With regards to Chelsea’s recent post about Adidas slowly losing out to companies such as Nike and Under Armour. Whilst I agree that Adidas should look towards a marketing strategy similar to that Of Nike, I do not believe that it is essential towards Adidas’ future success.
I believe that Adidas’ marketing strategy should be getting their brand name across. One of Nike’s reason to being more successful than Adidas is Nike’s big endorsement deals with big names such as Cristiano Ronaldo. Especially in this industry, brand loyalty is a huge thing. With regards to basketball alone, Nike has celebrity endorsements deals with Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Kevin Durant at the same time, thereby controlling a major part of NBA’s fanbase as Nike owned 93% of market shares on basketball shoes (Maisonet). Personally I believe all basketball shoes are similar in design or performance; therefore it is quite reasonable to assume that Nike’s success comes from endorsements.
Adidas’ biggest basketball celebrity is Derrick Rose, who suffered from injury for the last 2 years. It explains Adidas’ dip on the shoe market as it is important to have an active ambassador to represent the brand. As a result, what Adidas should do is to continue to pursue young upcoming stars in the sports world, something that Under Armour is doing to try and break into the market share as well. Kevin Durant’s signature shoe for Nike, for instance, generated $85 Million alone. Thus, if Adidas can actively look for endorsement deals with potential stars, they could potentially return to the once sports giants that they were.
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