Running Header: Marketing Research Plan

The Adidas Group

Alexus Harrison
Dr. Williams Woods
BUS 339: Marketing Research
29 March 2014
Introduction

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Marketing research is the systematic and objective identification,

collection, analysis, dissemination, and use of information that is undertaken
to improve decision making related to identifying and solving problems (as
known as opportunities) in marketing (Malhotra, 2012, p. 5). Marketing
research helps the marketing manager with relevant, accurate, reliable,
valid, and current information. Marketing managers make numerous
decisions in the process of identifying and satisfying the needs of the
consumer. Marketing managers make their decision through the use of the
marketing variablesproduct, price, promotion, and place. Marketing
research helps managers link the marketing variables with the demands of
the economy and customers.
The purpose of this paper is to use the steps of the marketing research
process to generate a marketing strategy for the Adidas Group to effectively
address their research issue.
History of the Company
Adidas is a German multinational corporation that designs and
manufactures sports clothing and accessories. Adidas was founded in 1948
by Adolf Dassler and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Aside
from sports footwear, Adidas produces other products such as bags, shirts,
watches, fragrances for men and women, eyewear, and other sports-related
goods. Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacture in both Germany and
Europe and the second largest manufacturer in the world.
Current Situation

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In August of 2005, Adidas made plans to obtain the Reebok Company

at an estimated value of $3.78 billion. During the time, Adidas had a market
capitalization of $8.4 billion and a reported net income of $423 million a year
earlier on sales of $8.1 billion. Reebok had a reported net income of $209
million on sales of about $4 billion (Business and Management Case Studies,
2008). Both companies competed for No. 2 and No. 3 positions following
Nike, so by combining the two most respected and well-known brands in the
worldwide sporting goods industry, the new Group would be at a competitive
advantage. Officials from both companies said that the merger brings
together two complementary companies with combined revenues of about
$11.1 billion (Tierney, 2005).
Since Adidas has acquired Reebok in 2005, both companies have lost
market share against their rival Nike. In 2012, Reebok lost out on a contract
to Nike to supply products to the U.S. National Football League (NFL), causing
Adidas more than a $250 million annual loss in revenue. While Adidas is
competing strongly against Nike in Europe, Asia, China and Latin America;
due to Reeboks despairs, Adidas is losing ground in the United States, the
worlds biggest sports-apparel market. The groups sales have fallen to 4.7%
in the U.S. during the third quarter, mainly because of Reeboks poor
performance, compared with a 23% increase for Nike in North America (Diaz,
2010).
Step in the Marketing Research Process
Need for Marketing Research

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Marketing research is needed when decision makers must make a

decision and they do not have the proper information to help them make the
decision. Marketing research can become useful when managers are
interested in new opportunities in the marketplace and when a problem
arises. Marketing intelligence systems are often able to identify new
opportunities in the marketplace, and managers use that research to help
them decide whether or not to take advantage of that opportunity. For
example, the Adidas group was given the opportunity to make an investment
in the Reebok Company; managers did the research to determine if merging
with Reebok would benefit Adidas in the long run. Adidas was perceived to
have a good quality of products that offered comfort whereas Reebok was
seen as a stylish or hip brand. Nike had both and was a favorite brand
because of its fashion status. Adidas focused on sport and Reebok on
lifestyle. Clearly the chances of competing against Nike were far better
together than separately. (Business and Management Case Studies, 2008)
Other use of marketing research is to identify and solve problems and
determine what problems exist. Marketing research is also needed to
generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions and to monitor marketing
performance.
The Problem = Management Decision Problem & Marketing Research
Problem
The first and most important step in marketing research is to define
the problem. Problem definition involves defining both the management-

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decision problem and the marketing research problem. Management-decision

problem asks what the decision maker needs to do, whereas the marketing
research problem asks what information is needed and how it can best be
obtained (Malhotra, 2012, p. 46). The management-decision problem for the
Adidas group is to figure out what the group needs to do to become brand
conscious in the U.S. The marketing research problem for the Adidas Group
is assessing the market potential for making the Adidas group a conscious
brand name. G. Once the problem has been defined; research can be
designed and conducted properly.
The decision maker for the Adidas group is faced with the problem of
how to recover from the loss of market share in the U.S. Possible responses
to the problem include modifying existing products, introducing new
products, reducing prices, changing other elements in the marketing mix,
and segmenting the market. If the decision maker and researcher agree that
the problem can be traced to market segmentation, then the Adidas group
should target its products at a specific market. The marketing research
problem would then become the identification and evaluation of different
ways to segment or group the market.
Approach to the Problem
Research objectives are set so that, once achieved, they can provide
the information necessary to solve the problem. For instance, Adidas is
responsible for producing apparel, shoes, and sports equipment that meet
the needs of consumers. If the Adidas group was concerned with responding

