COMSTRAT 564 Consumer Behavior and

Brand Development Final IMC Plan

David T. Green Fall 2016

Since 1949, Adidas has been a driving force in the athletic footwear and apparel world.

The “brand with the three stripes” has been at or near the top of the athletic shoe industry since

it’s inception and continues using their innovation and creativeness to improve on their current

products as well as bringing the public exactly what it is wanting in an athletic shoe.

Adidas turns 67 years old this year, and the German athletic brand is still churning out

sneakers, apparel, and sports gear. After more than six decades in the game, Adidas has amassed

a huge history. And with the recent addition of Pharrell, Kanye, and Nigo to the brand's roster,

there's newfound interest in the product, too (Welty, 2014). The primary target groups for Adidas

are professional athletes, weekend warriors, adolescent athletes and consumers looking to make a

fashion statement.

The following customer brand relationship strategy provides a means of meeting our

customer’s wants and needs. To meet these wants and needs, research was conducted to assess

what our customers value in an athletic shoe, particularly in a shoe they can work out in. Three

consumer personas were developed based on this research, each providing excellent insight into

what our customers believe as important. The first persona looks at the person who is older and

still wants to work out at a health club. They want a shoe that supports their feet and lets them

work out, while not feeling the pain that can accompany a vigorous workout. The second persona

looks at the workout warrior, the person that lives at the health club and wants nothing to get into

their way, especially their feet. They want a shoe that can stand up to the rigors of how they

approach workouts – to the max. Finally, the third persona addresses the adolescent, who wants a

shoe, not only for the support it can give to them when working out, but also serves as a fashion

statement, when they are at school or with their friends.

Brand identity defines what Adidas wants to project to their customer base, and the

Adidas Avenger workout shoe is no exception. This includes brand values, personality, and

attributes, which promise our customers value, toughness, and a customer first approach. The

brand identity is used to customize the customer engagement plan.

Finally, the customer brand relationship strategy looks to strengthen the long-term

relationship with the customer. This looks at ways we can build upon our brand identity and

values, now and in the future, to continue to offer our customers the best shoe possible.

The following report features the strategy that Adidas will use to forge successful

customer brand relationship with their new shoe, the Adidas Avenger.

According to CJG Digital Marketing, “Buyer personas play a critical role in digital

marketing, particularly in establishing the effectiveness of your content marketing strategies.

While many marketers focus on several demographics to get better traction in their digital

marketing efforts, marketers who focus on key buyer persona insights will require half the

number to get the same results. Buyer personas define who your targeted audiences are, and from

this stem the lifeblood that defines your content strategies. Effective content marketing is

delivering the right kind of content to a specific type of targeted audience” (Gregorio, 2015).

Three brand personas were created for this customer evaluation. First is the Silver

Sneaker, next is the Weekend Warrior, and finally the Adolescent. The Silver Sneaker is an older

athlete who wants to continue to work out, but is concerned with physical limitations, such as

arthritis and bone disease. The Weekend Warrior is a person who lives at the gym. This person

works out hard and is susceptible to injuries of the feet and ankles. Finally we have the

adolescent who works out hard, but also wants shoes that are stylish and that they can wear out

on the town with friends.

When we look at these personas, we are seeing a percentage of the athletic shoe

population that has been shunned over the years by all athletic shoe companies, including

Adidas. Sure, professional athletes can benefit by a club shoe such as the Adidas Avenger, but

Adidas is addressing the everyday person. This person wants a shoe that is supportive, just as

much as the professional athlete.

The following pages look at the three personas and addresses their motivations,

challenges and frustrations, and the imagined solutions involved.

NEED/GOAL/MOTIVATIONS:

Need: A top notch athletic shoe designed for seniors who need extra foot and ankle stability

Goal: To be able to continue to participate in all senior club physical activities

Motivations: Wants to do able to do all exercises and classes with confidence

CHALLENGES AND FRUSTRATIONS:

Challenges: Finding an athletic shoe she can count on to give her the support she needs at a

reasonable price

Frustrations: Being on a set income, athletic shoes are often overpriced, especially name brands

Fears: Needs this type of shoe, but fears she can’t really afford the price

IMAGED SOLUTIONS:

Purchasing a pair of high quality shoes, such as the Adidas Avenger, which will meet her needs

at a price that she can afford. These shoes are durable and will last a long time, which is what she

is needing.

