Culture first: how adidas turns cultural relevance into growth

00:00:00: Inside Fashion Marketing, a podcast by Zalando Partner Marketing Services shaping love

00:00:06: brands

00:00:07: and supporting your long-term

00:00:08: growth through customer centric

00:00:10: marketing.

00:00:19: Hello hello welcome to you listeners.

00:00:21: glad to have you on this show.

00:00:23: I'm Haike Larry director partner marketing and consultancy at Zalado partner marketing services helping connect fashion beauty and lifestyle brands to consumers all over Europe.

00:00:35: we are back from our summer break.

00:00:37: We hope you are too, because today's episode is about culture and what happens when a brand decides that relevance comes before reach.

00:00:47: We're talking about a system.

00:00:48: Adidas has been building five steps to turn cultural relevance into measurable growth – Culture, Community, Funnel, Peaks measurement.

00:00:59: Sounds easy right?

00:01:01: Let see if it is!

00:01:02: And we'll walk through three very different moments to show how it plays out.

00:01:07: The Football World Cup, the DFB and Originals Lounge anchored in a Japanese women's wrestling league and of course Berlin Marathon this September.

00:01:17: I have fantastic guests with me today.

00:01:20: Welcome Thomas Seiler VP Brand Marketing Central Europe at Adidas.

00:01:25: Thomas please introduce yourself and tell us what you do.

00:01:30: Hi Heike.

00:01:31: Yes, welcome back from our summer break and a week in Greece!

00:01:35: I'm super happy to be with you on that podcast.

00:01:46: I oversee all activations in marketing from sports marketing to brand communication, retail and account marketing.

00:02:01: And that capacity obviously also worked very closely with Salando Marketing Services as a key partner.

00:02:09: super excited

00:02:13: Fantastic.

00:02:14: And yeah, Thomas we have this podcast is already our second gig together as so we also did the all my masterclass to gather in May and We thought actually This was such a fantastic conversation that we wanted Also take the chance to record this here and share it with everyone who did not Have the chance To join out on their day?

00:02:39: stood really out to me is how you and Adidas lead with product.

00:02:44: And this is where you decided to have culture consistently lead, Maybe we can speak about the statement, how you lead with relevance before reach.

00:02:57: And that sounds super obvious and straightforward but there's a lot behind this.

00:03:02: actually do many things different to other brands.

00:03:05: so maybe

00:03:16: First, I think the statement that i need to make is that reach still important if you invest in media reaches important because as a brand who wants to grow.

00:03:24: You need to bring what is called light buyers into your brand ecosystem.

00:03:29: but reach alone cannot achieve it all.

00:03:33: reached without irrelevant consumer inside or consumer truth with out relevant cultural point of view and an expression that also comes from product.

00:03:43: You're only paying for attention and you are not earning the attention, that's your ultimate goal.

00:03:49: I think some recent examples from this summer really illustrated very well.

00:03:56: it comes from football.

00:03:57: we launched away jerseys for our partners Eindracht Frankfurt and Schalke Nolfia products that really cemented this legacy of both clubs.

00:04:07: with bring back designs on a jersey.

00:04:10: The jerseys we created really became iconic pieces even before he launched it.

00:04:15: The supporters and the fans could relate to it, what happened is that the internet broke when online shops opened with those products.

00:04:24: I think this shows you can not just buy attention.

00:04:28: You need to be culturally relevant for your product.

00:04:33: And then commercial success is a consequence of

00:04:38: couldn't agree more.

00:04:39: And so you say that the question is no longer who to audience, but what they care about right now.

00:04:46: and I wonder how do you actually figure this out?

00:04:53: many fault.

00:04:53: I mean, obviously we are a young company and to some extent rely on our employee cohort.

00:05:01: they hold much younger than me very close if not in the age zone of our target consumer.

00:05:10: but then off course have our brand partners across sport.

00:05:13: culture will listen them very carefully.

00:05:15: We do extensive social listening so people, opinion leaders say on social media.

00:05:25: And then we understand what's trending in the world and with our target audience.

00:05:32: This is how we encourage everyone that we work together to step forward with relevant insights.

00:05:44: But i think it's important that as an organization you also stay.

00:05:47: HR and agility also comes with flexible marketing working budget, One example is from the recent World Cup similar to Salando.

