Using Sports as a Key Promotional Vehicle. (Adidas) - Essay Example

? Using Sports as a Key Promotional Vehicle Executive Summary This paper will discuss promotion plan for a business aiming to use sporting as a key promotional vehicle to market sports equipment. Taking Adidas as a case study, this paper will explore how Adidas can use sports to market itself. In the quest for a successful promotion for this business, the marketing plan will develop measurable advertising goal, develop advertising budget and create an advertising theme. The marketing goals will include getting the public’s attention that over the availability of a wide range of Adidas assorted products, getting potential customers to respond, wooing back those customers that the company previously lost and building Adidas brand awareness. Other areas that the marketing plan shall address include choosing a media through which to do the advertisement. Such media could be electronic media, print media or web as an online marketing media. The paper will also discuss developing of an advertisement schedule that will define when and how long the advert is running in case it is a live broadcast. It will also define a clear way through which the plan will be able to measure the effectiveness of the advertisement (Caskey, & Subirana, 2007, p. 670). This paper will also address ways in which to go about the components of strategic marketing plan such as mission, goals, product planning, and marketing information management. It will also analyze and discuss distribution system, pricing, promotion strategies, financing, and issues to do with purchasing. The marketing plan will also address concerns around risk management, actual selling, and internal communication systems for effective management and passing of information. The promotion plan will also discuss other administrative plans such as a timeline for implementing the promotion and appropriate intervals when the promotion will run. In order to achieve all these, the plan will first set mission and vision. Marketing in general presents an opportunity for any business to grow. Additionally, this In fact, how much a business does its marketing plan determines how much the business is going to benefit in terms of sales turnover. The Sports Promotion Plan for Adidas This marketing promotion is all about Adidas and its assorted sports products. Adidas aims at sponsoring Euro 2012 to market itself. To do this, Adidas Company must find out all the stadiums where teams will play. Using Porter’s Generic model, the promotional plan for the sports equipment that Adidas must first consider will be the need to concentrate on cost leadership strategy as put ward by Chowdhury (Chowdhury, 2005, p. 64). Under this model, Adidas will have to set its prices averagely low so that it can earn a share of the market in the short run as it anticipates other competitor such as Fila to respond. The first promotional strategy for Adidas will be to secure the sponsorship in part but as the leading sponsor. This will give Adidas the power to make sure that it has a say on how Euro 2012 is going to engage in advertisement. The most recommendable promotion means in the forthcoming Euro 2012 will be to inside stadium advertisement and television promotion of the event. It will be satisfactory if the business also sponsors referee t-shirts and other sports assortment that there may be, then the business can just maintain its positions as other firms experience decrease in sales (Daniel, 2003, p. 233). Mission and Vision Adidas mission for Euro 2012 is to be the leading supplier for all sports assortments to teams and fans. Its vision is to reach most parts of rural and urban Europe to campaign for increased interests in sports. Adidas is aware that such a campaign will translate into increased demand for its products during the Euro 2012. The post-match period could also be profitable from the new market acquired during the Euro 2012 sponsorship. Other goals for the industry could be making sure that at the back of receipts sold, the front design has Adidas name in the background. The promotional team should consist well-trained personnel who are able to give an idea about how the company will do the sports promotions. Management will use this team to do a follow up on a customer that has shown interest in Adidas promotion (Martin, 2002, p. 45). Adidas promotion team should also build on customer relations with the company customers. Since a satisfied customer a satisfied customer is a returning customer, Adidas should also consider advertising in the sidetracks electronic advertisements with a picture of some of their customers. In order to achieve this, Adidas team should also ensure that it has planned the promotion. Given that a football match goes for 90 minutes, Adidas promotion team may divide the promotion in such a way that Adidas gets like half of the promotion time as other companies share the rest. If there is anything that is going to change with this promotion plan, then the communication should be clear and disseminated in reasonable time. This makes sure that Adidas company promoters maintain their work plan so that they can forecast the future. Another aim that Adidas must have in the promotion is to making provisions for delegated duty. The Euro 2012 sponsorship and promotional plan should give an outline that depicts how management is going to achieve different tasks at different times of the year for example; Adidas may have to treat the official sponsorship as an advert. This will help reduce on the cost incurred during by sponsoring Euro 2012. Adidas must address measures that will guide on how to outsource, ways and means through which to get a