BRAND STUDY

BRAND STUDY
Submitted By Anand Nambiar Pulkit Kohli S. V. Ramaswamy Sachin Sood DM14202 DM14137 DM14166 DM14140

CONTENTS
1. Executive Summary 2. Brand Adidas a. Introduction b. The Journey c. Brand Strategy 3. Data Collection a. Brand Asset Valuator Model (BAV) b. Laddering c. Research Methodology d. Questionnaire 4. Findings and Conclusions a. Findings from Brand Asset Valuator Model b. Findings from Laddering c. Conclusion

Executive Summary
Adidas is a multinational Germany based sportswear company which is the holding company of the Adidas Group. It is the second largest sports goods manufacturer in the world. The company is currently into running shoes, football kits, Tennis equipment, Golf, Basketball etc. For this project we have tried to determine the position of Adidas in the consumers mind using various methods. We have used the Laddering method of interview for qualitative analysis and a modified version of the BAV model to study the brand along four dimensions that are Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, and Knowledge. To arrive at the BAV analysis we have taken a random sample of 30 people using a questionnaire which was circulated online. In this analysis, we saw that Adidas had scored the highest in Brand Knowledge and second to highest in all the other three categories. Through the Brand Power Grid we got to know that the Brand Vitality of Adidas is the highest and it is second to Nike in Brand Stature. We also used laddering technique to get a qualitative view on the positioning of Adidas in the minds of consumers. We took a sample of 7 people in this technique and found out that most of the consumers felt a sense of pride in associating themselves with their favourite sports brand. Many people believed that Adidas was a comfort brand and that it commanded a little price premium over other players due to this.

Brand Adidas
Introduction
Adidas is a German multinational corporation that design and manufacture sports clothing and accessories. Today, Adidas is a very large network of sportswear sales. It has many retail outlets, manufacturing companies located in Indonesia, China, Thailand, Germany. Each year, the company gets a big turnover, which amounts to around 6 billion Euros. All this data suggests that this is one of the largest, most expensive and reliable company in the world. It should be noted that the history of Adidas is rather unusual. When it was formed, no one could even imagine that it will reach such heights. From the outset, it was a relatively small enterprise in sewing shoes, opened by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, and it was called a shoe factory. But after a while, the roads of the 2 brothers became separated, and this mark ceased to exist. Instead, a new company came, which became recognized all over the world - named as Adidas. Adolf named it from the abbreviation Adi Dasler, and his brother also opened a company, which is also now well known as Puma. These two companies became popular and gained a permanent rivalry. Adolf invested a huge amount of effort to make Adidas popular, and he was successful in that. The company has a distinctive emblem - three parallel strips. Previously, the company was manufacturing only sneakers and footwear. Now it produces a variety of sporting goods: track suits, various accessories and more. Products that are marked by this trendy logo are characterized by very good quality, reliability and practicality, because the Adidas Company issued warrants for each product model. Products manufactured by this company are stylish and trendy, but the most important factor that is present in them is the functionality. For many famous athletes, Adidas is the preferred manufacturer because the goods that they produce are some of the best in the world. Famous sports people that prefer the Adidas Brand: Steffi Graf Michel Platini Eusebio Zinedine Zidane Muhammed Ali David Beckham.

The company has its own motto: "Impossible is I am possible".

The Journey

1949 The foundation 18 August - adidas is registered as a company, named after its founder: 'Adi' from Adolf and 'Das' from Dassler.

1950 The 'Miracle of Bern' 1954 - The 'Miracle of Bern' Germany battle Hungary with a competitive advantage. They are wearing Adidas soccer boots which for the first time feature removable studs.

1960s Higher Driven by a desire to help all athletes committed to performance, Adidas manufactures equipment for what some consider "fringe sports". Unconventional high jumper Dick Fosbury launches himself up and over in Adidas footwear.

1970s The "Adidas" team wins Crowning moment: Franz Beckenbauer, the "Kaiser", raising the World Cup in victory salute. Germany had just beaten Holland 2-1 in the 1974 final.

1980s The transition After Adi Dassler's death, Adi's wife Kthe, his son Horst, and his daughters carry on the business.

1990s With a new management Under the CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus, Adidas is moving from being a manufacturing and sales based company to a marketing company.

1995 Adidas goes public Flotation of the company on the Frankfurt and Paris Stock Exchange.

1996 A splendid year The "three-stripes company" equips 6,000 Olympic athletes from 33 countries. Adidas athletes win 220 medals, including 70 gold. Apparel sales increase 50%.