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to consumer wants and needs, reasonable research objectives would include

(1) determining how important the brand quality is to the consumers and (2)
to assess how satisfied consumers are of each of the Adidas groups
products. A good way of setting research objectives is to ask, What
information is needed in order to solve the problem? Because the Adidas
groups products are in place, the research objectives would translate as
follows:
Determine the average importance of product quality.
Determine the average level of satisfaction for each product.
The research objectives are different from the defined problem, but
once the information is gathered, the problem can then be solved. By
collecting the information requested by the first two research objectives, the
Adidas group will be in the position to rank its products based on how
important they are to customers, and they can identify which highly
important products are low in customer satisfaction. This will identify the
significant strengths indicated by high satisfaction with highly ranked
products, if they exist.

Research Design
Research design is the roadmap for conducting the marketing research
project. It specifies the details of how the project should be conducted.
There are three types of research design: exploratory, descriptive, and
casual. Exploratory research is conducted to explore the problem situation;

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to gain ideas and insights into the problem confronting the management or
the researcher. Descriptive research is a type of conclusive research that has
as its major objective the description of somethingusually market
characteristics or functions. Casual research is a type of research whose
major objective is to obtain evidence regarding cause-and-effect (casual)
relationships (Malhotra, 2012, p. 68-69).
The Adidas group could make use of exploratory research to
understand the reasons for its lower market share in the United States as
compared to Nike. Exploratory research can be used to formulate a problem
or define a problem more precisely, to identify alternative courses of action,
to develop a hypothesis, to isolate key variables and relationships for further
explanation, to gain insights for developing an approach to the problem, and
to establish priorities for further research (Malhotra, 2012, p.70).
Exploratory research could reveal that the Adidas group has a lower
market share because its brand image is not as strong as Nikes. Alternative
courses of action to boost Adidas image would be to improve product quality
for both Adidas and Reebok, increase television advertising, distribute the
products through upscale company owned stores, and increasing the prices
of the groups athletic shoes and apparel. A hypothesis for the Adidas group
could be that heavy users of athletic shoes are more brand conscious than
light users. In order to test the hypothesis, the Adidas group needs to
examine the purchase and consumption behavior of heavy users of athletic
shoes.

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Information Types and Sources

There are two types of data information available to a marketing
researcher: secondary data and primary data. Secondary data refers to
information that has been collected for another purpose, other than the
problem at hand. Secondary data is used for a purpose that is secondary to
its original function. Secondary data can be both internal and external.
Internal data are data generated within the organization for which the
research is being conducted. External data are data generated by sources
outside the organization (Malhotra, 2012, p.100). A researcher can learn a
lot from secondary data, but when existing information does not suit the
problem at hand, researchers must resort to collecting primary data. Primary
data refers to information that has been gathered specifically to address the
research problem. Secondary data is relatively easy to access, whereas
primary data is more complex.
Methods of Accessing Data
Once the researcher has determined the type of information and
sources needed, they must then determine methods of assessing data. This
can be accomplished depending on the type of data that is needed. If the
secondary data is internal, the manager may gather information regarding
company records, salespersons, other company executives, marketing
information systems, or even scanning systems. Assessing secondary
external data can be done through the use of the Internet. The internet is
available for researchers to easily and quickly retrieve information from

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online information services and from websites that provide useful

information.
Basic methods for collecting primary data include the telephone, mail,
and face-to-face methods including door-to-door interviews, mall-intercept
studies, and online surveys. Qualitative data such as focus groups would be
useful in collecting primary data. (Malhotra, 2012)
Data Collection Form
The design of the data collection form that is used to ask and record
information gathered in marketing research projects is critical to the success
of the project. Researchers are given two options for collecting their data:
develop their own organizations, or make contact with a fieldwork agency.
The data collection outline is as follows: selection of field-workers, training of
field-workers, supervision of field-workers, validation of fieldwork, and
evaluation of field-workers.
Field-workers should be carefully selected and trained in
important aspects of fieldwork, including making the initial contact,
asking the questions, probing, recording the answers, and terminating
the interview. Supervision of field-workers involves quality control and
editing, sampling control, control of cheating, and central office
control. Validation of fieldwork can be accomplished by calling 10 to 25
percent of those who have been identified as respondents and
inquiring whether the interviews actually took place. Field-workers
should be evaluated on the basis of cost and time, response rates,

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quality of interviewing, and quality of data collection (Malhotra, 2012,

p. 405).
Even if the problem has been defined and the research design has
been set, asking the wrong questions, or asking the right questions in the
wrong order, can destroy the research effort. When asking respondents
specific questions to help address the issue, care must be taken in order to
design a questionnaire that will work to get effective information from the
respondents. An example of a questionnaire is as follows:
1. Are you brand conscious?
a. Yes
b. No
3. What do you look for in a
Sports Brand?
a. Price
b. Quality
c. Comfort
d. Appearance
5. Where do you prefer to shop
for Sports Brands
a. Mall
b. Retail Outlets
c. Online

