Project Report

On
Evolution of Brand Puma

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... 3

COMPANY PROFILE ....................................................................................................................... 10

HOW PROWISDOM WORKS ? ....................................................................................................... 11

PRODUCT MIX ............................................................................................................................... 15

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES OFFERED .............................................................................................. 16

SWOT ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................ 19

OBJECTIVE ..................................................................................................................................... 21

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APROACH,OBSERVATION & IMPROVEMENTS .............................................................................. 22

SECONDARY RESEARCH ................................................................................................................ 22

BLOG, ARTICLE & CONTENT WRITING ......................................................................................... 24

PICTURES OF THE WORKSHOPS .................................................................................................... 25

CONCLUSION & KEY TAKEAWAYS ................................................................................................. 26

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 27

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Advertising and other forms of promotion are an integral part of the marketing process in most
organization. To understand the role of advertising and promotion in a marketing program, one
must understand the role and function of marketing in an organization

Brand is a Guarantee, an assurance for a defined standard of quality for the first time and for
every time but not the vice versa. Brand is name for logo that plays the role in the mind of the
customer. Brands do not compete in the product area but compete for the mind space of the
customer. A brand once established in the mind of the customer identifies itself with that
particular brand.

Branding is an effective marketing strategy tool that has been used with frequent success in the
past years. Branding can be effective and powerful tool for all types of business organizations. If

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brand owners use their product correctly, the payoffs can substantial. However, if brands are
mismanaged, the results can be damaging.

This report is aimed to investigate the evolution of puma brand and how IMC approach to
marketing communications planning and strategy was adopted by the brand to reach the target
customers. This report aimed at comprehensive review of brand strategy, brand awareness,
brand equity, brand perception & effective marketing communication used by Puma.

This project studies the importance of the brand, what it takes to build them, what benefits do
they give to different stakeholders, how they can be leveraged, what is the impact of modern
technology on branding and how it affects consumer’s perception. This report also covers the
branding strategies used by Puma throughout its inception and how they evolved through the
changing times

Company Profile

Puma SE, branded as Puma, is a German multinational company that designs and manufactures
athletic and casual footwear, apparel and accessories, which is headquartered
in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. The company was founded in 1948 by Rudolf Dassler. In
1924, Rudolf and his brother Adolf Dassler had jointly formed the company Gebrüder Dassler
Schuhfabrik (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory).

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 Two Brothers

BRAND ORIGIN
LOGOS

A logo can be described as the important part of integrated marketing communication and the
face of a company. It is the first thing that a customer/potential customer will notice about a
business. A logo is much more than just an image. It is a point of recognition for clients and an
important foundation for the branding of the company. It is often said that customers form an
opinion about a company within seconds. A well-designed logo is an easy way to convey to
potential customers that your business is professional, trustworthy, and provides quality goods or
services.

A logo should be distinctive enough to be easily recognized and simple enough to work across
multiple media. A good logo is memorable and makes a great first impression. It should be

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effective at any size – whether it’s on a billboard or on a pen. A good logo makes an impact both
in colour and in black and white.

With logos, details are extremely important. Attention must be paid to every element of the logo,
including colours, shapes and fonts. All of these elements help to convey a message about the
brand. Careful attention need to be taken for thick, bold fonts, fanciful, or cursive fonts for the
logo.

The visuals and imagery should be appropriate for the company to avoid any discrepancies or
confusion. All colours, shapes, images and fonts must be consistent with the idea that is to be
communicated. It’s very important that the logo delivers the correct message about a brand.

PUMA Logo

The leaping puma symbolizes combination of speed, power, and elegance often exhibited by professional
athletes. The Puma logo is a symbol of the fierce rivalry between the two brothers. No longer working
with his partner and brother, the brand would come to symbolize the solitary and secretive nature of
Rudolf’s new venture as it moved forward.

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The earliest PUMA logo was introduced in 1948, however, it was not very remarkable, so the
company prefers to mention the 1957 emblem as its first one.

1957-58 - The first well-known PUMA logo was created by Rudolf in 1957. It could be divided
in two parts: the wordmark and the image of a puma. For the wordmark, Dassler designed a
custom typeface with a conspicuous lack of sharp angles. The picture looked far from what it is
now, yet it already reflected the idea of a jumping puma.

As soon as a year later, the company officially registered its second logo. It resembled the first
one, yet featured a slightly altered font and image. Also, the border of the logo grew thinner.
Originally this badge was designed as a way to stabilize the foot inside the shoe and only later
was put on apparel products.

1967 - The jumping cat, which is now well-known all over the world, was designed by Lutz
Backes, a cartoonist and caricaturist from Bavaria (Germany), in 1967. PUMA’s product range at
the time was growing very fast and started to include performance apparel and bags, so the
company’s logo became more recognizable as it was used more often.

