1. Adverting The Brand
Part 1
Did you know that ‘Donkeys are commonly used by the IraqRebels to launch rockets!’ (Funfactz. 09) ‘more Monopoly
money is printed in a year, than real money printed throughout the world!’ (Funfactz. 09) and that surprisingly ‘in Japan, it
is completely acceptable to name your child "Buttocks" or "Prostitute" (Funfactz. 09), all strange but true facts about the
world however, completely irrelevant to the topic of the essay. Now that have your undying attention (hopefully) will
progress to enlighten you on the subject that is branding.
From the research that gathered, guess, advertising agencies owe everything to ancient Egyptians and cowboys, and as
much as you would like not to believe me I’m afraid that to a certain degree this is true. Originally branding was
recognized as ‘a way to tell one person’s cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp’. (HWevents. 2010) Cattle
branding is said to date back as far as 2700 B.C where images of Egyptian hieroglyphics show the technique being used
to brand an oxen. In todays industry the principles of cattle branding still apply in the sense that branding is used as a
means of identifying a service, specific product, business, taking ‘form in name, sign, symbol, colour combination and
slogans.’ (wikipedia. 2008) Branding products first started with the intention of making it easier to identify and
differentiate products. To this day there is confusion about when the first trademark brand originated, the British beer
Bass, founded in 1777 ‘claim that their red triangle brand was the worlds first trademark’ (wikipedia. 2008) as it ‘was the
first trademark to be registered under the Mark Registration Act 1875‘ (wikipedia. 2008), however Lyle’s Golden Syrup
agues that they were in fact the worlds first brand as their ‘stamp’ has remained unchanged since is set up business in
1885. But when did branding first become important to advertising? Branding as an Advertising technique didn’t become
publicised until the early 1900‘s after ‘James Walter Thompson published a house ad explaining trademark
advertising’ (wikipedia. 2008). Within this early demonstration of commercial work, Thompson made it his key point to
give viewers a simple ‘explanation of what we now know as Branding’ (wikipedia. 2008). By doing this he introduced the
world of consumers to a new way of looking at products, prompting companies to adopt slogans-mascots and jingles that
appear on radio and early television. This new way of thinking allowed companies to keep connected with their target
audiences on a more personal scale, enabling brands to direct their resources to those customers with high potential for
sales growth, interest in the product and loyalty. Another way brands keep in close contact with their target markets is by
setting up brand values which are the ‘essence of a brand; expressed usually in a few keywords such as independence
creativity’ (Businessdictionary. 2010). Cultural changes have played a huge part in the way that people look at brands
and in the way brands operate. Web2.0 is no longer ‘a resource for information and transactions, but for interactivity
(skype, instant messaging) and content creation (blogs, YouTube), co-creation (Wikipedia), and collaboration (screen
sharing).’ (Colyer. 2007) The internet is now in many cases rightfully described as ‘the world of second life’ a place
‘where your alter ego can live, work, party, interact, and forge relationships with others online.’ (Colyer. 2007) Brands
have had to become a part of Web2.0 to survive, all major brands and many smaller brands now have websites and

2. online business’s and ‘take advantage, of the whole range of technologies and experiences out there, including the
relationship and networking aspects.‘ (Colyer. 2007) Branding and advertising have gone viral. ‘Web2.0 is great for
conversations, winning influences and ambassadors for the brand though open, honest talk, but it is still just part of the
brand experience.’ (Colyer. 2007) World wide the social networking website Facebook and video search engine Youtube
are the two most visited. Take these two sites as a playing field for numbers of audience attention. Use one simple sum
to do so. Take the 932,000,000,000 page views between them calculated in January 2011’ + the number of branded and
none branded adverts and advertising campaigns that are viewed on these two websites alone and you should be able
to see how much of a geographical impact the changes in Web2.0 have had on brands and their clients.
A target market ‘enables the brand to direct its resources to those customers with high potential for sales growth, interest
in the product and loyalty.’ (Handling. 2010) In an advertising context ‘branding is a marketing discipline which insists that
you define your audience, know your market sector, differentiate yourself, choose a route market that will be both
appropriate to the brand as well as making the brand stand out’. (Leeds Met. 2011) Target markets are one of the most
important factors to any business, brand or advertising campaign as without them they would have nothing to aim their
products at. A target market is the term used to describe the group of consumers that, in this instant, the brand has
aimed their products at. They do this by grouping members of the public together and generalizing them based on
characteristics such as gender, age and status whether it be low class, middle class, student, pensioners, working class
but to name a few. Over the years brands have had to adapt themselves to current situations around the world such as
cultural, economic and social changes resulting in their target audiences changing. Take the world famous make up
brand Max Factor a brand with over 50 years of history surrounding it, in the 1940s their target audience would have
been older women as it was seen as unacceptable for teenage girls to wear make up, however due to cultural changes it
is now quiet the opposite, in todays world, due to the current celebrity culture forced upon us by the media, make up is
practically forced upon teens meaning that Max Factor has had to adapt itself to become more appealing to a younger
generation. Target markets have a huge impact on how brands work and what brands do ‘It’s not what you say it is, it’s
what they say it is’ (Neumeier. 2003 p3). A trade mark is a name given to a brand protected by the law. The brand Coca-
Cola, currently the worlds leading brand in profit value is a widely recognized trademark representing a global brand.
