Adidas & Puma
Originally these two sports giants were one company run by two siblings. However, things did not stay in the family, and now we have two of the biggest sporting brands pitted against each other. As of 2022, it was reported that Adidas’ net income was over two billion euros, while Puma’s net income amounted to roughly 117 million euros (Statista, 2023). The top dog in this scenario is clearly Adidas by a landslide, let’s take a look at their marketing strategies to see how they managed this impressive lead over Puma while we also discuss a few ways that Puma can try to improve their marketing.
Marketing Strategies
Adidas focuses its marketing efforts on five different categories, they are: sponsorship of events and athletes, influencer marketing, product innovation and design, digital marketing and e-commerce, and consumer engagement and loyalty (Zhu, 2021). Specifically, they focus their marketing efforts on individuals that fit into their demographics of 56.29% male and 43.7% female (Team The Brand Hopper, 2023). By creating content that appeals to males over females, Adidas ensures that the audience sees the content it is expecting. While both Adidas and Puma focus on Sports, Adidas also targets fashion and other personal goods and services. By incorporating women and their interests into the marketing plans, Adidas is able to promote more variety in their offerings which gives them an edge over Puma.
Benefits of Expanding Marketing with Demographics
While Puma does offer athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories, they have a more focused market in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, and Germany (PUMA Staff, 2023). Additionally, they focus their marketing on geographic and psychographic strategies to promote their products (PUMA Staff, 2023). Where Adidas is more about demographics specifically, this broader approach does allow Puma to understand customers’ ever-changing needs directly, but they could stand to learn a thing about also targeting demographics. If Puma were to also incorporate demographics into their marketing mix, they could target individuals who are interested in Adidas but perhaps would like more exclusivity of Pumas. Another benefit Puma could see from adding a more demographic-targeted marketing campaign is that they could encourage consumers to purchase products from their Golf, Football, Running and Training, Golf, Motorsport, and Sportstyle lines (PUMA Staff, 2023). Knowing the lifestyle preferences of the target audience along with relevant marketing will help Puma implement a marketing strategy that incorporates the demographics, geographics, and psychographics strategies (Kardes et al., 2014).
Puma Product Availability to Consumers
Because 77% of Puma’s products are sold via wholesale, retail outlets, and eCommerce stores, they do not have the same level of control and personalization that Adidas does (DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY, 2018). If Puma were to open a few retail shops where their products were sold exclusively, as Adidas has, they would be able to control the consumers’ expectations, experience and also offer a more personalized shopping experience which would help them create individuals who have the potential to become brand loyal (Kardes et al., 2014). As of July 26, 2023, Adidas has 183 retail stores in the United States, while Puma has zero; if Puma were to invest in a physical location they could promote new products, host events, and also create an atmosphere that is a destination for those interested in quality sporting footwear and accessories (ScrapeHero, 2023). When considering whether to purchase Adidas or Pumas it can be assumed that most consumers want to physically experience the product and since Puma does not have an exclusive retail shop it is hard to promote their product over other offerings. If a consumer is in a sporting goods store they may go for the more notable name and since Adidas has a strong physical presence in the Untied States, it is safe to assume that most consumers would purchase them over Pumas.
Consider Physical Integrations to Grow Consumer Base
Another way in which Puma might be able to increase their sales and help gain an advantage over Adidas would be if they took their slogan of ‘Forever Faster’ and applied it to a social media campaign that encouraged individuals to share their fastest times on various sporting trails (Interview With Adam Petrick | PUMA Annual Report 2022, 2023). This would be a great way to encourage brand engagement, raise awareness, and also promote a positive impact on individuals who are sports fans. Specifically, this marketing campaign would promote their products while also allowing individuals across the world to see what others consider their ‘fastest times’ which would encourage a healthy sense of community and competition. Since Puma is a sports brand, this could also be a targeted limited-time campaign where they give away products or offer celebrity meet and greets.
These three suggestions to help Puma gain an upper hand over Adidas the suggestion that I feel is the most impactful is the physical store. Even if they opted to do pop-up shops or showcase new products as sporting events, I believe that they are not selling as much as Adidas because people are unable to try the products before they buy and this gives many of us pause. Physically seeing the shoes you are about to purchase makes a bit of difference. You can’t try on a shoe you see online, you can only look at the specs and hope for the best. This is a big negative in my mind and the biggest reason why Puma is behind Adidas as a sporting brand.
References
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY. (2018). PUMA Annual Report 2017 – Forever Faster PUMA. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://annual-report.puma.com/2017/en/company-overview/distribution/index.html#:~:text=CHANNEL%20MIX,channel%20for%20the%20PUMA%20Group.
Interview with Adam Petrick | PUMA Annual Report 2022. (2023). PUMA Annual Report 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://annual-report.puma.com/2022/en/family-talk/interview-with-adam-petrick/index.html
Kardes, F., Cronley, M., & Cline, T. (2014a). Consumer behavior (2nd ed.). Cengage Learning.
PUMA Staff. (2023). PUMA.com | Forever Faster. PUMA. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://us.puma.com/us/en
ScrapeHero. (2023). Number of Adidas locations in United States. ScrapeHero. https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Adidas-USA/#:~:text=Number%20of%20Adidas%20stores%20in%20the%20United%20States%20in%202023&text=There%20are%20183%20Adidas%20stores,Adidas%20stores%20in%20the%20US.
Statista. (2023, May 3). Adidas & Puma net income 2006-2022 | Statista. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/269601/net-profit-of-adidas-and-puma/#:~:text=In%202022%2C%20adidas%20had%20a,sports%20companies%20in%20the%20world.
Team The Brand Hopper. (2023). Marketing Strategies and Marketing Mix (7Ps) of Adidas. The Brand Hopper. https://thebrandhopper.com/2023/04/24/marketing-strategies-and-marketing-mix-of-adidas/#:~:text=The%20brand’s%20advertising%20campaigns%20feature,connect%20with%20its%20target%20audience.
Zhu, J. (2021). Analysis on Adidas Marketing Strategies in 4P model. Scientific and Social Research, 3(5), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.36922/ssr.v3i5.1204