I have been working in Product Marketing, Business Unit Football, with the global brand adidas since 2013. My product is the football itself. Everything which defines and shapes this merchandise to the final product goes through me. This includes design, development, production, communication and PR, but also topics such as volume and demand planning, retail pricing, margins and product testing.
Recipe for Football Dreams
In order to make this process more understandable, I would like to take you on a journey which will end on the 26th of May 2018 in Kiev. There, on the green grass of the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, the adidas Champions League ball of the 2017/2018 season will be the tool used for the final game of the most coveted trophy in European club football. And it has its beginnings on my desk. As soon as the final venue for such an event has been decided upon, the adidas design team starts to collect inspiration. The culture of the city as well as the corporate identity of UEFA, the stakeholder of the league, play an important role. Nevertheless, one cannot omit the creative direction of the adidas brand. All these ingredients eventually build the mix with which football dreams are made.
Once a design has been decided upon by all internal team members, the testing phase starts. Ideally, professional football players approve the ball in order to assure the Swiss-based federation of 360° impeccable performance. After all, no one wants to lose face on the biggest football stage: neither adidas, nor UEFA. Therefore, testing is essential. After several prototypes and adaptions, the Champions League ball evolves into a finished product.
From the Idea to the Product
Backstage, planning runs simultaneously: How many balls do we want to sell? Which markets are the most relevant? Which price points need to be covered? Which are the most important key accounts? Who gets a chance to see the ball first? When do we launch which ball in order to guarantee the biggest business impact and avoid cannibalization amongst our offers? Is our range built in such a way that the consumer understands it? Is the storytelling clear and logical? Answers to these questions build the foundation for any successful product, and need to be found early on.
Take a Broader View
Solutions can be based on the team’s experience on one hand, on the other it is always wise to search for new approaches outside of the ‘adidas’-box. Therefore, my studies were the perfect supplement. Leadership and Communication Skills help me steer my cross functional team towards one goal and diffuse potential conflicts of interest. Applied Global Strategy and Marketing are helpful when answering questions regarding business impact and market relevance. Also Risk Management plays a role in the day to day planning business which is initiated 18 months before it sees the light of day in retail.
Always ahead of the Game
All these points have now been crossed off my team’s adidas Champions League Finale in Kiev Ball to-do-list. We are now off to new horizons, such as the fall/winter 2019 collection, which we will begin to brief soon. How will we surprise our consumers then? What will we have in store? Which stories will we tell? And what about the Champions League ball for next year? Stay tuned!
Anika Kennaugh
MBA 2017