Blog Post 8: Consumer Behavior

Adidas is a sportswear brand that has been a prevailing trend in our current generation.

The competition with other sportswear like Nike, Reebox and Pump has swing Adidas on and off with its trend, but there is still a ton of people who wear and support Adidas. Without a doubt Adidas comes to your mind when someone mentions the word “sportswear.” Adidas market towards an ambitious and tough audience that enjoys working hard. Their slogan is “Impossible is nothing,” which brings the audience into believing themselves and having self-confidence. Adidas is not a brand that is going anywhere soon, but with the increasing production of shoe and clothes series from Nikes to New Balance; Adidas had become sideline sports brand. This does not necessarily mean Adidas is not popular (it’ll always be a top brand), it simply means that Adidas seems to be lacking in promotions and needs to bring forth modern and fresh concepts to the table.

This being said some might see Adidas is lacking in promotions and ideas but in fact their inability to bring forth fast and new innovation has been their strength all along. With the recent trend of “Back to the Basics” and the whole “throw back…” culture, Adidas has was gaining back their popularity through their classic kicks that were a hit back in the 80s and 90s. Adidas recently restocked their shelves with the vintage shell-toed Superstar sneakers. This pair is the recreation and innovation of the original shoe that came out in 1960s. Although, this Superstar footwear has just been newly released, its popularity has not skyrocketed as much as it has in Asia. Every teen and young adult has a pair of these Superstar sneakers in Asia. It’s the fashion trend and it does not seem to be dying any time soon. Celebrities endorse them on stage, at fashion events and in paparazzi snapshots. This current trend has become so big in Asia that people would go out of their way to buy a pair of knockoff if it was not possible to get an original pair. This idea of bringing back these original sneakers was extremely smart. They target our generation through indirect nostalgic emotions, which is fairly big trend at the moment. They were able use what the audience enjoys most and bring it back to life. 

Not only through the use of social media, but iconic figures play a big role in this endorsement. What could motivate a consumer to wait in line for anything? The answer is a celebrity. We have celebrities like David Beckham, Pharrell, Damian Lillard and Rita Ora who are promoting this returning series. These four celebrities might deem an odd combination, but in fact it was a smart choice. None of these celebrities are the same nor do they have the same audience, which means that Adidas will have gain a more diverse group of consumer through these iconic figures. Adidas has been improving and they will continue to run as sportswear trendsetter for a long time.