Adidas vs Nike
Over the years, Nike and Adidas have become two of the biggest companies in terms of sports players endorsements. Both companies have many sponsors; Nike having more sponsors within the United States and Adidas having more sponsors worldwide, especially Europe. It is always a battle between these two companies. In the financial battle right now, Nike is on top, but Adidas is a close second. The American sportswear giant has overtaken Germany's Adidas as the market leader for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Nike now supplies shirts for 26 fútbol clubs compared with Adidas who only supplies 18 clubs. However; Adidas started to make a comeback and signed two of Nike's biggest clients. In 2015 a £750m 10-year deal with Manchester United was put into place and then a 140m-euro (£112m) deal with Italian champions Juventus stared around 2015-16.
With regards to the World Cup, ever since 1970, when adidas became a FIFA partner and an official sponsor to the World Cup, it has grown into a leading, worldwide soccer-apparel company. However, Nike has persistently been trying to change that for the last 20 years. Nike has attempted to replace adidas as the world’s leading brand for soccer gear worldwide, drawing people in to see which company will come out on top. Now, billions of people pay close attention to every World Cup, every sponsorship of national teams, every sponsorship of world-class players, and the execution of each of their marketing plans…just to see how Adidas and Nike will try to establish themselves as the best soccer-apparel company in the world next.
Every person has their own reasoning behind whether they prefer Nike over Adidas, just as everyone has their own reasoning for choosing one sports team over another. There are many factors that go into which company have the better sports endorsements like social media presence, number of endorsements, who the endorsements are with, and of course the economical aspect of the companies. So which company is the superior company as a whole: Nike or Adidas?
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-28791088
https://venngage.com/blog/world-cup-branding/
This post grabbed my attention especially because I have recently been wondering how Adidas compared to Nike. I used to always think Nike was the superior company but after coming abroad, I have become aware that that is not necessarily the case. My belief, then, goes hand in hand with the idea that Nike has a bigger presence in the U.S and Adidas has a bigger presence worldwide that you mentioned in your article.
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy that Adidas was able to recently sign and steal some of Nike's biggest clients. Do you know what prompted that turn over? -Jackie
Hey Jackie! I'm not exactly sure what prompted the turnover, but in looking at it from my own personal experience, I think it's because Adidas has put in work over the last one/two years to partner with some of the biggest names in every industry, while Nike has seemingly plateaued in marketing. I'm constantly seeing new ads that associate 'coolness' with Adidas, but haven't seen the same efforts from Nike.
DeleteI have always thought that Nike is superior to Adidas, but that must be because of my American perspective. As mentioned in the previous comment, I did not know how popular Adidas is until I came to Europe for study abroad. Many Europeans wear Adidas, more so than Nike. It is going to be interesting to see these two companies battle for sponsorships, especially in the football world. It is also interesting that Adidas was able to steal two of Nike’s biggest clients, especially considering that Nike is better off financially. What clients have Nike stolen from Adidas?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that being abroad has really made me realize the hold that Adidas really does have on the market. I think in terms of clients stolen, (https://www.thestar.com.my/sport/other-sport/2014/08/08/analysis--adidas-marketing-push-an-uphill-battle-against-cool-nike/) you should read that article to better understand how Nike did it. The article is from 2014 and emphasizes Nike's ability to seem more cool, which is honestly exactly how I think Adidas positioned itself to win teams back. In 2018, they tried really hard to be even cooler, which definitely paid off in the long run.
DeleteThis blog post caught my attention because when thinking of competing brands like Coke vs Pepsi and Dunkin vs Starbucks, these two always come to mind. These two companies have always been fighting to be the front runner of the sports-wear industry. However, recently there is a little more to it. It has become more and more popular for people to make their lounge wear trendy, and the adidas logo has become a sign of fashion for this trend. When I am shopping at a popular store like Urban Outfitters, I see Adidas sweatshirts, sweatpants and sneakers every time I walk in, but no Nike in sight. You posed the question of which company is superior "overall," so this new use for Adidas's brand must be included. Do you think that this view of Adidas will transfer over to more popularity for the company on the sports field? I found a quote in an article on CNN business (link below) that states "having the Kardashians wear your shoes helps." However, do you think professional athletes want to be rocking the same gear as the Kardashians?
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I think there's been a battle of athletic wear for as long as we can remember, but I think what took Adidas to the next level was their emphasis on streetwear. Nike is still great for performance, but sometimes lacks in looks and fashion. Adidas balances both very well. In terms of your Kardashian comment, I don't think things like that hurt Adidas because while it's hard to totally differentiate your athletic campaigns from your streetwear campaigns, they do a good job at partnering with some of the biggest names in both areas. Check out this ad as an example of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCUqtR72baQ
Delete- Darby
ReplyDeleteThis is a very thought-provoking blog. Before I came to Barcelona to study abroad, if you had asked me this question I would have probably said Nike. But now that I am starting to see how big Adidas is overseas, I am starting to change my opinion about what company is better. It is known that Nike financially is the better company and probably more recognizable, but I think when you consider more factors such as quality of products, global market outreach, and brand loyalty, I think Adidas starts to take the cake. I have gotten a lot more into Adidas and its clothing over the past three years or so, as I have noticed a lot of my peers in America have as well. I think brand loyalty towards Nike has gone down, as it seems they have lost their innovation for design and the quality of their products seems to have been on a decline. Adidas on the other hand, has seemed to reach deeper and deeper into American markets and their clothes have become extremely fashionable. If I had to choose, I would say Adidas is the better all-around company, but Nike still holds to the trophy as far as finances go.
ReplyDelete-Bill Porter
Finances will quickly follow trends though. While Adidas and Nike still compete pretty evenly in terms of athletes and sports clubs, with regard to fashion, Adidas wins hands down. To wear Adidas is cool, while to wear Nike is practical. If you asked someone if they'd rather be cool or practical, 9 out of 10 people would say cool, especially because Adidas is also still pretty practical. Their global market outreach is outstanding and I believe with the people they partner with (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCUqtR72baQ) they will continue to grow even more.
DeleteI’ve always loved Nike. So much so that I won’t even put on a pair of adidas. I actually do not own one article of clothing or anything from adidas and I don’t think I will. My image of Adidas is the adidas jumpsuit that celebrities like Snoop Dogg would wear on stage. It is interesting that adidas has made a huge push into the street wear industry inside the United States. Getting Kanye West to Adidas was huge and has become a massively large trend. This focus on signing artist and musicians instead of just athletes seems to really be paying off for Adidas.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Stuardi
I think this association with the music industry has paid off a lot in terms of streetwear, but Adidas still is a huge sportswear and gear company. Not only is it trendy, but it has great practicality and utility, which I think is the edge it has over Nike is both categories.
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