7. Which of the following has an

impact on the Sports Brands
you select
a. Advertisements
b. Celebrity
Endorsements
c. Packaging
d. Family/Friends

2. Do sports brands reflect your

personality?
a. Yes
b. No
4. Which brand do you prefer?
a. Nike
b. Adidas
c. Reebok
d. Under Armor
e. Puma
6. How often do you shop for branded
sports wear?
a. Everyday
b. Twice a Week
c. Once a Month
d. Every 3 Months
e. Every 6 Months
f. Once a Year
8. Adidas Products reasonably prices.
a. Strongly Disagree
b. Disagree
c. Neutral
d. Agree
e. Strongly Agree

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9. Adidas brand has a wide
range of product offering.
a. Strongly Disagree
b. Disagree
c. Neutral
d. Agree
e. Strongly Agree

10.Adidas brand is satisfying customer

expectations.
a. Strongly Disagree
b. Disagree
c. Neutral
d. Agree
e. Strongly Agree

Sample Plan and Size

The sample plan is the definite sequence of steps the researcher goes
through in order to draw and ultimately arrive at the final sample. It identifies
who is to be sampled and how to select them for study. Steps in the sample
plan include: define the population, determine the sampling frame, select
sampling techniques, determine the sample size, and execute the sampling
process. A sample plan, for example, would tell the Adidas group how to
select sports teams for its sample from among all the sports teams. This will
help determine how representative the sample is of the population.
Methods are available to help the researcher determine the sample
size required for the research study. Sample size refers to the number of
elements to be included in a study. Determining the same size involves both
qualitative and quantitative considerations.
Data Collect
Data collection is typically done by trained interviewers who are
employed by a field data collection companies to collect primary data. This
step is very important because regardless of the methods used, data
analysis cannot fix bad data. During the data collection process, nonsampling
errors may occur because they are attributed to factors others than sampling
errors; they can be random or nonrandom. These errors can be attributed to

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the researcher, the interviewer, or the respondent. Nonsampling errors result

from errors in the problem definition, the approach, scales, questionnaire
design, survey methods, and more. In order to limit the occurrence of
nonsampling errors, it is important to know the possible causes that may
exist. With the help of a research design and marketing researchers, the
various sources of error can be minimized.
Data Analysis
Data analysis involves entering data into computer files, inspecting it
for errors and running tabulations and various statistical tests. The first step
in data analysis is data cleaning, which is the process by which the raw data
are checked to verify that the data has been correctly inputted from the data
collection form to the computer software program. Generally, data analysis is
conducted through the use of a computerized data analysis program.
Conclusion
Marketing research plays a vital part in any business that wants to
keep up todays market trends, demographics, economic shifts, and
customer buying habits. This information is essential to the success of any
business. It will guide marketing managers in making smart and innovative
business decisions, identify customer needs, and help companys discover
new ideas for products.
All marketing research projects are essentially different. Some are
limited to review of secondary data while others require complex designs
involving a larger scale collection of primary data. Marketing research

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provides the information necessary to help managers make the right

decisions. Understanding the eleven steps of research process is important in
order to appropriately address the marketing issue. Each step is used to give
researchers a procedure to follow and a structure. With the help of marketing
research, the Adidas group will be able to better market its brand in the U.S.
and increase its marketing share.

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Works Cited
Allison, B. (2005, Aug 04). Adidas plans to buy reebok to increase U.S.
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Boston Business Journal. "Reebok's shine dims post Adidas deal." Widgets
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page=all>.
Burns, Alvin C., and Ronald F. Bush. Marketing research: online research
applications. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2003.
Print.
Business and Management Case Studies. "Adidas Reebok Merger Case
Study." Management Case Studies and Articles. N.p., 6 Mar. 2008.
Web. 12 Apr. 2014. <http://www.casestudyinc.com/adidas-reebokmerger-case-study>.
Diaz, J. (2010, Oct 13). NIKE BESTS REEBOK. Boston Globe. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/757404244?accountid=32521
Malhotra, Naresh K.. Basic marketing research: integration of social media.
4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print.

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The Shoe Game - Adidas History. (n.d.).TheShoeGame.com - Sneakers &

Information. Retrieved April 18, 2013, from
http://www.theshoegame.com/Adidas-History.html
Tierney, M. (2005, Aug 04). Tying the knot adidas to buy reebok, creating a
strong no. 2 in sports shoes. The Atlanta Journal - Constitution.
Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/337209588?
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