1997 Adidas-Salomon AG Adidas AG acquires the Salomon Group with the brands Salomon, TaylorMade, Mavic and Bonfire in December 1997. The new company is named Adidas-Salomon AG.

1999 The new brands The integration of the new brands is gaining momentum. The new TaylorMade FireSole clubs boost sales. Salomon in-line skates take off with high double-digit growth during the first half of 1999.

2000 New management Following personnel changes, the new management initiates an ambitious Growth and Efficiency Program. Major sports events such as the European Soccer Championship EURO 2000 and the Olympic Summer Games, where swimmer Ian Thorpe takes three gold medals, contribute to the companys success.

2005 Sale of Salomon The Salomon Group (including Salomon, Mavic, Bonfire, Clich and ArcTeryx) is being sold to Amer Sports in October 2005. The new Adidas Group is focusing even more on its core strength in the athletic footwear and apparel market as well as the growing golf category. The legal name of the company will change to Adidas AG in May/June 2006.

2006 Adidas-Salomon AG acquires Reebok . The closing of the Reebok transaction on January 31, 2006 marks a new chapter in the history of the Adidas Group. By combining two of the most respected and well-known brands in the worldwide sporting goods industry, the new Group will benefit from a more competitive worldwide platform, well-defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and a stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues.

2010 Adidas Group presents strategic business plan In November 2010, the Group unveiled its 2015 strategic business plan named "Route 2015". This plan is the most comprehensive the Adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally.

2011 Adidas Group acquires Five Ten On 3. November 2011, the Adidas Group announced the acquisition of the outdoor specialist Five Ten. Five Ten is a leading brand in the technical outdoor market and within the outdoor action sport community. The brand represents an excellent addition to the Adidas Outdoor portfolio and allows the Adidas Group to expand into complementary market segments.

2013 Adidas changes running forever Revolutionary energy return, superior cushioning, optimal fit and temperature independence: Adidas introduces the Energy Boost, a cushioning technology that provides the highest energy return in the running industry. And just like that, running will never be the same.

Brand Strategy
Mission of the Company The Adidas Group strives to be the global leader in the sporting goods industry with brands built on a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle. They are committed to continuously strengthening their brands and products to improve their competitive position. They are innovation and design leaders who seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product they bring to the market. They are consumer focused and therefore they continuously improve the quality, look, feel and image of their products and their organisational structures to match and exceed consumer expectations and to provide them with the highest value. They are a global organisation that is socially and environmentally responsible, that embraces creativity and diversity and is financially rewarding for their employees and shareholders. They are dedicated to consistently delivering outstanding financial results. What ADIDAS Does? For over 80 years the Adidas Group has been part of the world of sports on every level, delivering state-of-the-art sports footwear, apparel and accessories. Today, the Adidas Group is a global leader in the sporting goods industry and offers a broad portfolio of products. Products from the Adidas Group are available in virtually every country of the world. Their strategy is simple: continuously strengthen their brands and products to improve their competitive position and financial performance. Adidas Footwear, apparel, accessories Reebok Footwear, apparel and accessories TaylorMade- Adidas Golf Golf Equipment: metal woods, irons putters, golf balls, footwear, apparel and accessories Rockport Dress, casual and outdoor footwear, apparel and accessories CCM-Hockey Hockey equipment and apparel Activities of the company and its around 170 subsidiaries are directed from the Group's headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It is also home to the Adidas brand. Reebok Headquarters are located in Canton, Massachusetts. TaylorMade-Adidas Golf is based in

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California. The company also operates creation centres and development departments at other locations around the world, corresponding to the related business activity.

Diverse Brand Portfolio Consumers want choice. Whether it is the athlete looking for the best possible equipment, or the casual consumer searching for the next fashion trend, the Adidas Group is inspired to develop and create experiences that engage consumers in long-lasting relationships with their brands. To maximise their consumer reach, they have embraced a multi-brand strategy. This approach allows them to tackle opportunities from several perspectives, as both a mass and a niche player, providing distinct and relevant products to a wide spectrum of consumers. In this way, each brand is able to keep a unique identity and focus on its core competencies, while simultaneously providing their Group with a broad product offering, increasing their leverage in the marketplace. Investments focused on highest-potential markets and channels As a Group, they target leading market positions in all markets where they compete. However, they have prioritised their investments based on those markets which offer the best medium - to long - term growth and profitability opportunities. In this respect, they continue to place a considerable emphasis on expanding their activities in the emerging markets, particularly China and Russia, as well as building market share in underpenetrated markets such as the United States. No matter in which market they operate, they recognise that consumer buying behaviour and the retail landscape are unique. Therefore, to fully exploit market opportunities, they tailor their distribution strategy to present their brands to the consumer in the most impactful way. This is achieved by following a distinctive but coordinated channel approach. To this end, they strive to provide their customers with superior service to secure prime shelf space for their brands, while continuing their commitment to building a strategic competency in own retail and e-commerce. Leading through Innovation Everyone in the Adidas Group is responsible for driving innovation. Therefore, they foster a culture of challenging convention and embracing change, and require all areas of the Group to generate at least one new meaningful innovative improvement per year. In particular, they believe that technological evolution and cutting-edge design in their products are essential to achieving sustainable leadership in our industry. Beyond this, enhancing services for their customers and implementing more efficient and effective internal processes are other areas where their organisation strives to innovate.