00:06:07: We had content creators on site, we set up a global content newsroom in New York City around our space that we have setup in Brooklyn and were flexible enough to create moments when Elias Nährlich and Sydney Friede where onsite and just bumped into Pogba in Marcelo spontaneous two on to football tournament that traded content at money can buy and because we had the flexibility.

00:06:39: We were able to react today moment i think dead.

00:06:42: that is listening too what consumers say but then also be able to reacts toward they say or what they experience.

00:06:50: I love this example and i think that's what make our job so much fun, right?

00:06:54: There is of course a lot you can imagine.

00:06:57: You can dream about but then it's these moments.

00:07:00: exactly as we said money cannot buy.

00:07:04: We both work also in big corporations.

00:07:06: their planning is important understandably But on the other hand there must be wiggle room.

00:07:15: It is interesting how important reactionism.

00:07:18: We see that in the World Cup, I think there was a limited fan base for instance for Belgium and suddenly overnight the Belgian team had a fanbase that quadrupled around the world.

00:07:30: so this is really good example.

00:07:34: There's friendly debate always on Sport being of course the origin of culture, but then where does sport stop?

00:07:44: Being sport actually and whereas it start shaping fashion?

00:07:48: And also what is sport.

00:07:51: What is fashion?

00:07:52: so Where's resty identity there?

00:07:55: So maybe you as an expert for both areas can say something about yeah

00:08:00: I mean sport fashion.

00:08:01: You could also throw entertainment in their own.

00:08:03: Maybe to work up was a great example.

00:08:05: But i mean Certainly this Is A true State and even more so, I guess in the recent years that sport and culture just blend together.

00:08:17: Adidas is a sports brand and we are the culture born from it.

00:08:20: That's true for many aspects.

00:08:24: Look at outdoor and how outdoor becomes fashionable.

00:08:26: look at motorsport and our activity in motorsports and how motorsport apparel shapes fashion.

00:08:33: And then of course you have basketball football And those sports obviously become more and more relevant off the pitch as they are on the pitch.

00:08:42: I think the World Cup was a proof point for that, what FIFA did with The World Cup is just an entertaining tournament.

00:08:52: It helped us to... stage our products in a different way.

00:08:57: and then you have surprises.

00:08:58: You mentioned Belgium, I want to mention Spain.

00:09:03: the Spain awaited not because they became world champion i'm gonna talk about the spain await jersey.

00:09:08: Not a jersey that we've seen much on the field of play but because his design and aesthetics it was picked up by stylists and content creators.

00:09:18: And suddenly We're looking at this situation where product is sold out still thought after something you couldn't predict before the World Cup.

00:09:26: There's not a clear line when sport ends and fashion starts, it is just natural plant.

00:09:32: we banked on by bringing our Trefoil logo to football jerseys every year.

00:09:38: weight jersey at the world cup featured the trefoil but also this trend of nostalgic sentiment.

00:09:47: we brought back Germany jerseys from nineteen ninety, ninety-four two thousand fourteen and it instantly became a commercial success.

00:09:56: so.

00:09:56: It's just there.

00:09:58: um maybe one more.

00:09:59: I mean i don't want to break but uh... We somehow outdid ourselves the summer when be launched originals sport, which is a functional apparel and workout collection for our female consumer.

00:10:13: She can wear it lifting weights but as well on the way to the gym in the coffee shop.

00:10:20: And It's just this perfect blend of a functional aparel piece that looks good?

00:10:26: Yeah, that's a super good example.

00:10:28: And also the jersey trend you mentioned.

00:10:31: I think there was not a location in one of the big cities.

00:10:35: You could go to where?

00:10:35: You wouldn't see.

00:10:36: how did Jersey made it into the clubs then and a crop version or How people managed to wear it to work all?

00:10:42: yeah Super Good Example And out of personal interest also, so as a Berliner I'm off course big fan when it comes to sports and basketball.

00:10:52: Of the Wagner brothers.

00:10:53: just

00:10:55: yeah

00:10:56: one of the most recent examples where you chose for really great athletes.

00:11:01: And I wonder, Thomas if you can let us in a little bit on this process.

00:11:06: How do you decide who are the right athletes to work with?

00:11:10: Creators how do you talk to your communities and an address culture with The Right Ambassadors?