preference like advertising that Euro 2012 is officially sponsored Adidas. By sponsoring Euro 2012, Adidas Company aims at increasing sales and stay ahead in the market. It intends to be the leading sports equipment supplier in the relevant market. To achieve this, Adidas wants to be making sure that in the first six months of coming out as the official sponsor of Euro 2012. It hopes that this will achieve new markets so that it can have the surety of being the number one choice in its regions when it comes to sports equipment supplies. To achieve this, the business focuses on the micro-economy that other similar businesses have never targeted. It aims at dealing one on one with these potential customers like schools, hospitals and regional sporting clubs. By sponsoring Euro 2012, Adidas is optimistic that it will create for itself a name that will see its fame translated to markets. By so doing, this marketing plan will set the playing field clear with what it considers appropriate for a sports business. It intends to make the business change to or adopt such a culture as it starts its operation (Black, 2004, p. 30). This involves doing the other things that other similar business dealing in sports equipment have not been doing. The plan, therefore, recommends that in order to stay ahead, this sports business management do an analysis of the concerned potential competitors before venturing (Beck et al., 2005, p. 21). That by so doing, this business will have a forecast on what to expect the moment other competitor react to any shift in demand. Strengths Adidas will enjoy, as a company in the starting period, will give it an edge over its competitors by having in control a massively watched game. It will do this by reaching customers with the products so that customers get relieved from other expenses involved when having to go look for the products themselves. For instance, Adidas Company may also the use of Porters Generic Strategies to analyze the industry force and respond appropriately. For instance, Adidas Company may also consider differentiation in its marketing plan. This kind of marketing strategy will help the company to stay ahead of others given that it offers exceptionally many choices of the same product to choose from (Dimofte et al., 2004, p. 14). It may also consider giving brochure about what it does at the entrance of every stadium. Customers have the habit of comparing products they intend to buy. There are small things that influence their decision to buy or not to buy. It is manipulation of these things that Adidas should give focus. Doing so enables Adidas to implement of a catching promotional strategy to become such a success in a way that no one can imagine. The promotional strategy of using sidetrack electronic billboards also enables analysis of the weakness of the sporting business or potential weaknesses as its own threat. The rather obvious weakness that many businesses have never known do exist in them is time management when it comes to electronic media advertisement. Adidas should, therefore, not compromise on the quality of the product it intends to sell and supply if it intends to continue being the leader even in the end. Building a strong rapport with its customers especially on reliability is a marketing tool for a business. Each time a business’ customers talk positively about any product they have, they market the business without knowing. They also maintain the market since they are going to come back next time. Anything that may bring weakness for Adidas requires an approach in such a manner that management can convert the weakness into an opportunity instead of a liability. Very many business opt to eliminate the weakness, which works, but the business can double benefit if it were to convert the noticed weakness into opportunity. In fact, any weakness in a business is the strength against which it will prosper when faced with challenges. Adidas may also use the promotional plan to as a test approach on its interpretation of how it intends to engage in the market share cautiously. Adidas will explore other advertising mix to assess the manner in which it is to develop its preferences, distribution channels, and how much voice it has in the market (Bensebaa, 2004, p. 286)To achieve this, the promotion strategy Adidas uses will enable it have a clear picture on how to determine its market prices. If the promotion creates a high demand for Adidas products, the company may exploit this by having slightly higher prices that will enable it maximize profits. Adidas may opt to use Porters Generic Model to market its products. Y having a clear analysis, understanding of how the five-force factor interplay to determine the risks involved, and forces of the market, Adidas will be in a position to manipulate the market to its ultimate benefit. This will also enable the business to grab the market in the short run before other competitors decide on counter measures to claim a portion of the market share. For the Porters Generic Model to be a success, the plan again Adidas will have to carry out an analysis of in trends and behaviors of customers in relation to sales and supplies (Nicholls, 1997, 196). This will put Adidas Company in a position to be able to assess the demand patterns for the product across the year (Ardila, 2005, p. 174). With such information, the Adidas will be able to interpret how elastic or inelastic the demand for its products and use its Euro 2012 sponsorship strategy to supply the market appropriately. It will do Adidas good to determine whether a change in price can cause a significant shift in demand in the proportion that can be profitable for the company. If not then the promotion strategy highly