In today’s world, marketers pick and choose from a variety of different metrics that align with their objectives. According to Frost & Strauss (2014)“ web analytics and many other techniques allow marketers to keep track of every mouse click and use it to improve strategy, efficiency and effectiveness” (p. 6). I analyzed Adidas.com web performance through a website that provides web analytics services for businesses. I found they get the majority of their traffic from the US and noticed that 45.4% of their incoming traffic is driven by direct marketing (Similar Web, n.d.). Direct marketing is a strategy that relies on an individual to convey the sales pitch to prospects such as, mail ads, phone calls, or even coupons (Kenton, 2018). 

It is clear that Adidas’s main competitor is Nike. According to Similar Web (n.d.)., from November 2019-January 2020, Adidas.com had 77.27M visits worldwide while Nike has 284.2M. Nike too gets the majority of their traffic from the USA.

“Social Visits metric measures how effective social media campaigns are at driving visitors and leads to your website” (Klipfolio, n.d.). Adidas.com had a decrease in social visits from 368,539 in November 2019 to 269,622 in January 2020 (Similar Web, n.d.).

After reviewing the content they posted on Instagram, I noticed they posted 16 different pictures in November, but only two posts in December. That might be a factor as to why their social visits declined during the month of December. 

According to BuzzSumo (n.d.)., Change is a team sport is the most engaged article for Adidas.com. 

• 81 Facebook engagements
• 8.6K Twitter shares
• 2 Pinterest shares

= 8.7K in Total Engagement

What is ‘CHANGE IS A TEAM SPORT’?

• A campaign initiated as a way to celebrate 50 years since Adidas ‘changed the game’

“Since its inception, adidas’ iconic Superstar shoe has stood for those who aren’t afraid to stand for something. Having changed the game on the court 50 years ago, today the sneaker is made for game-changers off of it” (Adidas, 2020).  

• A way to bring together ‘game changers’ from all different worlds of music, fashion, art, and sports (Adidas, 2020). 
• The objective of the campaign is to prove that change doesn’t happen alone; people must work together for change.

Displayed below are the top five keywords that drive organic traffic to adidas.com (Semrush, n.d.). 

• $2.87 is the average cost advertisers are paying per clicks on an ad triggered by the keyword ‘adidas’.

References

Adidas. (2020, January 26). Change is a team sport. Retrieved from https://news.adidas.com/originals/change-is-a-team-sport/s/701e60ee-3141-421c-a7f5-a3b3477b3631

BuzzoSumo. (n.d.). Web content. Retrieved from https://app.buzzsumo.com/content/web?q=adidas.com

Kenton, W. (2019, April 18). Direct marketing. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/direct-marketing.asp

Klipfolio. (n.d.). Social visits and leads. Retrieved from https://www.klipfolio.com/resources/kpi-examples/social-media/social-visitors-goals

Similar Web. (n.d.). Website performance. Retrieved from https://pro.similarweb.com/#/website/traffic-social/adidas.com/*/999/3m?selectedTab=keywords

Semrush (n.d.). Domain overview:adidas.com. Retrieved by https://www.semrush.com/analytics/overview/?q=adidas.com&date=20200226

a.

Lately, “Adidas has become a leader in leveraging digital channels to promote and sell their products” as part of their marketing strategy (Calderon, 2018). Adidas believes the customer is above all and as a result tailors its content by buyer.  According to Calderon (2018), “the company understands that online messaging can be tailored to match the passions of any individual consumer”. Adidas is able to then integrate their messaging through the customer’s buying experience. Further, Adidas focuses more thoroughly on their customer by labeling them a “creator consumer”. Creator consumers are those who want to be involved in brand content creation instead of just the recipient (Calderon, 2018). It is a method to promote involvement from the Adidas community and gives them the opportunity to have a voice in product development. 

b. 

The Adidas app combines online and offline experiences, which allows customers to reserve products for store pick up (Adidas, n.d.) The convenience in reserving products at the touch of a button is one of many reasons why buyers look towards the internet. Frost & Strauss (2014) found that under the buyer’s view, “the internet creates many benefits important to consumers and business buyers alike (p. 252). “It is open 24/7 so that users can research, shop, consume entertainment or otherwise use the Web’s offerings anytime, anywhere,and on any stationary or mobile receiving appliance” (Frost & Strauss, 2014, p. 253).  Through the app, customers have a voice as they are able to leave reviews on any product purchased. According to Frost & Strauss (2014), a customer will base his or her satisfaction with a product, brand image and brand loyalty on the experience when acquiring the product. “This often results in online product reviews and social media conversations about the brand”. (p. 277). 

Reference (n.d.) found that Adidas, “is focused on targeting and strengthening its brand with the next generation of athletes in the 14- to 19-year-old age group”. Social commerce is a section of e commerce that incorporates social media and customer interactions to drive online sales (Frost & Strauss, 2014, p. 289). Adidas uses Instagram (IG) to promote content that will reach the youth. Just last night, Adidas posted a picture of hundreds of young kids with basketball stars and a caption that read: “Empowering Chicago to power Chicago. For every superstar changing the game, there’s a community behind that made it possible”. The purpose of the event was to improve access to career resources for the youth. Everyone in the Instagram post was wearing Adidas attire, and I believe this event and post targets the teenage demographic. Whether they were there, or simply scrolling through IG, the post is intended to attract and build good rapport with the youth.

c. 

