Adidas have pretty much thrown the kitchen sink at Euro 2008 and their marketing strategy looks to have paid off handsomely.
The German brand seems to have covered every base, from a touring car transporter laden with 16 oversized football boots, brand new ‘country by country’ versions of the F50 TUNiT, a 42 metre supersized Petr Cech grafted on to a ferris wheel in Vienna and 11 giant players, such as Robin Van Persie, Michael Ballack and David Villa greeting travellers at Zurich station.
It won’t have come cheap but today, the company reported that sales of football boots and other football related products were 50% higher than at Euro 2004 and also in excess of the figures for the 2006 World Cup which was hosted in their home nation of Germany.
In addition, Adidas claims to have expanded it’s global leadership position in football and it’s market share now stands at an impressive 40%, 2% up on 2006. In it’s core markets of Germany and North America, that market share climbs to over 50%.
Speaking at the compnay’s Euro 2008 base in Vienna, CEO and chairman Herbert Hainer said “For Adidas, Euro 2008 has already proven to be a great success. We have succeeded in carrying on the momentum of the World Cup which took place in our home country and further expanding our market leadership position in the global football business. This means – to use a sporting analogy – we have not only made it through to the next round, we are already a clear European Championship winner.”
As Official Sponsor, Supplier and Licensee of Euro 2008, Adidas supplies the Official Ball of the tournament, the Europass, and equips officials, referees, volunteers and ball boys. Additionally, Adidas outfits the national teams of Germany, France, Spain, Romania and defending (and departing) champions Greece as well as over 100 individual players including the likes of German captain Michael Ballack, a scorer in last night’s win over Austria, the tournaments leading scorer David Villa of Spain and Arjen Robben of Holland.
Although the company hasn’t released specific sales figures, it’s understood that in comparison to the 2006 World Cup year, global sales of football boots and other football products are up at double-digit percentage rate.
“For over 50 years, Adidas has played a major role in all significant football product innovations. This gives us a degree of credibility that no other brand can claim. Fans and footballers on every level know that we live for football, and that they can rely on our products,” Herbert Hainer added.
It’s clear that the kitchen sink approach has certainly worked for Adidas at this tournament, and it’s probably only a matter of time before they brand that up too!
I’m interested in citing this article in my paper. Can the admin pls reveal the write name and publishing date of this article? Really appreciate that!
This was posted during Euro 2008 tournament – so its over a year old now.