ll see that we ve stood the test of time, so our shoes must really be quality shoes. The average male in this market purchased a pair of adidas about once every year or two. Due to adidas high quality of shoes, they would wear them past their prime until the time when retiring their favorite shoes was a necessity, due to holes and tears. Since we are tailoring our message with a fashion front, we will still be talking to those that keep shoes for a long time, but will also be showing that new shoes are trendy and complete and outfit instead of just cover your feet.
The main idea: adidas originals: Join the RETROLUTION First of all, the focus is aimed directly at this market. They want to be part of something big; they re looking for something new and want to be first in line to get it. Therefore, promoting adidas originals as a retrolutionary idea, we will not only appeal to the fashionable 18-24 year olds, we will appeal to anyone that wants to be part of the next big thing. The statement itself propels the idea that they should already be on their way to purchase an adidas original. By giving a sense of purpose to purchasing these shoes we appeal to the market because they re not just spending their money, they re joining others in their market, and breaking free of the highly commercialized society they feel they don t want to be a part of, although they falling prey to our commercialization of retro. The whole idea behind this is that they can break free from the normal, these shoes are not just average, they re relics, they re the shoes Olympians wore when they broke world records, they re so much more than a pair of shoes. And that is the key to this campaign. This market wants to think that they came up with the idea of retro. They want to step outside of the mold and in a commonly used phrase, stick it to the man. We let them feel they re doing that with this line because they re going in a totally different path than the average shoe manufacturer intended. Instead of looking for new technologies, we re looking to the classics. We had originally looked at other focuses such as, a true style never dies, or the shoes you were born to wear. But the retrolution has a much better ring and feel to it. It almost calls to them, instead of talking about our shoes; we re talking about the feeling of going retro. This idea is far better in terms of persuading our target market and that s why we chose it. It speaks to them, rather than talking about them.
Why the brief will work: This brief will work because it speaks directly to our target market. Through research and our personal views, we fit into the target market; we know that we will reach people. It doesn t just talk to us like every other commercialized message does, it tells us what s out there, and what we can do about it. The brief is true to the brand because adidas draw is its tradition. It s been around the longest, it s been worn by world record breakers and it s timeless. This aspect of the brand is what draws the retro looking people in to the adidas originals line, and may possibly keep them with the brand, once the retro fad simmers down. Although other competitors have tried to hit the retro market none have really been successful. The main reason, because the look is fake. Nike has only been around since the early 80s, when they started making their shoes, and Reebok only makes shoes for their purpose instead of style. Skechers can try to be retro, but it s not possible since they were started in the mid 90s. The only authentic retro shoes come from adidas. It will inspire the creatives because it s not another trip down the newest technology road. We re talking about world record breaking shoes, we re talking about an emotional connection with moments in history, and we re talking about authentic retro. This brief offers so much in terms of possibilities for a campaign that it would be a blast to work on, because you can do so many different things and still get the concept of the brand across.
adidas brief What are we really trying to do? Get people to think of Adidas as a trendy product. Competition: Puma, Nike, Skechers, Reebok, any other shoe and athletic clothing manufacturer, as well as other Adidas lines. Who are we talking to? Fashionable men and women aged 18-24. What do we know about them? They are working or going to school, and like to hang out with friends in their spare time. They try to stand out with cool clothes but in reality, they are just trying to fit in by wearing clothes and shoes known for their brand names; Abercrombie & Fitch, GAP, Banana Republic and American Eagle. They have different shoes for different occasions. They have a disposable income, but find it hard to part with unless they truly have to have the product. They look to magazines and television shows for new trends. What is the main idea we want to get across? adidas originals: Join the RETROLUTION. What are ways to get that idea across? A true style never dies. People should get the original retro, instead of going for the wannabe retro look. Brands appealing to our market have taken current clothes and tried to apply a retro look, where we have brought our styles back from the past. Possibly use original footage of sporting events featuring Adidas, and older Adidas ads, then show Adidas through the years, and how we ve stayed current by sticking to our original style. Example: original footage of memorable basketball games, then showing urban youth playing street ball. What are the deliverables? National magazine advertisements (:60) television spots for network television