Persona #1 “The Silver Sneaker”

DEMOGRAPHICS

Female

60-80 years of age

Married

Bachelor’s degree

$30 – 45,000/year

Active life/Retired

Grown children in college

NEED/GOAL/MOTIVATIONS:

Need: Athletic shoes that work as hard as they do

Goal: Health is this person’s #1 goal. This includes their feet and ankles

Motivations: This type of person spends most of their day at the health club. They are motivated

by looking better than the person next to them. If they suffer any kind of injury, including their

feet and ankles, this can be a major setback for them.

CHALLENGES AND FRUSTRATIONS:

Challenges: Finding a shoe that can take the ultimate abuse that this type of person subjects their

feet to

Frustrations: Having to purchase athletic shoes, sometimes several times a year, due to lack of

durability.

Fears: The fears this person has is purely physical. They want nothing to happen to any part of

their body, especially their feet, which carry the brunt of their weight.

IMAGED SOLUTIONS:

The Adidas Avenger is made with this type of person in mind. This shoe can take on any kind of

workout the person wants to subject it to, and this shoe always comes back for more. The support

and durability of this shoe is what this person wants.

Persona #2 “The Workout Warrior”

DEMOGRAPHICS

Male

20-40 years of age

Single/Married

High School – Up

$25 – 75,000/year

Active life/Working

Independent

NEED/GOAL/MOTIVATIONS:

Need: An athletic shoe to protect their feet that are still maturing

Goal: To find a shoe that can stand up to the physical rigors, but also puts out a fashion

statement.

Motivations: To make it through school on two feet. Works out at the gym for many hours a

week and wants to get stronger.

CHALLENGES AND FRUSTRATIONS:

Challenges: Finding an athletic shoe that fits into their small budget. A shoe that will last a long

time and will stand up to anything that this person throws at it.

Frustrations: Price is the biggest frustration. Being a student, it is hard to make a purchase like

this.

Fears: Fearful that if he doesn’t wear athletic shoes that will protect him, he may suffer an injury,

and at this age, may be critical.

IMAGINED SOLUTIONS:

The Adidas Avenger is perfect for this type of person. As a younger athlete, who works out

whenever possible, this shoe is just what the doctor ordered. And with the option of designing

their own shoes, this fits in perfectly with today’s teen.

Persona #3 “The Adolescent”

DEMOGRAPHICS

Male

15-19 years of age

Single

High School

$14 – 18/per hour

Active life/Student

Fashion conscious

All brands must have a distinct identity. Adidas recognized this years ago and the Adidas

brand continues to be known world-wide as a leader in athletic shoes and apparel. At Adidas, we

empathize with the health club athlete. Most of us here at Adidas have been athletes at one time

of our life and know that a great athletic shoe is vital for anyone who is health conscious. Here at

Adidas, our brand identity is what you would expect of a leader in industry – we live by our

values, personality, and brand attributes that make us who we have been in the past and who we

are today – the leader in athletic shoes.

Brand Values

The Adidas website states the brands promise as. “We are innovation and design

leaders who seek to help athletes of all skill levels achieve peak performance with every product

we bring to market. We are consumer focused and therefore we continuously improve the

quality, look, feel, and image of our products and our organizational structures to match and

exceed consumer expectations and to provide them with the highest value.” (Adidas, 2016).

At Adidas, we believe that the health and wellbeing of our athletes of all skill levels is

our utmost priority. We will continue to develop shoes, not only for professional athletes, but for

the person that belongs to the local athletic club and needs the support and comfort they need

while working out.

We look to expand on these promises by including the following new brand promise:

Adidas Avenger is a shoe for the regular, everyday person. We built this sub-brand with you, the

everyday athlete in mind. With that said, we will stand behind these principles:

1. To bring inspiration and innovation to everyone who wears our shoes.

2. To bring a passion for sports and a sporting lifestyle.

3. We will continue to make decisions based on what our customers want and need.

4. We will continue to strengthen our brands and products.

Brand Personality

Usually, brand personality and brand values work hand-in-hand, and at Adidas – this is

how we look at it. If we were to attach three words to describe the Adidas Avenger, they would

be:

1) Tough – As with every Adidas athletic shoe, the Avenger is tough. Go ahead, try to wear out

the Avenger. Good Luck! This shoe is built to withstand anything you can throw at it. When you

finish your workout and take you shoes off, your feet will feel like you didn’t even do anything.

