¶ … Australian Financial Review 2-5-06 illustrates the value of developing and defending a brand.

Adidas has built its brand over the course of decades, and this includes the distinctive three stripe logo that it emblazons on most of its items. The company views repetition of the brand at high-profile sporting events as critical to keeping the brand in the mind of the consumer, but also in creating positive associations with the brand. The company endorses athletes specifically to associate the brand with athlete, and in doing so transfers positive attributes of the athlete to the brand.

The World Cup is high profile event, and Adidas expends a considerable sum of money to ensure that its brand is well-positioned at the event. This allows the company to saturate the event, bringing its brand to billions of people watching the event. It is important that when any consumer sees a logo with three stripes, that the logo be directly attributed to Adidas.

Defending a brand is an essential component of brand management. If other companies use similar brands or images, then the products of those companies can become conflated in the mind of the consumer. Adidas with its huge marketing budget needs to ensure that the money it spends on marketing goes to benefit Adidas. Therefore, the company needs to aggressively pursue legal action against companies to ensure that the integrity of its brand is maintained.

A high profile event like the World Cup can provide a platform for an athletic wear company, so that company must move aggressively to ensure that no other company steals the spotlight for which it has rightfully paid. This approach is necessary as well because of the lack of protection for intellectual property in some countries.

This article also illustrates the concept of expansion by acquisition. In order to bolster its presence in North America, the largest market for athletic apparel, Adidas purchased Reebok. The company can retain the brand it has purchased, or utilize the acquisition's distribution channels and market share for its own advantage. The strength of the acquired brand will in part dictate this decision. It should be remembered in such situations that the specific products acquired are less important than the brand itself, which will be applied to a wide range of goods.

Works Cited:

Marinovich, S. (2006). Adidas puts boot in to protect hard-earned stripes. Australian Financial Review. 2-5-06, p.61