Adidas tailors its content by the consideration stage. “By the time your prospective customers have reached the consideration stage, they have a more complete understanding of their problem/need. However, they have yet to identify solutions” (Lang, n.d.). The Adidas app and their website are convenient ways for consumers to search and view products based on their needs. This is known as the consideration stage. According to Marketing Week (2019), Adidas “ global e-commerce is currently its fastest growing channel, with sales up 36% in the 2018 financial year”. Moreover, a customer is considering shopping Adidas if they have downloaded the app or googled the adidas website to view products. Whether that be a hoodie because it’s getting cold outside, or some cleats for the upcoming soccer season. Though, at the consideration stage, the customer still does not know if they want a red or a black hoodie, and they haven’t decided on red or blue cleats. 

d.

In regard to the innovation value proposition, Adidas portrays the ‘Prada for Adidas’ as one of a kind, must have. The Prada bag has the Adidas logo on it and the Adidas shoes are imprinted with ‘Prada’.  They posted a video on Instagram promoting the new collaboration with Prada and captioned it “A duo, made in Italy”, “Limited Edition”. That sounds enticing and something worth purchasing since there is a limited supply and it is their first collaboration. Also, based on the customization value proposition, customers have the ability to customize their shopping experience by their color of choice. If they are looking for blue gear, the app will allow them to view all blue products, from shoes to workout pants, to backpacks. 

e.

Adidas uses Instagram for promoting the company products as well as selling. They have a link on their bio with the Adidas website for consumer reference in case they like something that Adidas has posted. The Adidas app was created to sell products as well. People can choose a product and hit ‘buy it now’ to make their purchase. 

https://adidasgames.game.blog/2020/02/19/adidas-post-3/

References

Adidas. (n.d.). Adidas. Retrieved from https://www.adidas.com/us/adidasapp

Calderon, E. (2018, March 4). Adidas shapes the future of customer experience with digital. Retrieevd from https://www.expertvoice.com/adidas-shapes-future-customer-experience-digital/

Frost, R. & Strauss, J. (2014). E-marketing. (7^th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Lang, P. (n.d.). Buyer’s journey stages: Types of content to create for each. Retrieved from https://uhurunetwork.com/buyers-journey-stages/

Marketing week. (2019, May 3). How ecommerce became Adidas’s most important channel. Retrieved from https://www.marketingweek.com/ecommerce-adidas-most-important-channel/Reference. (n.d.). Who is Adidas’ Target Market Today? Retreived from https://www.reference.com/business-finance/adidas-target-market-today-363bdc15dc5a013e

a)

Adidas meets demand from its digitally driven audience by depending on data analytics (Ramsenthaler, 2018). 

• Twitter (Gilliland, 2017).
• ‘Adidas Confirmed’ app (Gilliland, 2017).
• Instagram (Joseph, 2019). 
• ‘All day app’ (Beer, 2017).
• Partnerships with Instagram influencers (Calderon, 2018).
• Exasol (Underwood, n.d.). 

b)      

Innovation, customization and brand status are the three main value propositions offered by Adidas (Cleverism, n.d.). Adidas focuses heavily on prioritizing innovation. Their strategy involves five pillars including Athlete innovation, manufacturing innovation, digital and experience innovation, sustainability innovation, and female athlete innovation. Based on the athlete innovation initiative, Adidas partners with sportspeople, organizations and universities to create advanced features for their product development process (Cleverism, n.d.).Clearly, reaching out for groundbreaking ideas has provided exceptional results. Boost, which provides maximum comfort and energy return for athletes, ClimaChill, the apparel with active cooling within the fabric, and ClimaHeat which allows higher amounts of warm air to be trapped within the fabric, made especially for cold weather training are a few examples of past innovations. Moreover, to provide customization, Adidas allows its consumers to personalize their items from colors, sizes, font types, team name, player name, and artwork/graphics. (Cleverism). As a customer, being able to purchase a product that meets my needs and wants 100% since I have the ability to custom make it before paying, is fulfilling. This is known as engagement marketing. Frost & Strauss (2014) found that, the best engaging activities that an organization can offer is to “help consumers build a personal association with the brand, such as when they can customize the product” (p. 184). Further, Adidas’s vigorous pursuit to success is very attractive to its consumers and as a result has strengthened their brand name. According to Cleverism (n.d.) Adidas “is one of the world’s oldest shoe brands, the largest athletic footwear/apparel producer in Europe, and the second biggest in the world after Nike”. 

Adidas is unique in the market as they have used the past as inspiration for the future of their organization. The implementation of a marketing decision “to recreate historical shoe models, which were made popular in the 70s and 80s by high-performance athletes, with modern high quality materials”, resulted in success for Adidas. 