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Data Collection
Data Collection Models 1. Quantitative Research Brand Asset Valuator Model by Young and Rubicam 2. Qualitative Research Reynolds and Gutmans Laddering Method

Brand Asset Valuator Model

The Brand Asset Valuator is a proprietary tool developed by Young and Rubicam and it measures Brand Image by applying 4 broad dimensions: KEY BAV METRICS

KNOWLEDGE ESTEEM RELEVANCE DIFFERENTIATION

Differentiation measures the degree to which a brand is seen as different from others. It is the ability for a brand to be distinguished from its competitors. Relevance is the brands appeal. If a brand is not relevant to a consumer, it will not attract or retain them. Esteem measures how well the brand is regarded and respected. It reflects the popularity and perceptions of the brands quality. Knowledge is the result of all the marketing and communications efforts and experiences consumers have had with a brand.

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BRAND STRENGTH = RELEVANCE + DIFFERENTIATION Barometer of future values

Relevance Differentiation 0 2 4 6

D>R => Healthy Brand, Room to grow, brand has power to build relevance.

Differentiation Relevance 0 2 4 6

D<R => Uniqueness has faded; price becomes dominant reason to buy.

BRAND STATURE = ESTEEM + KNOWLEDGE Barometer of past values

Knowledge Esteem 0 2 4 6

E>K => Brand is better liked than known.

Esteem Knowledge 0 2 4 6

E<K => Brand is better known than liked.

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Laddering Method
Laddering refers to an in-depth, one-on-one interviewing technique used to develop an understanding of how consumers translate the attributes of products into meaningful associations with respect to self. Laddering involves a tailored interviewing format using primarily a series of directed probes, typified by the Why is that important to you? question. It helps us find out which product features are important to product users emotional benefits.

Laddering Methods One-on-one in-depth interview

Research Methodology
Data Collection In this study, we have used both internal and external source for data
collection. 1. Primary Data All primary data were obtained by BAV survey and Laddering. 2. Secondary Data All secondary data were obtained through websites.

Sample Size
Sample size for BAV Survey 30 College students Sample size for Laddering 7

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Questionnaire
1. Name _______________________________ 2. Age

a) < 20 3. Gender a) Male

b) 20 30

c) 30 40

d) >40

b) Female

4. How much do you care about your choice between different brands of sport wear? a) Care b) Somewhat care c) Dont care

5. What is the first brand that comes to your mind when you think of sport wear a) Nike b) Adidas c) Reebok d) Asics e) Puma f) Fila

6. Identify the Sport wear brands from the tagline mentioned below: Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 Taglines I AM WHAT I AM WE BREAK THEM IN FOR YOU SOUND MIND, SOUND BODY IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING JUST DO IT Brands

7. Which brand would you like to be associated with (in order of preference)? Ranking scale: 1-5 (1 being the most preferred and 5 the least) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brands Puma Reebok Fila Nike Adidas Asics Rank

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8. Which of the following brands gives you a high level of satisfaction when you use them? Ranking scale: 1-5 (1 being the most preferred and 5 the least) Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brands Asics Nike Fila Reebok Adidas Puma Rank

9. Which brand do you think is the most popular brand among the following brands? Rank them in order of decreasing importance? Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brands Asics Nike Fila Reebok Adidas Puma Rank

10. Which brand offers you the highest quality for a particular product with respect to the price of the product? Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brands Asics Nike Fila Reebok Adidas Puma Rank

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11. Which of the following is a brand that you trust most? a) Reebok b) Adidas c) Fila d) Puma e)Nike f)Asics

12. To which sport wear would you like to give an award as the Best sport wear in the world a) Adidas b) Nike c) Puma d) Reebok e) Asics f)Fila

13. The following factors are important to you while buying sport wear. Please rank them important. Attributes Appearance Durability Price Comfort Quality 1 2 3 4

according to their importance with rank 1 being highest important and rank 5 being least 5

14. For each of the following characteristics, please tick the brand that it applies to. Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Attributes Quality Innovation Value Appearance Durability Comfort Nike Reebok Fila Asics Adidas Puma

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Findings and Conclusion

Findings from Laddering
Most number of respondents interviewed stated that there is a sense of pride & prestige when they associate themselves with their favourite sports brand. Most number of respondents interviewed stated that there is a sense of pride & prestige when they associate themselves with their favourite sports brand.