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1979 - The puma picture was incorporated in the wordmark logo in 1979. It appeared in the top
right corner, above the letters “A” and “M”. Also, the animal itself had a facelift: the eye and
nuzzle disappeared, while the ears grew more visible.

Present

Puma logo grips a notion of strong and chic icon with the help of a leaping animal and bold font.
A distinguished impression is immediately cast on the spectator, narrating the kind of image the
company possesses.

The Puma logo comprises of a courageous representation. A leaping Puma, an animal known as
cougar, panther or a mountain lion, is highlighted in the Puma logo. This Puma summarizes
the power beast-like nature of the firm and its products. The Puma logo solely enhances the
attributes of the firm’s reliability and its product’s aptitude in the international market.

Few innovations have been taking place through the years in Puma logo. However, the identity
has been kept quite similar to the first design brought forward for the firm. Currently, the Puma
logo is wrapped graciously in black hue which depicts immense supremacy and strength of the
firm itself.

The complete Puma logo is a sign of authority and confidence. Nevertheless, the typeface of the
Puma logo has maintained the same notion throughout its history in the corporate world. The
bold font featured in Puma logo projects the firm’s stability and prominence.

CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT

Marketers considers many factors when choosing a celebrity to serve as an advertising

spokesperson for a brand. Marketing takes various factors into account when choosing a
celebrity endorser. One of the most important factor is the celebrity match with the target
audience and product. Other factors include overall image of the celebrity, cost of acquiring the
celebrity, risk of controversy (can hamper a lot like we have seen in Amir Khan-Snapdeal

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scenario), and celebrity familiarity & likability with target audience. So, does had been done by
PUMA. They always worked with sports celebrity to promote their brand.

Evolution from 1924-1970

1924 - In the year 1924, Rudolf and his younger brother Adolf, founded a shoe factory named as
"Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory) which was the only business at
the time that manufactured sports shoes. For their first promotion of their brand the brothers
drove from Bavaria to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of spikes and
persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African
American. Owens won four gold medals. After that business boomed and they sold 200,000 pairs
of shoes p.a. before World War 2.

1948 – In 1948 the two brothers starts building different views of how to run the business and
split the business.. Rudolf created a new firm that he called "Ruda", from "Ru" in Rudolf and
"Da" in Dassler. A few months later, Rudolf's company changed its name to PUMA Schuhfabrik
Rudolf Dassler..

In the same year 1948, the first football match after World War 2, several members of the West
German national football team wore PUMA boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first
post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski ( a renowned football player at that point of time.

1952 - Rudolf developed a football boot with screw-in studs, called the "SUPER ATOM" in
collaboration with West Germany’s national coach Sepp Herberger. At the 1952 Summer
Olympics, 1500 metres runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won PUMA's first Olympic gold in
Helsinki, Finland.

1960 - At the 1960 Summer Olympics PUMA paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear
PUMAs in the 100 metre sprint final.

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1970 - A few months prior to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Armin Dassler and his cousin, Horst
Dassler, sealed an agreement which was dubbed "The Pelé pact". This agreement dictated that
soccer player Pelé would be out of bounds for both Adidas and PUMA. However, Pelé complied
with a request by PUMA's representative Hans Henningsen to increase the awareness and profile
of PUMA after he received $120,000 to wear the Formstrips. At the opening whistle of a 1970
World Cup finals match, Pelé stopped the referee with a last-second request to tie his
shoelaces before kneeling down to give millions of television viewers a close-up of his
PUMA shoes.

LOGOS

A logo can be described as the important part of integrated marketing communication and the
face of a company. It is the first thing that a customer/potential customer will notice about a
business. A logo is much more than just an image. It is a point of recognition for clients and an
important foundation for the branding of the company. It is often said that customers form an
opinion about a company within seconds. A well-designed logo is an easy way to convey to
potential customers that your business is professional, trustworthy, and provides quality goods or
services.

A logo should be distinctive enough to be easily recognized and simple enough to work across
multiple media. A good logo is memorable and makes a great first impression. It should be

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effective at any size – whether it’s on a billboard or on a pen. A good logo makes an impact both
in colour and in black and white.

With logos, details are extremely important. Attention must be paid to every element of the logo,
including colours, shapes and fonts. All of these elements help to convey a message about the
brand. Careful attention need to be taken for thick, bold fonts, fanciful, or cursive fonts for the
logo.

The visuals and imagery should be appropriate for the company to avoid any discrepancies or
confusion. All colours, shapes, images and fonts must be consistent with the idea that is to be
communicated. It’s very important that the logo delivers the correct message about a brand.

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