MEDIA-I: Adidas heads online to ward off rivals in AP

<p>HONG KONG: Adidas is stepping up its new media marketing </p><p>initiatives to gain a stronger foothold in Asia as major designer labels </p><p>attempt to expand into the already-competitive sports apparel </p><p>category. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The sports brand has unveiled its Hong Kong website and is in the </p><p>process of revamping its Taiwan and China sites, which will be </p><p>relaunched in the first quarter of next year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Carmen Chan, new media manager for Asia-Pacific at Adidas, said the </p><p>company was focusing on technology and new media in its marketing in an </p><p>effort to win over the 12 to 25-year old segment, which she said </p><p>comprised Adidas' main target audience. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"We are a sports performance brand first, and secondly we are a fashion </p><p>brand. But fashion is also very important to this age group because </p><p>people who wear our brand want to look good too. Technology also plays a </p><p>key role for us in the type of image we want to present." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Adidas launched a series of online ads to drive traffic to its website, </p><p>www.adidas.com.hk, which was set up to be used as a brand and </p><p>promotional campaign centre. The site was developed by DG </p><p>Interaction. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Optimum Media Direction's interactive manager for Greater China, Jerry </p><p>Yee, said: "We had a budget of only HK$100,000 (US$12,821) </p><p>and got very good results from ads placed on portals like Yahoo, Sina, </p><p>hongkong.com. It was a multi-channel focus and it was outsourced to </p><p>BBDO." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But as fashion and fitness come together in markets like Hong Kong, </p><p>Adidas is facing increased competition not only from sports brands such </p><p>as Nike, which has a longer history on the web, but also from designer </p><p>labels, ranging from DKNY to Gucci. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Chan added: "Since other fashion brands like DKNY are now going into </p><p>sports themes and producing sporty clothes as part of their range, there </p><p>is more competition to be fashionable with sports wear. Our 'original' </p><p>fashion design is very popular. We are also starting to do crossover </p><p>projects with other fashion designers, but at the same time we have to </p><p>maintain our key focus, which is sports. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The website is also looking to build a community for users because we </p><p>want to give them a reason to return to the site. We have introduced </p><p>some key features on the site like newsletters, email and feedback to </p><p>build loyalty. We also use rich media and games to make it more </p><p>attractive." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Chan singled out the site's auction feature as a strong draw, saying </p><p>Adidas would use the feature to auction off limited editions of its </p><p>products. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The aim now is to link our site with offline promotions. You can see </p><p>the Adidas URL on our shopping bags and all advertising. We may consider </p><p>ecommerce at a later stage when the economy improves, but it will depend </p><p>on each market's conditions." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Adidas also plans to roll out sites for Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia </p><p>and its other key markets in the near future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>