recommends that price strategy may not be the best way forward even if by Adidas has gained some grounds by sponsoring the widely watched Euro 2012. The remaining alternatives to take on such scenarios would be product oriented or promotional oriented (Jones, 2004, p. 368). In this strategy, Adidas may have to give a sample of let us say Jersey t-shirts to the first few buyers every day at a particular time to further market itself. It may develop a catching advert that demonstrates this and perhaps accompany it with a slogan. The slogan could be something like. “It only happens in Adidas shops.” For Adidas to succeed with this kind of approach, there is a need to address the marketing mix that Adidas will adopt in its marketing strategies. Adidas will have to change the product so that it will eventually succeed in being what the customers require. When it happens so, one can say that the product is one that meets customers’ needs. This kind of marketing mix will incorporate improving the product through differentiation and improving on its quality as earlier mentioned (EID, 2005, p. 268). Distribution channels will also play a vital role for Adidas after sponsoring Euro 2012. The sport company should put measures in place that help in making product deliveries to their final consumers remarkably easy. Given that Adidas plans to increase its supply in the market, then it has to make sure that it has increased its distribution channels to match the new volume of supplies. This is the only way through which it will exploit the, market effectively. As a business, Adidas may have enough products to supply but if the products cannot reach the market in proper time, then it does it no good. This is because it will forever have some goods in store that customers demand somewhere and dispose of them profitably. Marketing the products through other media advertising such as television presents an convenient way in which to make potential customers and old customers know the newly differentiated products. For a sport advertisement, Adidas may also use media such as television advertising, billboards, online or even print advertisement to cover the whole theme of its adverts in a way that also blends in the advertisement of Euro 2012 games. Televised advertisements especially just before prime news have a guarantee of having greater impacts than an advert that is coming after news. The promotion strategy that Adidas may use to markets its products may also include televised adverts that come between pauses in popular programs so that they can reach a wider audience. Another media Adidas may use for sports business is the use of billboards at strategic places like close to institutions or just within sight of target customers. This has an advantage of presenting in pictorial a self-explanatory advert with pictures. Other business psychologists have observed that billboards stir desires since they leave the onlookers or potential customers to have their own imaginations about the product in addition to the information it conveys (Vives, 2005, p. 632). Market Segmentation The target group that Adidas is concerned with is usually teenagers aged between 12 years to 17 years old and the youth aged between 18 years old to 28 years old. This does not lock out other age brackets since interest for sports even by participation has transcended the age. These categories of customers include all school going kids in junior and senior classes as well as colleges. This target market is so wide that it may be difficult at the conception stages of the promotion for Adidas to monopolize or command a bigger market share. This is a time in one’s development when the drive for sports is extraordinarily high. It, nevertheless, will benefit by focusing on each segments specific needs. Apart from just analyzing the market share for eventual entry, Adidas should also take precaution about potential risks. Market analysts strongly recommend against price war unless the business is just so sure about how to deal with any eventuality arising from such competitions. Analysts have observed that for a firm that is moving towards its production capacity, provoking a price war may see other stakeholders also respond with similar measures so that they can survive the onslaught. Consequences of such competition may mean heavy losses in the short run. Therefore, Adidas should explore and assess the possibilities of such eventualities before triggering such a time bomb. Such consequences also include overall reduction in profits however much it has an edge over other competitors. In terms of gender, there is not very much difference especially when it comes to jerseys except for the collar. Many males would avoid the V-shaped collar jerseys while on the other hand; females are just okay with the round neck jerseys. With such an implication, Adidas should avoid stocking many of V-collared jerseys and concentrate on providing the popularly demanded round necks. In terms of footwear, many shoes are unisex though females have always preferred bright colors. This target market represents a segment, which, by policy, will always have to engage in sports. By some extension, Adidas’ may also market itself to educational institutions in which this group of consumers goes. A deal with the administration to tender for door-to-door services to these institutions may also boost sales instead of restricting the business operations and marketing to direct consumers. The driver for this segment is that it is more assuring than the rest when one secure a contract. This is because the nature of sports equipment is subject to wear and tear and there is going to be recurrent demand for new equipment. The decision process