This shoe can withstand anything.

2) Durable – This is the thing that Adidas has over their major rivals. These shoes last a long

time and can work out as long as you can. With the comfort sole and the built in support that the

shoe offers, you will be amazed at how long these shoes will go with you. You may give out

before the shoes do.

3) Innovative – The company continues to come out with models of shoes that the public is

yearning for. From running shoes to Kanye West’s latest creations, there is a shoe for anyone and

everyone. When the market wanted a new club shoe, Adidas led the way and developed the

Avenger. Adidas listens to their customers and wants what they want – in the case of the

Avenger, it is a shoe that can protect you through the roughest workout. Put it to the test….

Other words that describe our personality are:

1. Original

2. Exciting

3. Daring

4. Rugged

5. Reliable

Brand Attributes

Brand attributes are what stand out in your customers mind.

Ambition – Adidas wants to be the shoe that you wear for any athletic occasion. We

develop shoes that fit the individual and what they need. We will continue to come out

with shoes such as the Avenger and develop shoes that are in demand with our customers.

Customer First Approach – You ask and we listen. Here at Adidas, we want to know

what your needs are in athletic shoes. Do you run long distances, do you walk on the

treadmill, do you lift weights, and are you in aerobic classes? Or do you just want to

make a fashion statement? At Adidas, we listen to you.

Dedication – We stand behind each and every shoe we make. Our goal is to make our

customer happy, and we seem to do a pretty good job at that. We are dedicated to the

athlete in all of us and want you to be happy with your shoes. The Adidas Avenger is the

club shoe that evokes this dedication. The company with the three stipes – strikes again.

Our objective here is to introduce our new shoe line, Adidas Avenger, to the general

public by addressing what makes this shoe different from the rest of the Adidas line of athletic

shoes. By using the best avenues to promote awareness to the shoe, we will get the word out that

this shoe is something that the target audience wants, needs, and can’t be without. Until recently,

Adidas had always used athletes in the promotion of their new shoe lines. Football legend Joe

Namath, tennis star Stan Smith, and more lately National Basketball Association stars Kobe

Bryant and Derrick Rose, are just a few of the top athletes the major brand has recruited to

promote their shoes. This strategy has worked well for the company and Adidas will continue to

reap the benefits of using such stars in marketing. However, in 2015, and the advent of a new

audience that wanted to wear the brand for fashion reasons, Adidas took a chance and took on

rapper Kanye West’s line of Yeezy shoes. This idea became a tremendous success and once

again Adidas addressed the wants and needs of a particular audience segment. With the arrival of

the Adidas Avenger, once again the brand is showing true innovation to the consumer. To bring

attention to this new shoe, the company should once again come out with a strong campaign to

promote public awareness. Two strategies that the brand should address are attention and

evaluation.

TOUCHPOINTS

Dedicated Website: By developing and promoting a dedicated website to the Adidas Avenger,

www.adidasavenger.com, the sub-brand could be the perfect way for the world to get out to the

public. This website would describe the shoe in detail, giving background information on what

inspired to conception of the idea behind it, what the benefits are for wearing the shoes, and also

have a chat link which would give the prospective customer a chance to ask anything at all about

the shoes. There would also be a link to the closest store to the visitor, so they can check out the

shoes in person.

Health Club Video Monitors: The shoe needs to come into the health clubs to make them more

visible to prospective customers. This could be accomplished by promoting directly to

nationwide health club chains, such as: 24 Hour Fitness, LA Fitness, Snap Fitness, Nautilus Plus,

etc. A video could be presented, showing the shoe in action, listing the benefits, and also

advertising sales of the shoe through the club itself. Another great way to market customer

engagement would be for the club to give a pair of the Adidas Avenger as part of a prize

promotion.

TOUCHPOINTS

Television Advertising: As in the past, there may be no better way of getting your product out

to the public than by television advertising. The idea is to get your product out there in front of

your target audience as often as possible. Even with the popularity of social media, television

advertising is still a must when you want to get the most out of marketing your product. The

question being – What programs or time slots do we want our programs to run?” With this being

an athletic shoe directed toward the athletic club member, the best placement for the Adidas

Avenger commercials would be during major sporting events, or during infomercials for workout

programs, such as P-90X, Intensity, etc. Speaking of P-90X. To evaluate the effectiveness of

these commercials, the stores and website ordering could include a comment card asking the

customer where they heard about the Adidas Avenger club shoes.

