Advertising Concept in the Course of Adidas Essay

Advertising in Media

Every advertisement starts with a client brief, which is the document that verifies the mutual understanding between the company and advertising and specifies the core client’s requirements (King, 2020, Advertising agency). There are three types of media advertising, such as ABL (Above the Line) and BTL (Below the Line), and new media advertising (King, 2020, Advertising in media). Also, there is traditional and digital advertising. I assume that my project refers to BTL advertising since it has the target audience and involves the distribution of promotions and banners placed at the point of sale (store) and the busy places (the metro station). In terms of current Google marketing, Adidas is focused on data and customer insights to develop its branding strategy and “inform the art of storytelling” (Google Marketing Platform, 2018). This emphasizes the importance of the real-time strategy when designing a brand and pushing the outbreak.

I also used digital advertising through social media platforms to promote the campaign’s content. Jolly (2020, para. 16) outlined core advertising tactics that can be applied to the Instagram platform. They include a focus on custom audiences and lookalike audiences in case of expanding, application of custom images of real people, irresistible offers, and the crucial role of hashtags. It is a relatively low-cost and easy-to-track way to advertise the campaign that enables reaching a highly targeted audience. To achieve the desired result, there is a variety of advertising techniques that can be applied by advertisers. The techniques that I found most applicable to my campaign include bandwagon advertising (convincing women to join the group of those who are already engaged in sports), endorsements (influential females), complementing the customers (Unique me), and the rule of thirds (key elements at the intersections of the lines) (Advertising techniques, 2019).

Brainstorming Techniques

The majority of people, including those who are not engaged in the advertising, recognize the saying “think outside the box.” These words emphasize the importance of developing different and unusual ideas. Thinking inside the box limits the thought and, thus, the scope of your ideas. Therefore, various brainstorming techniques were designed to promote this unique thinking and creativity. They involve “mind mapping, picture association, and six thinking hats” (Kachouh, 2018, Brainstorming techniques). Within a broad concept of six thinking habits designed by Edward de Bono, I found a few of the thinking methods particularly relevant for my advertising project. White, green, and yellow hats are applied to the concept of the Adidas campaign. To be more specific, the white hat represents the facts and information I learned when examining Adidas Company. The green hat is focused on the creative side of the project, which was designing the poster for the metro station and the Adidas store itself. Finally, the yellow thinking method that symbolizes the benefits and positive aspects of the project implies the significant amount of Emirati women engaged in the Adidas campaign.

The Essential Elements of Branding

The power of branding is based on providing a unique identity to the company’s products and creating emotional associations with consumers. One of the most essential parts of the brand is a logo, which is responsible for the “first impression, communicates company’s values, and defines the brand image” (Kachouh, 2018, Branding elements). When examining the colors used in Adidas advertisements, one may conclude that white is the predominant color applied by Adidas campaigns. According to Sena, Netra, and Mulyawan (2016, p. 110), white is generally associated with “perfection.” Furthermore, this color also implies that the brand’s product is designed perfectly compared to other brands.

Considering the aspect of the color, it is a crucial element of branding that influences consumers’ mood and decision-making process. In my Adidas campaign, I used predominantly warm and bright colors to attract customers’ attention and transmit positive and energetic emotional patterns. Adidas’s logo contains only one black color that “signifies importance” and elevates the company’s authority (Kachouh, 2018, Branding elements). When designing the project, I aimed at adhering to the brand personality that Adidas conveys. According to the research conducted by Chandel and Tewari (2015, p. 17), Logo is “the most influencing brand personality driver” analyzed in terms of Adidas. The general brand personality of the Adidas brand is considered to be influenced by brand personality drivers, such as logo, user imagery, and advertisement style. Concerning the competitiveness of the current market, it is particularly complex to create and manage a new brand.

Any enterprise should be focused on the brand’s influence on the consumers’ mindset and adjust its brand strategy to customer needs. Alipour and Sabzikaran (2018, p. 5) identified the “customer-based approach” of the modern marketing system as the determining factor of brand identity and authenticity that impacts the company’s results. Such a strategy should comply with the brand identity, authenticity, and determination of the company. Brand identity is shaped by the customers’ perception of the brand. Brand personality is the factor that determines the human nature of the business in the eyes of potential customers (McGrath, 2019). Thus, it is crucial to obtain skills for efficient positioning and distinction of a brand, as well as launching a unique and attractive brand personality within a market. As for my campaign, I needed to develop a clear and powerful personality to give Emirati women a reason to choose it. Brand strategy is based on the vision and is associated with business strategy. Such an approach emanates from the values and culture that a company cultivates and considers the needs and perceptions of its customers.

Brand Voice of Adidas

The visual identity of Adidas Company is based on the abstract marks, namely, it uses a purely visual form to convey the brand’s attributes. The beneficial part of such an identity is the flexibility of the visual representation of the brand. However, the vagueness of the abstract mark might be a risky approach to introduce the brand. It is important to note that when thinking of new branding, one should aim at changing behavior, value creation, and encouraging people to do things (Branding and semiotics, 2019). Kathryn Wheeler (2020, para. 45) suggests that “monitoring the brand” is vital to maintaining its brand identity. Lucipress (2018) discusses seven steps to create the brand identity, including clear purpose and positioning, in-depth market research, brand personality, polished Logo, attractive color palette, professional typography, and supporting graphics. A brand is an emotional and philosophical concept, and, hence, brand identity design is the actual process of creating visual assets.

Adidas is commonly associated with the well-recognized three stripes for a long time because it remains dedicated to its visual symbol since 1949. As described by Rogoza (2020, para. 5), the lines on the trefoil emblem represent the “focus on the variety.” The three trefoil leaves symbolize three parts of the world, namely North America, Europe, and Asia, where the company’s products are available for purchase. The Logo in the shape of the mountain embodies the “idea of overcoming challenges and pursuing your goals,” notwithstanding the circumstances (Rogoza, 2020, para. 6). Finally, the round emblem represents the globe and rapid adjustment to changes. The interesting fact about the Adidas logo is that it starts with a lowercase letter to highlight the accessibility of casual sportswear to every customer.

Adidas is commonly referred to as a brand that looks backward and depends on its past, however, it is not a retro brand that solely modifies former products. Ind and Iglesias (2016, p. 123) state that Adidas is oriented on the past, together with the “insights into consumer behavior” for the inspiration to create modern and innovative models. The half of creation implies “recognizing your accidents” (YTShowandTell, 2015). As such, it is important to analyze the pitfalls that the company might face. In the case of Adidas, the company addressed some challenges and losses in its share within the American market. The key reason was the brand’s strategy that initially targeted the “dominating football” (Kostelijk and Alsem, 2020, p. 140). The Adidas CEO expected that success in this sports activity would enhance the company’s position in other sports, however, it poorly worked in the country where football is barely a significant sport. Nevertheless, the Adidas brand is still one of the most prominent sportswear brands and is mainly linked with the hip-hop culture in the United States. Despite the vast number of competitors in the current global market, it maintains its leading position and engages inspiring figures of the modern culture to promote its brand identity, personality, and core values to the target audience.

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