is one such that customer’s desires for certain products become easy to meet. Adidas Company should, therefore, allow customers to decide their preference in terms of sizes, color and brands. This way, the business meets all customers’ tastes and preferences. For the sports business to flourish, Adidas will have to understand various market positioning strategies that her competitors employ. For instance, Adidas may opt to assess whether its competitors use monosegment positioning. Under this strategy of market positioning, the competitors will emphasize concentration on one product and supply it massively to identified consumers. The competitors may have to heavily differentiate their product and tailor them to meet the specific needs of the customers. Alternatively, they may employ multisegment positioning where it focuses heavily on the overall market supply to meet various needs (Eastlick and Lotz, 2000, p. 149). Other positioning options that is available to then could be imitative or defensive. They may apply any of these with reference to what their main competitor is doing in the market. For Adidas to succeed, it will have to counter such strategies after a thorough analysis of its competitors. It may adopt the same methods or vary them if deemed appropriate. To succeed, Adidas should also assess the strengths of its competitors in terms of what portion of the market they are commanding and what gives them that power. It can assess the competitors’ prices or quality of goods supplied so that it can have a clear picture of what is happening behind the business curtains. It will be prudent for Adidas to analyze the delivery channel employed by its competitors. A well-organized and efficient delivery channel and services are core elements of supplies, which in turn is the driver for sales. If at all the competitor has shown some weakness, then it is such weaknesses that Adidas Company should exploit by improving on them. Market share analysis of the competitor may be difficult to assess if it is not price based. In order to spread risks, Adidas business may opt to explore options of collaborations with other stakeholders in the market so that it may be able to expensive stiff neck competitions. The company may approach this option through a consideration for a subsidiary. It may also explore other options such as jointly entering into ventures of doing finishes to stadiums where the Euro 2012 is going to take place. They may do this by doing sports labels on the seats on one end, or sponsoring field emergency vehicles with their labels and slogans. For supplies, Adidas and another less rival company may even harmonize their distribution channel. This appears like security or survival tactics in the event that no single business is in a position to be the market leader and they deem competition among them unnecessary or expensive. This will also give Adidas an edge by working in such partnerships during the Euro 2012 season. Using Porters five forces model for industry analysis, the market climate or business climate is one that has all the challenges that a normal business brings. The forces expected to take interact in this business environment include those that are suppliers’ and buyer’ power, the menace that new businesses bring into the market as they enter and the perceived or actual threats that marketers associate with substitute products available depending on how the forces of demand and supply interact (Cullen, & Webster, 2007, p. 210). Adidas, therefore, has to use its sponsorship of the event as its supplier power after effective marketing trough sports pages, stadium billboards, highway billboards and televised media. Analysis of its buyer’s powers will enable it to stay ahead of new entrants by allowing forces of demands and supply to first interact before opting to respond by taking any measure that may be price based. Adidas Company also ought to remain vigilant and adhere to rules and regulations that govern their operations (Hoernig, 2005, p. 13). Should legal changes occur, then the business should have in place options to respond to the changes. This could be in the form of mergers or takeovers (Daniel & Wilson, 2004, p. 350 and Vives, 2005, p. 349). Besides, Adidas can also use new technology to market itself using sports. It can create a website where free replays of concluded matches are available. As the game continues, it can have short pauses of commercial adverts at 15 minutes intervals. Adidas may again consider developing that kind of Euro 2012 replays site as part of its advert costs. SWOT Analysis Factors within the company such as decision making, leadership, relationships between employees and management and motivational strategies define strengths and weaknesses of a business. For the sports business to be strong, the management should give focus to employee motivation. Well-motivated employees will always to their best and increase production than poorly motivated ones (Larson, 2002, p. 230). Management can use several tools such as team building or supervision to enhance production. In the plan should also be effective and sociable leadership with whom workers identify. Adidas should manipulate these variables to its advantage as its core strength. Using Macgregor’s Y-theory of motivation, effective leadership in the business will be able to interact with the work force and identify the weakness of the business for appropriate action (Leverin & Liljander, 2006, p.250). The strength factors may affect negatively as weaknesses if Adidas fails to address them. Opportunities available for Adidas are wide markets in the post Euro 2012 period. Reaching many people now during the sponsorship event is an investment for a