Business Challenge: How can adidas deepen and maintain the loyalty of today’s generation of Runners against Specialist Running brands (e.g., Brooks, New Balance, ASICs, Hoka) and leading Generalist brand, Nike?
Project Topics
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Growth Strategy
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Marketing
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PR & Communications
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Research & Development
Company Information
Company | Adidas |
HQ | Herzogenaurach, Bavaria |
Revenue | 500,000,000+ |
Employees | 2500+ |
Stage | Large Enterprise |
Hiring Potential | N/A |
Website | https://www.adidas.com/us |
Company Overview
Experiential Learning Program Details
School | Montclair State University |
Engagement Format | Live Case - Think "Hackathon" or Case Competition with a whole class of students! This learning format allows educators to deliver experiential learning to students at scale. Students are often split into groups to work on a live case (or a series of cases) from a real host company that directly relates to key learning objectives. |
Course | MBA Business Consulting (Spring 2021) |
Level |
|
Students Enrolled | 20 (4 groups of 5 students) |
Meeting Day & Time | TBD |
Student Time Commitment | 4-7 Hours Per Week |
Company Time Commitment | 2 Hours |
Duration | 17.57 Weeks |
Program Timeline
Key Project Milestones
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February 28, 2021 - Runner Segment Analysis
Learning Objective:
Profile customer segment, purchase preferences, and brand drivers
Guiding Questions:
- What are the key differences in today’s generation of Runners perception of Generalist Running brands (e.g., adidas, Nike) vs. Specialist Running brands (e.g. New Balance, ASICs, Hoka)?
- [Kate, please provide more definition of “today’s generation” in terms of demographics, etc.]
- Are there differences in the customer journey and buying process for Runners purchasing Specialist Running footwear?
- What are the brand loyalty drivers for the Running community?
Suggested Deliverable:
- Milestone 1 Deliverable Report – Runner segment product preferences, buying behaviors/influencers and brand loyalty drivers. Include Customer Journey maps.
- Requested adidas resources
- Target Customer Profiles, Market Segmentation, Industry Sales data
- Client Meeting – Information Gathering/Clarifications (w/o 22 Feb)
- What are the key differences in today’s generation of Runners perception of Generalist Running brands (e.g., adidas, Nike) vs. Specialist Running brands (e.g. New Balance, ASICs, Hoka)?
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March 22, 2021 - Competitor Assessment
Learning Objective:
Profile leading competitors’ strengths, weaknesses and gaps to be exploited
Required Tactics:
- Conduct In-Depth-Interviews (min of 3) with Runner influencers (coaches, running club leaders, shoe retailers, etc.) to gather additional insights, fill information gaps and validate hypotheses on Runner segment, competitive landscape, etc.
- Conduct a competitive assessment of 3 leading Specialty Running Brands in the US (New Balance, ASICs, Hoka … Kate, please confirm) and develop a SWOT analysis to determine opportunities for adidas to exploit.
- Conduct a SWOT assessment of Nike, the leading US Generalist Running brand, to determine openings for adidas to differentiate its brand and service model with Runners
Suggested Deliverable:
- Milestone 2 Deliverable Report – Competitor assessment of top 3 Specialty Running Brands (New Balance, ASICs, Hoka) and the leading Generalist Running Brand (Nike) – strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for adidas to exploit.
- Requested adidas resources
- Competitive Research & Sales Data, Syndicated Industry Data on Market Trends
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April 5, 2021 - Ideation
Learning Objective:
Drawing on your conclusions in Milestones 1 & 2, Identify ways for adidas to deepen relationships with Runner community, increase sales and brand loyalty.
Guiding Questions:
- What new branding/customer engagement strategies have proved successful in other consumer product categories, and what learnings can be taken from these?
- How can adidas go beyond product with value-added services while still embedding product as a branded consumer experience?
- What could be a disruptive evolution of how Running Footwear brands service & support Running consumers? How would this benefit the brand and the consumer?
Suggested Deliverable:
Milestone 3 Deliverable: Client Presentation (w/o 5 April) – Present top 8-10 ideas, filtering criteria and details on the top 3 ideas to pursue further.
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May 17, 2021 - Final Client Recommendation
Learning Objective:
Articulate recommendation and business rationale
Suggested Deliverable:
Milestone 4 Deliverable: Client Presentation (w/o 17 May) & Report
Report to include:
- Executive Summary (1-2 pages max)
- Problem Statement & Scope of Assignment
- Situational/Competitive Assessment (SWOT’s)
- Options Evaluated (Top 3)
- Recommendation & Business Rationale
- Timelines – highlight milestones, key events
- Budget Required
- Summary/Conclusions
- Works Cited/Referenced
Project Resources
There are no resources currently available
Industry Mentors
There are currently no supervisors assigned.
Academic Mentors
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