The ‘#allinornothing’ marketing campaign has made Adidas

the most talked about sports brand at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The campaign, titled ‘The Dream: All in or Nothing’, was launched prior the 2014 FIFA World Cup and featured some of the world’s best footballers including Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi.

The world’s leading football brand outran all its competitors at the football’s most prestigious tournament, outfitting the tournaments’ finalists Germany and Argentina, being a partner with three World Cup individual award winners and providing the official match ball for the final.

During the campaign, Adidas has achieved a record of over $2 Billion in sales this year. It has sold more than 8 million football jerseys (2 million more than during the 2010 FIFA World Cup) and 14 million footballs (1 million

more than during the 2010 FIFA World Cup) more than any other brand through-out the tournament.

he CEO of the Adidas Group Hebbert Hainer told adidas-group.com that the entire campaign ‘has been an outstanding success.’

“The World Cup has been an outstanding success for us and underlies our position as the world’s leading football brand. With this campaign, we were able to dominate the tournament on and off the pitch,” Hainer said on adidas-group.com.

The campaign also generated growth of Adidas community on social media. Tom Ramsden, Adidas marketing director revealed to adidas-group.com that the content shared on various social media platforms during the campaign led to its success.

Ramsden said, “We always knew that real time communications would be the best way for adidas to win the World Cup. We shared a combination of

planned, anticipated and reactive content on our social media throughout the campaign to drive our conversation online with football fans.”

The @AdidasZA became one of the most growing Twitter handles in South Africa during the campaign, with 30% growth rate of followers on Twitter. South Africans used the #allin to engage with @AdidasZA.

“We are very delighted with the success of the campaign,” said Gugu Ntuli, PR Manager at adidas South Africa. “We received a rapid growth on our social media platforms and more and more football fans engaged with us.”

Ntuli added that the campaign is one of their most successful campaigns. “With over 50 000 Twitter interactions during the campaign, we are proud of our campaign’s accomplishments thanks to our #allin campaign.” Ntuli added.

its World Cup campaign

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Adidas scores big with

All in or nothing: Adidassweeped clean at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Photo: adidas.com

By Johannes Masiteng

Reaching customers through social mediaIn today’s world of integrated social many companies have shifted to social media to engage with their clients and extend customer reach. Adidas has also moved to social media to broaden its customer reach and increase brand exposure.

Adidas has 18.9 million Facebook followers and 1.5 million followers on Twitter, while the @AdidasZA Twitter handle has more than 66 000 followers. These accounts deliver interesting information about Adidas’ latest new products, campaigns and relationships with the athletes they sponsor.

Senior brand marketing manager at Adidas South Africa Bradley Stern said on adidas.co.za that they use appropriate social media to engage with customers and give them access to the brand ‘which they will never get anywhere else.’

“We have different ways to engage with our customers using social media- from first-looks of latest products to live chats with our partner like Orlando Pirates’ Daine Klate and Tlou Segolela. “

Adidas also makes use of hashtags on social media to ensure sufficient interaction with clients. As the Adidas South Africa online marketing manager Tokoloho Moeketsi explained on adidas.com/za, the Adidas South Africa marketing team uses hashtags in many photos and

posts they share on major social networking sites.

“We use hashtags such as #f50 regarding our new football boots and #allinpirates regarding the new Orlando Pirates 2014/15 season jersey on both Facebook and Twitter. The hashtags allows followers to communicate with us and know more about a particular event or topic,” Moeketsi said.

Recently, @AdidasZA Twitter handle shares photos about athletes they sponsor and their latest products, using hashtags like #zxflux, #threestripes and #showyourstripes.

Moeketsi said the marketing team uses social media to create

campaigns that generate hype around new products and activities by Adidas.

“We communicate with our customers about our latest ZX Flux boots using #f50 and about our 3 Stripes card using #threestipes on Twitter. This allows us to create new products and content tailored for our customers and provide them with feedback,” said Moeketsi, commenting on their use of Twitter to interact with clients.

“It is clear that social media, especially Twitter, is essential to us for interacting with our loyal customers and create hype around our new products,” Moeketsi concluded.

Adidas South Africa Twitter account shares information about latest activities and products by Adidas. Photo: www.twitter.com/adidasza

By Johannes Masiteng

Head Office (South Africa)Unit C Black River Park, Fir Str, Observatory, 7925,Cape Town, Western Cape.Tel: 021 442 6200

BloemfonteinLoch Logan WaterfrontHenry St, Bloemfontein, 9301Tel: 051 430 3842

Adidas South Africa stores and contact details Cape TownCanal WalkCentury Blvd,Western Cape, 8001.Tel: 021 551 7120

DurbanGateway Theatre of Shopping1 Palm Boulevard, Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal, 4052. Tel: 031 477 3121

JohannesburgCampus Square CentreKingsway Ave,Johannesburg, 2092,Tel: 011 726 6682.