00:11:19: Sure!

00:11:21: There's a difference selecting brand partners of the scale.

00:11:25: or for Moritz Wagner, Franz Wagner partnership with the German basketball Federation where you always obviously calculate a business case.

00:11:34: With a return in investment.

00:11:35: was with the content creators is it's a little bit different?

00:11:38: You obviously want to partner with them to extend your campaigns so allow them to speak on behalf off there at The Brand and they are the selection process.

00:11:48: It'll be different.

00:11:49: Obviously You might go through agencies, but certainly a fit of values.

00:11:55: Their credibility in their respective community and field-of expertise is

00:11:59: important.".

00:12:00: And then you also look at if they have the sense aesthetic creativity that fits to your brand.

00:12:08: Last but not only reach – it reaches an important factor.

00:12:14: work with content creators, but reach is never the only aspect when we select a partner.

00:12:21: Most recently we identified a business situation whereby we wanted to reach out to younger male GenC audience and elect a little bit of the content creator partners that needed it.

00:12:34: We then reached out to Justin from Peso Dusseldorf Bay Street.

00:12:39: We are brand super relevant in Germany and we agree that we partner to celebrate their tenth anniversary, just this selection process then the outcome of activation proved on a right way for us to solve our business situation but continue to grow our cohort of brand ambassadors.

00:13:01: Fantastic and again here.

00:13:03: being agile, right?

00:13:04: And seeing what opportunities come up super cool.

00:13:08: So we touched upon the football World Cup already but maybe we go into this a bit more.

00:13:17: so you build together with the DFB campaign that set right between football fandom fashion.

00:13:26: I wondered what was the cultural thesis here, so why football and why now?

00:13:35: It would be too much.

00:13:37: to say that was a cultural thesis.

00:13:39: It was pure opportunistic moment, it's the FIFA World Cup.

00:13:44: I mean That is the pinnacle of sport and culture this year.

00:13:48: And if we again reference how FIFA evolved the spectacle into sports entertainment... ...it was clear that this is the moment The cultural moments that we want to capture.

00:14:01: During the FIFA world cup We showed up big & small from a blockbuster brand, and media campaign that featured Timothy Chalamet.

00:14:09: That broke all records to smaller snackable social media contents we created... ...that featured the Adidas-sponsored players on the German national team.... To then also small community events with most of our accounts across Germany!

00:14:26: For example, together with Zalando at our sports base in Berlin.

00:14:29: So it was just clear that all brands will play during the World Cup.

00:14:35: It was clear for us which has had to do a different from big too small.

00:14:40: Yeah and there's um a term around The football activation that I picked up And i have no clue what is this.

00:14:47: so maybe you can explain What is blokecore?

00:14:53: blowcore.

00:14:54: Yeah, what is it?

00:14:55: I mean you know... It's you wearing a football jersey!

00:14:58: No i think its more probably..I would describe as bringing football aesthetic and football spirit into street wear.

00:15:09: And uh....it´s simple as that You know what people wore maybe in the eighties or nineties on in the football stadiums reinterpreted and bring it Into Streetwear.

00:15:19: It's a big reason why Adidas was and why adidas is still winning.

00:15:23: Examples like the Samba, which originally from the nineteen seventies... A football shoe developed for icy football pitches.

00:15:31: it is a silhouette that is super relevant in this bloke-core football aesthetic style.

00:15:40: but then also this nostalgic feeling that we then cater with bringback jerseys and bring back styles form the nineties to two thousands.

00:15:49: And I don't think I brag too much when I say a few sports brands can show up in this field with authenticity as we do and actually help define, further define and continue the strength.

00:16:04: Super cool!

00:16:05: I think you nailed that one.

00:16:07: Maybe we move gears a bit to speak how you actually moved from inspiration into intent?

00:16:16: coming from a brand that has historically lived in the storytelling layer, when did you at Adidas realize that creating demand isn't enough?

00:16:26: but then you have to capture it and the same place really unlock.

00:16:31: Yeah I think any brief business brief or creative brief always well obviously first needs to come from universal consumer insight.

00:16:42: But then if you brief deliverables in a campaign, it needs to capture both demand and conversion.

00:16:48: You always need to ask for made-for-purpose content that caters the full funnel.