In advertising ‘A BRAND IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE ELEMENTS IN AN ADVERTISING THEME as it is there to
demonstrate what the management can offer to its market.’ (wikipedia. 2008) Brands and advertising agencies lean on
each other as they are both as important to each other as they are to themselves, by this I mean that without the right
marketing and adverting a brand would not get the recognition it needs to succeed and without brands in general
advertisers would have nothing to advertise. The term brand is used when referring to the identity of a specific product or
business, the identity of a brand can take the form of a ‘name, sign, symbol, colour combination or slogan.’ (wikipedia.
2008) However, a brand is not a logo, it is not an identity and it is not a product. ‘A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a
product, service or organization’ (Neumeier. 2003 p2/3) because brands work so closely with their target markets ‘brands

3. are defined by individuals, not companies or markets.’ (Neumeier. 2003 p2) People name brands. Audiences make
brands ‘. ‘Brands distinguish products from one another. Brands sell products. Brands make clients and companies
money. A brands creates a discernible response between itself and its consumer.’ (Neumeier. 2003) Brands gain the trust
of their markets by making promises to them, ‘all brands want brand loyalty it’s the job of the brand to build up a
relationship with the customer to get them to remain loyal and keep them buying’, (Neumeier. 2003) they can often obtain
this through keeping to promises and brand values. Brand values are the essence of a brand for example Adidas’s brand
value is ‘authenticity, inspiration, honesty and commitment‘ (Manning-Schaffel. 2002) these four words are a base for
everything Adidas stands for, making it a trustworthy brand for customers to invest their money in. A brand with negativity
surrounding it is not a trustworthy brand, therefore any negativity needs to be removed from the brands surroundings, for
example take the fashion brand “Dior’ which recently had to dismiss English fashion designer John Galliano from
designing for the brand after evidence came to light about racial remarks made by him about the Jewish religion, as
having him associated with the brand would not work well in Dior’s favor. Jewish Oscar winner Natalie Portman is
currently the face of Dior. Brands are mainly about recognition and to get recognition brands need to gain trust. ‘Branding
has continued to evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company or service’ (wikipedia.
2008) In todays worlds ‘brands are co-opted as powerful symbols in larger debates about economics, social issues and
politics. The power of brands to communicate a complex message quickly and with emotional impact and the ability of
brand to attract media attention, makes them the ideal tool’ (Brandorganisation. 2011) for agencies to use as a means of
creativity. Brands influence our everyday decisions, the choices we make, the foods we eat, the drinks we buy, the cars
we drive, every aspect of our daily lives is influenced by branding and the promises the brands make to us which is why
it is important that the brand can be trusted at all times.
Part 2
Advertising campaigns have always played a huge part in the uprising of the brand Adidas AG, it uses advertising a
means of getting their deep yet relevant messages across to their chosen target audiences. ‘Authenticity, inspiration,
honesty and commitment - are derived from sports‘ (Manning-Schaffel. 2002) values which Adidas has followed since
entering the marketplace over 50 years ago, values that are similar to that of an actual athlete, linking in well with their
original target audience. In 1920 Adi Dassler the founder of Adidas created his first pair of shoes after coming up with
‘the simple yet brilliant idea to provide athletes with the best possible equipment.’ (Adidas. 2010) The Adidas logo
consists of three stripes, originally they were meant to keep the foot in place. Since being formally registered as a brand
in 1949, Adidas AG has managed to developed has worked it’s way up the brand ladder to become ‘the worlds number
two athletics brand’ (Manning-Schaffel. 2002) placing only behind Nike. Although Nike ranks higher in terms of profit
outcomes Adidas comes across as a more loyal, more trustworthy and inspirational brand, which keeps in touch with
their original brand values.

4. Football is the most played sport in the world and makes up a large proportion of Adidas’s business, it has been an
official sponsor of the sport for over fifty years. Adidas has long held a lock on it’s relationships with FIFA, football’s
governing body, for sponsorship of the sports signature events, giving it strength over Nike in this area. In 1954 Dassler
could have possibly single handedly changed the way football was played forever after inventing shoes with screw-in
studs specifically designed for the German national soccer team to help keep their footing. Adidas was in fact the first
brand associated with the sport, allowing it to form well-established business relationships, Business relationships mean
trust, trust means consumers, consumers mean money, money means allowance to spend on major advertising
campaigns.
