Four media shops are in the fight for the US$250 million brief, which is being reviewed on the heels of the German sporting goods firm posting a surprise fourth-quarter loss of £4 million (US$7 million) -- due to the cost of its Reebok takeover, finalised last month.
Both Carat and OMD, which handle the lion's share of adidas and Reebok media globally, were invited to pitch following a pre-qualification process, as were MediaCom and Starcom. MEC, which handles Reebok in some Asia-Pacific markets including mainland China, is not taking part in the review, managed by the UK's Fathom Partners.
An adidas spokesperson told Media: "We are currently seeking cost efficiencies on media planning and buying and the review will help adidas realise these efficiencies due to increased buying power. A single buying group will enable adidas and Reebok to achieve the greatest consumer impact for their media-budgets.
"The increased scale also gives us greater leverage with media-owners, thus delivering greater impact for our global advertising."
Carat, which has worked with adidas globally since 1998, appears to be in a strong position at this early stage. "We expect (Carat) to present a strong pitch to serve both adidas and Reebok," the spokesperson noted.
The first round of presentations from media agencies will take place in London next week. A formal announcement is expected in mid-June, though a decision could be made as early as next month. The winning agency is set to start work on the brand in July.
Adidas' ceative brief remains with TBWA. Meanwhile, no decision has been made on Reebok's creative alignments. "This has yet to be determined as we are still in the process of integration."
Additional reporting by Atifa Hargrave-Silk