Internet Promotions: There are two major ways to both promote and evaluate customer

engagement with internet promotion. The consumer could be directed to watch a short video

featuring the Adidas Avengers followed by a brief survey, which could include the question of

where they initially heard about the shoe, and what makes them want to learn more about the

brand. The important thing is to find out how they heard about the product, what it is that

intrigues them about it, and what makes them want to proceed to purchase.

So now we’ve done our promotion and got the attention of our target audience. We are getting

excellent feedback on our marketing and promotion of Adidas Avengers. So where does this

leave us? The objective here is to drive the consumer to purchase a pair of Adidas Avenger club

shoes. Greg Satell reminds us “to drive sales, we need to reach people at the point of purchase”

(2013).

TOUCHPOINTS

Rewards Program: To have a good grasp of recency we must develop a frequent purchase

program, which will enable us see which customers are loyal to the Adidas brand, if they have

purchased at least one pair of Adidas Avengers, and how often they purchase athletic shoes and

apparel. According to Insights from Analytics (2012), there are 15 benefits of having a strong

rewards program. These reasons include:

Retaining your existing customers

To acquire new customers

Recover defected customers

Increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Build relationships

Respond to competitive challenges

Plan merchandising optimally

A rewards program is one of the best ways to track your individual customer’s purchases. Not

only that, but your resourcefulness of providing additional rewards for your most loyal customers

sets your business apart from other competing companies.

In Store Communications: This could also be applicable to online communications. It is vital

that there is great customer – salesperson communication during the purchasing process. One of

the most important aspects of the sales experience with a consumer is how they felt they were

helped and treated by the sales staff. Were they knowledgeable about the product? Did they

answer questions positively and confidently? Did they make the customer feel welcome? These

are all things that the customer carries out the door with them along with your product. This is a

critical touchpoint that most times will determine if the customer will become a loyal customer.

TOUCHPOINTS

Finding the Product: The question always arises, “Where can I buy the ………?” Without a

good answer to this, customer engagement could suffer. To bring the Adidas Avenger to the

forefront, it would be beneficial to the company to integrate the shoes into as many health clubs

as possible. This way, the consumer would be assured that the club they visit will be able to

furnish the shoes, either by having them in stock, or being able to order them directly from

Adidas. By advertising this, it would be a win-win-win situation – for Adidas, the health club,

and most importantly, the customer. Facebook and Twitter are also excellent resources on which

to find the location of the nearest store that carries the Adidas Avenger club shoe.

Internet Advertising: Whenever the consumer visits the internet and searches for athletic shoes,

using search words and terms such as “athletic shoes”, “best type of shoes to wear while working

out”. “health clubs”, and “workout shoes”, the name Adidas Avenger should be prominent on the

search response. There is no greater proximity than a consumer and their keyboard, and we want

the Adidas Avenger to be front and center when called upon. By attaching the shoe to these

search terms, it should evoke a response from the consumer to check out the shoe and move to

purchase. The internet is also a great place to offer coupons and sales opportunities, something

the consumer loves to take advantage of.

After the sale, the ultimate objective for any company is to maintain and increase sales. To do

this Adidas needs to keep the customer involved well after the sale. This can include soliciting

feedback, and instituting ways that customers and engage and promote the products with other

customers or prospective customers.

TOUCHPOINTS

Holiday Promotions: This holiday season would be a great time to bring out the Adidas

Avenger club shoes to the public. And to promote a great opening value exchange would benefit

both the customer and Adidas. There are two ways this could be done. The Adidas Avenger

website would be an excellent place to start. Extend an offer of a free Avenger t-shirt of hat to

anyone who purchases a pair of Adidas Avengers online. The stores and/or athletic clubs could

run a promotion that gives $25 off to anyone who brings in an old pair of sneakers to exchange.

Consumers love these kinds of promotions and either of these would work with the public.

Bringing in New Customers: Another promotion worth mentioning is when an established

customer brings someone new in to purchase the product. In this case, an Adidas preferred

customer brings in a friend who buys a pair of Adidas Avengers, in which case the preferred

customer receives points on his frequent purchaser account due to his/her advocacy.

“When companies focus first on meeting the needs of the people they serve, they don’t have to

spend big money to attract new customers. And when they stay close to their communities they

don’t need market research to tell them what people want” (Lee, 2009).