References

Beer, J. (2017, July 10). Why Adidas is going beyond fitness with its new “All Day” lifestyle app. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/40438927/why-adidas-is-going-beyond-fitness-with-its-new-all-day-lifestyle-app

Calderon, E. (2018, March 4). Adidas shapes the future of customer experience with digital. Retrieved from https://www.expertvoice.com/adidas-shapes-future-customer-experience-digital/

Cleverism (n.d.). Careers at Adidas Group. Retrieved by https://www.cleverism.com/company/adidas-group/

Frost, R. & Strauss, J. (2014). E-marketing. (7^th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Gilliland, N. (2017, February 6). How Adidas originals uses social media to drive sales. Retrieved from https://econsultancy.com/how-adidas-originals-uses-social-media-to-drive-sales/

Gilliland, N( 2017, May 11). How Adidas uses digital to enable powerful experiences. Retrieved from https://econsultancy.com/how-adidas-uses-digital-to-enable-powerful-experiences/

Joseph, S. (2019, May 7). It’s having a positive impact: Instagram is driving Adidas’ online sales. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/marketing/its-having-a-positive-impact-instagram-is-driving-adidas-online-sales/

Ramsenthaler, P. (2018, October 30). On the ball: 4 Reasons for Adidas’ long-term success. Retrieved from https://www.marmind.com/en/on-the-ball-4-reasons-for-adidas-long-term-success/

Underwood, J. (n.d.) How Adidas transformed analytics platforms for digital scale. Retrieved from https://www.jenunderwood.com/2017/06/14/adidas-analytics-platforms-digital-scale/

a.

Adidas is a sportswear corporation founded by a German entrepreneur. The three striped company’s name is derived from the founders name, Adolf Dassler. Adi is short for Adolf and Das comes from Dassler. Though, Adidas is also an acronym for “All Day I Dream About Sports” (Adidas, n.d).  Adolf was motivated to provide athletes with the greatest performing equipment and that is what led him to create the famous Adidas. He began his work in his mother’s kitchen in 1924, but not until August 1949 did he register the “Adi Dassler Adidas Sportschuhfabrik” and begin working alongside 47 employees in a small town in Germany (Adidas, n.d.). That same year Adolf created the three striped shoes that would kick off his international success.  In 1954, the Germany national football team had used Adidas “screw-in-studs on lightweight football boots”, leading them to write history and winning the 5th world cup in FIFA history (Adidas, n.d.). 

b. 

• Adidas AG revenue for the quarter ending September 30, 2019 was $7.128B, a 4.38% increase year-over-year (Macrotrends, n.d.). 
• Adidas AG revenue for the twelve months ending September 30, 2019 was $25.961B, a 1.22% increase year-over-year (Macrotrends, n.d.). 
• Adidas AG annual revenue for 2018 was $25.882B, a 7.92% increase from 2017 (Macrotrends, n.d.). 
• Adidas AG annual revenue for 2017 was $23.983B, a 12.34% increase from 2016 (Macrotrends, n.d.). 
• Adidas AG annual revenue for 2016 was $21.347B, a 13.66% increase from 2015 (Macrotrends, n.d.). 
• It is a publicly traded company(ADDYY): As of January 28, 2020, their stock price was $166.09 (Google Finance, n.d.). 

According to Macrotrends (n.d.),“Adidas AG ADRs are dollar denominated securities backed by the shares trading in Germany”.

c. 

Mission Statement: 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. We are committed to continuously strengthening our brands and products to improve our competitive position (Sorbello, 2019). 

d. 

Frost & Strauss (2014) mentioned that businesses must follow the necessary steps in the e-marketing plan, with the strategic plan being the second step (p. 61). Under the second step, the business must decide who they will target. Adidas targets those who are devoted to sports. Reference (n.d.) found that Adidas, “is focused on targeting and strengthening its brand with the next generation of athletes in the 14- to 19-year-old age group”. Specifically, organizations use segment descriptors to define its consumer target, like “demographics, geographic locations and past behavior towards the product” (Frost & Strauss, 2014, p. 63).  Adidas audience includes middle class, young athletes or sports fans located anywhere around the world, given that Adidas is a multinational organization. A middle class American highschool basketball player, who practices seven days a week in hopes to get recruited to college ball, is a perfect example of a target audience for Adidas. 

References

Adidas. (n.d.). History. Retrieved from https://www.adidas-group.com/en/group/history/

Adidas. (n.d.). ADR Program. Retrieved from https://www.adidas-group.com/en/investors/share/adr-program/

Google Finance. (2020, January 28). Adidas AG/S ADR. Retrieved from OTCMKTS: ADDYY

Macrotrends. (n.d.). Adidas AG Revenue 2006-2019. Retreived from https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ADDYY/adidas-ag/revenue

Reference. (n.d.). Who is Adidas’ Target Market Today? Retreived from https://www.reference.com/business-finance/adidas-target-market-today-363bdc15dc5a013e

Sorbello, A. (2019, November 28). Adidas mission statement and vision analysis. Retrieved from https://www.astrogrowth.com/blog/adidas-mission-statement/