future of increased sales and profits. Nevertheless, Adidas may still have to deal with threats from other Companies such as Nike and Fila that may also have an interest in the games. Because of this, Adidas has to make a strong proposal that will put off such competitors. Such proposal should also be strategic and appealing. Possible Alternatives for Marketing Strategy In the event that the earlier stated strategies do not successfully market Adidas as planned and executed, the following are additional strategies that can be included in marketing. Adidas may sponsor a sporting event in which it may distribute branded t-shirts as part of its marketing strategy. It may also engage in social responsibility like organizing walk in which the firm directs funds raised to an identified community project. During this time, it may strategically distribute different samples of branded sports shoes and or t-shirts. This will be a double gain since the company will achieve two goals in one project: promotion and corporate social responsibility. Another possible alternative for marketing that is a product based involve re-packaging of its products. Change if tactics especially in advertising may also be an alternative. For instance, an advert should not run more than six months if it does not create demand as expected. It will be logical that Adidas shoots another advert. Intervals of reviews can be every four weeks so that Adidas can keep a track of all trends. Measuring the effectiveness of the advert will be bases of how much sales the advert has stimulated. A continuous assessment of Adidas’ financial position may also give direction the way forward with the sports promotion. The plan should, therefore, indicate ratios of assets and liabilities allowed. Beyond that, a corrective action may be necessary (Luna, & Peracchio, 2005, 760). Conclusion As can be seen, using sports to market a company that deals in sports equipment is an all-inclusive layout that addresses aspects of managing promotion just like any other. The step by step procedures on what to do where, when and how is like a foundation on which the strength of a business lies. The most valuable thing is to scan the environment and determine the right strategy at each season of the year. All businesses are apparently facing similar challenges. Some succumb to the challenges while others survive. The strategy a firm employs is what matters. Bibliography Ardila, A., 2005. Spanglish: An Anglicized Spanish Dialect. Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27, 60-81. Beck, R., Wigand, R. T. & Konig, W., 2005. Integration of E-Commerce by SMEs in the Manufacturing Sector: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach. Journal of Global Information Management, 13, 20-33. Bensebaa, F., 2004. The impact of strategic actions on the reputation building of e-businesses. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 32, 286 - 301. Black, G., 2004. The Impact of the English Language on Cross-Cultural Consumer Research in Asia and Latin America. Asian Pacific of Marketing and Logistics, 16, 3-35. Caskey, K. & Subirana, B., 2007. Supporting SME e-commerce migration through blended e- learning Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 14, 670 – 688. Chowdhury, P.R., 2005. Bertrand-Edgeworth Duopoly with Linear Costs: A Tale of Two Paradoxes, Economics Letters, 88: 61-65 Cullen, A. J. & Webster, M., 2007. A model of B2B e-commerce, based on connectivity and purpose International Journal of Operations & Production Management 27, 205 - 225. Daniel, E., 2003. An exploration of the inside-out model: e-commerce integration in UK SMEs. Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, 10, 233-205. Daniel, E. & Wilson, H. N., 2004. Action research in turbulent environments: An example in ecommerce prioritization. European Journal of Marketing 38, 355 - 377. Dimofte, C., Forehand, M. and Deshpande, R., 2004. Ad Schema Incongruity ad Elicitor of Ethnic Self-Awareness and Differential Advertising Response. Journal of Advertising, 32, 7-17. Eastlick A.M, Lotz L.S., 2000. Objective and multidimensional acculturation measures: implications for retailing to Hispanic consumers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 7: 149-160. EID, R., 2005. International internet marketing: A triangulation study of drivers and barriers in the businessto- business context in the United Kingdom. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 23, 266-280. Hoernig, S., 2005. Bertrand Equilibria and Sharing rules, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 4972. Jones, C., 2004. An alternative view of small firm adaptation Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development 11, 362 - 370. Larson, M., 2002. Race and Interracial Relationships in Children’s Television Commercials. The Howard Journal of Communications, 13, 223-235. Leverin, A. & Liljander, V., 2006. Does relationship marketing improve customer relationship satisfaction and loyalty? International Journal of Bank Marketing 24, 232 - 251. Luna, D. & Peracchio, L., 2005. Advertising to Bilingual consumers: The Impact of Code- Switching on Persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 31, 760-765. Martin, S., 2002, Advanced Industrial Economics, 2nd edition, Oxford: Blackwell. Nicholls, J., 1997. Time and Companionship: Key Factors in Hispanic Shopping Behavior. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14, 194-205. Vives, X., 2005, Complementarities and Games: New Developments, Journal of Economic Literature, 43: 437-479. Vives, X., 2005. Games with Strategic Complementarities: New Applications to Industrial Organization, International Journal of Industrial Organization, 23: 625-637. Read More