TOUCHPOINTS

Community Events: Adidas would sponsor local events to contribute to the local economy and

form a sense of what the people want to see happening in their community. A great way to

accomplish this is for Adidas to bond with local boys and girls clubs, providing the kids with

Adidas Avengers and also donating funds to the clubs. This type of idea would also bond the

brand with the community, giving the marketing giant a more hometown connection. You want

your customers to share your goodwill with others. By helping the community, you are helping

to build customer advocacy. There is not a better way of customer engagement than positive

word of mouth promotion. Or, as Lara Lee puts it, “In tough times more than ever, people crave

a sense of community support. When companies provide this–by building communities that

deliver tangible and emotional value, through employees and customers working together to

solve collective challenges–they build lasting bonds of loyalty and discover new sources of

growth. Good marketing always puts people at the center. Smart marketing in tough times taps

the collective power of community” (2009).

One of the most important aspects of the customer engagement plan is message content. The

way we interact with our customers shapes their view of both Adidas and the Adidas Avenger.

The messages we deliver must be consistent with our values and brand attributes. In this section

we will look at how messages are used in conjunction with customer touchpoints. This begins

before the sale and continues even after the customer has purchased our product.

Internal Touchpoints

These include employees, call centers, social media

attendants, and business owners.

Our employees must understand the customer’s

needs and desires. If any issues arise, they must jump

in and come up with a solution.

Business owners need to develop a connection to

their customers. This is a great way of making the

customer feel important.

Call centers can keep in touch with the customers

and develop a good repartee by knowing the product

line.

External Touchpoints

These include store bunkers, checkout counters, greeters and floor workers.

This is a good chance to get an initial idea of how the customer experience went. This is

where you can get an idea of how the customer was brought to your product. Always

leave the customer with a good feeling when they leave the store or, in the case of online

sales, make it a smooth transaction. Here you can find out if your message is being

received loud and clear.

Awareness

Physical Spaces – Make sure the product is being placed in places where the customer

can see it. In the case of the Adidas Avenger, this would be in the health clubs, via video

screens on the walls of the club, and club advertising.

Social Media – Make sure the message is sent out loud and clear on all social media sites,

as well as the company website.

Decision Making Process

Let the customer experience the new Adidas Avenger. Let them try a pair on and wear

them around the store. Let them know the benefits of purchasing the shoes. “Are your

feet tired and sore after a long workout? Look no more – The Adidas Avenger is for

you!”

Post Purchase Phase

This may be the single most important phase in the process. Here you want to continue

the brand-customer relationship with the idea of bringing the customer back to your

brand when they are ready to purchase again.

Send the customer a post-purchase survey about their purchasing experience. Were they

able to find what they were looking for? Was the store staff helpful and friendly? Would

they purchase Adidas shoes again in the future? Would they tell others about the brand?

Is there anything that the customer wants or needs that wasn’t delivered upon during this

purchase? The idea here is to keep the customer engaged with the brand, becoming a

loyal Adidas customer.

They key to a brand’s success is whether or not the customer will engage in a relationship

with the product. At Adidas, this is our ultimate goal. By combining a quality product with

excellent customer service, at a reasonable price, the customer will be happy to come back to the

brand again and again. Here are some ways that we intend to keep the relationship intact:

We need to keep our customers informed about new products in a timely manner via

physical mail, e-mail, social media, and our website.

We will always listen to our customer’s wants and needs, as these are vital to the long

term brand/customer relationship.

We will keep the Adidas name in the highest regard by being open and honest with our

customers. If one of our products has a defect of any kind, we will replace it with no

questions asked.

Our customers are our lifeline. Without them, we have no business.

We must live by our mission statement and value statement. Always!

Our loyal customers deserve incentives that keep them coming back for more. This is the

way to make them happy, loyal customers.

We will always look for ways to improve our product. If the customer has an idea, we

will listen to it.

Anyone can come up with a product. It is with excellent brand development and

marketing skills that makes the brand a success. When we listen to the consumer’s wants and

needs, we can develop a connection that can last virtually a lifetime. When we direct our

attention to customer personas and target audiences, we have the battle half won. It is then our

mission to close the deal and develop a post-purchase plan which keeps our customers coming

back for more. At Adidas – If the shoe fits, keep on innovating!

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