Port ElizabethThe Bridge Shopping Centre, Cnr Cape Rd & Langenhoven Dr, Greenacres, Port Elizabeth, 6001,Tel: 041 363 0222

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From humble beginnings to a global success story

It all started in 1924 in a wash kitchen in a small German town in Bavaria when shoe maker Adi Dassler registered his company, the ‘Gebruder

Dassler Schuhfabrik,’ which provided sports equipment for athletes.

In 1949, Dassler again registered Adidas with 48 employees in a small town of Herzogenaurach and manufactured a shoe which soon became the famous Adidas 3 stripes.

In an interview on adidas.com, Adidas CEO Hebert Hainerexplains howthe company became the trusted brand in all football pitches everywhere. “Germany needed a miracle to win the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

Adi invented the screw-in-studs on the boots that gave the Germans a better grip in a rain soaked pitch. The German victory was unbelievable and made Adidas a household name on all football pitches across the globe.” Hainer explained.

The company continued to manufacture sports equipment for athletes and by the 1980s, Adidas was producing sports equipment for athletes in various sports, including football, tennis, athletics and basketball.

Hainer added, “Adi listened to what athletes wanted and improved his products. This made a

broad range of athletes trust in Adidas as it invented products that made

them feel better and supports their needs.”

Innovation continued at Adidas in the 1990s, with the company continuing to manufacture more sports equipment despite financial challenges.

In the 2000s, Adidas introduced sports inspired street clothing and accessories, adding to its dazzling sport performance offerings. Adidas continues to manufacture the best products for athletes who still have their trust in the brand.

“We will continue to innovate tools you need to be the best athlete. We will continue to manufacture the best street clothing and accessories which makes you as our customer feel better because we at Adidas believe that at some time Adi Dassler made you something. We will do it just how Adi wanted it,” Hainer concluded.

The German multinational company came to South Africa in the 1990s. Adidas positions itself as one of the best suppliers of sports equipment in South Africa andoffers range of products, from tech-wise accessories and sports equipment to street clothing.

As a multi-national company, Adidas offers a wide range of products including sports shoes, clothing, accessories and sports kit wear.

From Herzegovenaugach to the world

By Johannes Masiteng

Sports kit wear and bootsAdidas remains one of the major suppliers of sports kit wear and football boots in South Africa.

Adidas has a major kit deal with the biggest football team in the country, Orlando Pirates, Ajax Cape Town and Rugby team DHL Stormers and endorses its players such as Tlou Segolela, Oupa Manyisa and Daine Klate.

Adidas South Africa PR Manager Gugu Ntuli explained their deal with this legendary club on adidas.co.za, saying that the deal has allowed their designers to create something special for the players and fans.

Ntuli Said, “The new 2014/15

season Orlando Pirates it manufactured by Adidas has the latest adidas technologies to that gives the Orlando Pirates players a competitive edge on the pitch. The kit has a heat controlling materials, 3D fabrics which maintains air flow and allows players to generate acceleration and have maximum power on the pitch.”

Adidas is a major manufacturer of football boots and their latest products is the adizero F50 Speed boots. These tech-wise boots allows players to generate high speed, maximum power, perform and dribble well in all conditions.

Clothing and Street wearIn the 2000s, Adidas added casual sports clothing to their products. These casual products are known as Adidas Original. Adidas originals manufactures casual sports shoes, t-shirts, bags, coats and sunglasses.

In South Africa, the latest casual clothing by Adidas is inspired by the Brazilian company FARM.

Adidas Marketing Director Gavin Cowleysaid on adidas.co.za, “We have affiliated with FARM, which is known for its tropical prints. Our Adidas Originals products have

technicoloured prints and the colourful tropical patterns, while our casual shoes have a retro look with vivid colours.”

Cowley also explained that their collaboration with FARM has allowed them to offer their customers a new trend in street clothing.

Other Adidas Originals products include street ware categorised Originals by Nigo, winter sport clothing categorised Porsche Design Sport and NEO urban clothing.

AccesoriesIn addition to their sports and casual streetware, Adidas also manufactures, techwise devices, deodorants and body care products.

The products include a shower gel, deo body spray and body lotion for both men and women. These products contain anti-perspirants and have a unique multi-formula for hair, body and face.

“Our Adidas body care products

prepare athletes for any sports challenge... whatever their situation, they expect coolness and being fresh. These products reflect our key values of humanity, energy and fun,” Cowley added.

The latest hi-tech Adidas product is miCoach Smart Ball and Smart run. These miCoach products offer training, real-life coaching, work-out tips, tricks and tracks the user’s performance and monitors every user’s step.

Left: Adolf “Adi” Dassler, the founder of Addidas.Above: The first shoe to be manufactured by Adi in 1924. Photos: adidas.com

Our products

Adidas started as a small shoe manufacturing company and today it is a major global sports equipment manufacturer and produces accesories. Photo: adidas.com

Adidas has a major kit deal of Orlando Pirates. Photo: adidas.co.za

Adidas Originals’ T-shirt by Brazilian company, FARM. Photo: adidas.co.za

Adidas deodorants and anti-perspirants Photo: adidas.co.za

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Adidas Newsletter 7