Many respondents said that they associate Adidas as a brand with quality and trust. Therefore, they dont mind paying a slightly high price for the brand.

The 3 stripes logo of the Adidas brand is a huge hit among the respondents. Also, comfort level associated with the brands products is one thing that no respondent is ready to compromise on.

Therefore, we see that the factors influencing purchase of brand are: The tagline of the brand The brand ambassador Comfort level associated with the brands products Quality and pricing of the brands products The status achieved through the purchase of the product.

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Findings from Brand Asset Valuator

Methodology We had a total of 14 questions in our BAV survey questionnaire To test brand knowledge, we had asked 2 questions. To test brand relevance, we had asked 2 questions. To test brand esteem, we had asked 3 questions. To test brand differentiation, we had asked 2 questions. Based on the survey responses, we tabulated the scores all the 4 parameters. For each brand, we calculated the percentage for each parameter. We ranked the brands based on their scores on 4 parameters.

Graph Analysis 1) Parameter based

Brand Knowledge
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Nike Adidas Puma Asics Reebok Fila

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Brand Relevance
25

20

15

10

0 Nike Adidas Puma Asics Reebok Fila

Brand Esteem
25

20

15

10

0 Nike Adidas Puma Asics Reebok Fila

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Brand Differentiation
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Nike Adidas Puma Asics Reebok Fila

Brand Stature Adidas is high on its Brand Stature.

Brand Vitality Adidas is a bit below Nike when it comes to Brand Vitality.

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2) Brand based NIKE

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Knowledge Relevance Esteem Differentiation

Nike is high on Knowledge and Differentiation. As the differentiation of brand Nike is greater than its relevance, it has room to grow. People think there is further growth which can take place with this brand. For brand Nike we see that the knowledge of the brand is slightly higher than its esteem. This means that the consumers know what the brand has to offer. Too much difference between the knowledge and esteem is not a good thing for any brand.

ADIDAS
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Knowledge Relevance Esteem Differentiation

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We observe that knowledge of the brand Adidas is quite high. As the differentiation of brand Adidas is greater than its relevance, it has room to grow. People think there is further growth which can take place with this brand. For brand Adidas we see that the knowledge of the brand is slightly higher than its esteem. This means that the consumers know what the brand has to offer.

PUMA
20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Knowledge Relevance Esteem Differentiation

We observe that for brand Puma the relevance and the differentiation are equal. They are not able to differentiate whether the brand has further scope for growth. Since esteem is greater than knowledge for this brand, it means that consumers purchase this brand because they want to get the brand better. This is their motivation for purchasing the brand.

ASICS
12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Knowledge Relevance Esteem Differentiation

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Since relevance is very high compared to differentiation, consumers purchase this brand mainly due to the price associated with the brand. It also means that the brand has become highly commoditized. Since esteem is greater than knowledge for this brand, it means that consumers purchase this brand because they want to get the brand better. This is their motivation for purchasing the brand.

REEBOK
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Knowledge Relevance Esteem Differentiation

In this brand the Relevance and the differentiation are almost equal. In future if the relevance further increases there are chances that the brand will get commoditized. For brand Reebok, we see that the knowledge of the brand is higher than its esteem. This means that the consumers know what the brand has to offer and this is the reason they purchase the brand.

FILA
14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Knowledge Relevance Esteem Differentiation

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Here, there is a huge difference between the differentiation and the relevance. Since the relevance is higher this means that the brand has become highly commoditized and price is the only factor for the purchase of this brand. For Fila, the knowledge of the brand is very low. Since esteem is greater than knowledge for this brand, it means that consumers purchase this brand because they want to get the brand better. In this case the consumers purchase this brand only because they want to know the brand better as they do not have any prior knowledge about the brand.

BAV POWER GRID

Niche

Leadership

BRAND VITALITY

ADIDAS

Declining

New

Eroding Unfocused

BRAND STATURE

Conclusion
BAV Power Grid shows that Adidas falls in the quadrant between Leadership and Niche, mainly because it has high brand vitality and a brand stature little less than Nike. It is high on Knowledge parameter and second best in all other parameters. In order to be a leader, Adidas will have to perform better on the other 3 parameters also.

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