In 2003 Adidas’ first 3 quarter sales saw a dip of 16%, due to the early recession. Although 16% does not seem much, on
a scale of how much money the brand usually makes yearly this does translate into a significant amount of revenue loss.
Adidas knew that to get their percentage back they needed to re-energize business within the USA. Working along side
Ad agencies 180, Amsterdam and TBWA, San Francisco, Adidas introduced the largest ever advertising campaign
undertaken by the company costing $50 million. The ‘impossible is nothing’ campaign included print and internet ads and
television commercials. Adidas ‘wanted to extend their philosophy of ‘forever sport’ to a personal level by encouraging
everyone to overcome their personal challenges that seem impossible’ (Grincha21. 2009) keeping in touch with their
original brand values. Adidas’s target market is and always has been first and foremost athletes. The brand strapline
impossible is nothing appeals to sports personnel on a deep and meaningful level, It is obvious to everyone that sports
competitors enter competitions for two reasons only, the first being passion for their chosen sport and the second to win.
Adidas want their mantra ‘impossible is nothing’ to stick in peoples heads. The message of the campaign is vitally
important to the brand as they are using it as a platform to re-enforce their brand values onto the public. ‘Adidas wanted
to position itself as the most inspirational sports apparel and athletic footwear brand, the appeal of the message is
universal in that life poses impediments and challenges regardless of profession, age, gender and status. The idea is
that the attempt is worth the effort and Adidas wants to be the shirt or the shoes or the equipment that the consumer has
on when attempting the impossible, regardless of the outcome.’ (Grincha21. 2009) Adidas encouraged their message by
working along side 22 sports icons, with the likes of David Beckham sharing their journeys to success, subtly reminding
us that these top athletes were in fact every day people and that their own impossible dreams have come true.
The target audience of the ‘impossible is nothing’ ‘campaign is 12 - 34 year olds involved in sport’ (Grincha21. 2009),
Adidas have worked well in marketing this campaign to best fit the needs of their market, by frequently increasing the
amount of air time during prime times shows such as ESPN. Resent research gathers that ‘men ages 18-24 spend more
time online than watching television, the same research showed that people like to multi task while watching television.
Adidas took advantage of this to promote themselves online via behind the scenes videos and downloads. ‘On the day
that the Laila Ali commercial featured online there was a 125% increase in the use of the search term ‘Adidas’ on yahoo
home page- with the highest number of views from men ages between 13-17 years,’ (Grincha21. 2009) perfect for the

5. reception they were trying to get from their audience. Although the brand was invented for athletes the brand has picked
up a loyal urban following after signing the ‘first endorsement deal between hip-hop artists and a major
corporation’ (wikipedia. 2008) This deal was so effective that Adidas now has a sub brand ‘Adidas originals’ entirely
devoted to urban clothing. The advertising campaign ‘the street’s where the originality is’ takes a different approach as
they market themselves as a more stylish brand. The urban culture begins to grow as musical styles such as grime and
dubstep make it into the mainstream.
During the recession of 2009 Adidas ‘got a kick in the teeth as it saw earnings slump by 93%’ (Reuters. 2010)
understandably the recession hit many companies and business’s forcing them to close but luckily Adidas had gained
enough loyalty to survive, Adidas aims to save more than £84m from 210 by cutting 1,000 of it’s 39,000 staff this year
and by closing regional offices and potentially some of its stores. Luckier still at the time Adidas was being hit they had a
new line of trainers about to be released. Adidas planed to use the force to fight the recession and battle rivals Puma and
Nike. A limited addition collection of trainers added to the lifestyles sub brand based on the star wars theme “star wars is
about hope’ It embraces the idea that one person can make a difference’ (Roffman, 2010), The lifestyles brand of the
company makes up about 20% of Adidas generating an annual revenue of roughly 10.8 billion euros. Due to the
recession and some of the major brands it has demolished we have all learnt that ‘nobody is immune from the global
downturn, but Adidas seems to be coming out fighting’ (Footasylum). Adidas has a world wide presence in 200 countries.
Although it is not the top sports brand it does however have the largest market share in Europe, the performance of
athletes wearing the brand has giving them a strong reputation in achieving sports performance products.
To conclude I feel that Adidas’s adverting campaigns were incredibly beneficial to keeping the brand alive. Without them
they wouldn’t have been able to reach out to their audience on the personal level that they wanted, they would also have
had a weaker chance of surviving the recession. In light of the current focus on promoting sport and fitness I have no
trouble thinking that Adidas will remain successful for the foreseeable future. ‘Sportsmen and women often speak of the
enormous pride they have in representing their country, a sense of belonging to a wider family. We see this vividly at the
commonwealth games, for example, which is known to many as the friendly games and where I am sure you have
noticed that it is always the competitors from the smallest countries that receive the loudest cheers’. Let them be
cheered, let them achieve everything they want to achieve in life, may their goals be scored and their races be run.
Nothing is impossible. Let it be Adidas.