InSouth Africa, above left, actress Charlize Theron holds the officialmatch ball “Jabulani” during the 2010 World Cup draw on Friday.
Struggling with slow sales this year, German sporting goods maker Adidas Group is betting on its sponsorship of the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament and related new products to give its business a high-flying kick against Nike and other rivals.
The 60-year-old corporation, with 39,000 employees and $16.2 billion in net sales last year, is rolling out a mammoth marketing campaign to capitalize on the soccer championship that will be watched by more than a billion people around the globe.
That global strategy is showing up this weekend in the Portland area, home to Adidas' U.S. headquarters, where retailers set up new Adidas displays.
Based on past marketing battles, expect to see some big guns.
Adidas, Nike and, to a lesser extent, Puma compete fiercely to sponsor major international soccer tournaments and teams and secure endorsements of superstar players.
Last year, Nike paid a reported $64 million a year to grab sponsorship of the French national team from Adidas, for 2011 to 2018. That's four times what Adidas was paying.
In 2007, Adidas went to arbitration to retain sponsorship of the German national team, for which Nike had offered $67 million a year over eight years - five times what Adidas was paying. That same year, Adidas unsuccessfully tried to snatch Brazil's team, reportedly offering $40 million, more than triple what Nike was paying.
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