00:16:54: And retail media should never be the afterthought like oh now we have a nice story.

00:16:58: how do we actually make people get interested and buy their products?

00:17:02: This cannot.

00:17:04: an afterthought always needs to build from day one.

00:17:09: The consumer journey, as we know it or maybe as it was relevant twenty years ago doesn't exist anymore.

00:17:15: People enter an ecosystem like a salando potentially not with the intent to purchase anything and this is where you also then need to use retail media With all the intelligence that you can get in a right way to inspire them.

00:17:32: hundred percent and you touched upon deliverables already, super important conversation right?

00:17:38: And retail media marketing in general.

00:17:42: We both know that there are always peaks and they can be real multipliers but there is a need to orchestrate those peaks.

00:17:55: How do you make sure that you resist the temptation to spread budget just evenly on the year or campaigns, but really?

00:18:06: pay attention to the peaks that you're anticipating.

00:18:09: Yeah, it's actually good timing for that question because we were planning in twenty-twenty seven and obviously you get requests from all business partners on hey I need marketing support.

00:18:19: uh...to tell my story sell my product but do want a look very carefully at your full year.

00:18:26: We looked at the Year From January To December.

00:18:28: Look at where culture happens Where Sport Happens And then You Select The Moments Where You Know Consumer Interest Is there the perception for your brand will be their and this is where you ring fence marketing expenditures.

00:18:43: Your marketing working budget, then make sure that you prepared pre and reactively for those moments to see.

00:18:50: it was clear what's a World Cup this year?

00:18:52: It's clear for us every years of Berlin marathon the pinnacle off our running investment in Germany.

00:18:59: But you also need to hold back a little bit of your marketing working budget, because you need to be able to react.

00:19:04: Because you cannot anticipate all the moments and this year was good example for us when Sacha Zverev started to win at The French Open were like oh super excited!

00:19:17: For his first major title.

00:19:19: This wasn't nerve-wracking Sunday.

00:19:21: It was

00:19:21: nerve-wrecking but we had the story prepared.

00:19:25: We where with him on his journey able to invest in moments like this.

00:19:30: So you can pre-plan but also need to be agile, we talked about it before and react at two moments that maybe haven't planned for?

00:19:42: I was impressed by the product placements on him.

00:19:45: even his socks were very obviously Adidas.

00:19:48: so well this one!

00:19:48: You nailed From planning, it's not very far to measurement.

00:19:54: And here I'm curious... So we speak a lot about closed-loop data in retail media of course and i wonder if this has changed the way you brief campaigns?

00:20:07: If there is an influence on conversation in the room now that your are in the planning phase for next year as you said versus instance three years ago

00:20:17: For sure!

00:20:19: Real time signals allow you to optimize and drive performance.

00:20:24: But not only when you breathe, but also mid-flight... When you see how things are actually being picked up by consumers?

00:20:33: How they react to it...?

00:20:34: And then if you react mid-flight every activation can be orchestrated and becomes even sharper than the last one!

00:20:42: Then very simple growth compounds use that intelligence

00:20:47: Very simple.

00:20:48: This is a perfect line on this one.

00:20:50: and so before we speak about The Marathon, I'd love to talk you about One of my ever favorite campaigns which Is the Tsukuban activation.

00:21:04: And On paper?

00:21:05: This is one that shouldn't have worked.

00:21:08: So everyone who doesn't know We Speak About it Japanese Female Wrestling League and that we activated with them the originals lounge in Berlin.

00:21:21: So I think it is fair to say this was a very creative choice And within a couple of hours, we saw all tickets were sold out for this activation.

00:21:32: What I did not know is that the tickets for Tsukuban and Japanese female wrestling are very expensive... ...and hard to get.

00:21:42: so whole community thought it must be a scam!

00:21:44: This can't be

00:21:45: real!!

00:21:45: So first off our people were happily surprised to see that it was

00:21:49: real!!!

00:21:49: It was fantastic activation actually around the corner in our office And the content was so unique and so cool.

00:21:59: You could really see how this is a perfect match, maybe you can share with us... How did we come to this very odd match?

00:22:09: Obviously I could take full credit for it because I lived in Wörthfadidas in Japan for nine years!

00:22:14: It's all my idea now but unfortunately i don't want to take this credit.

00:22:19: ...I can not take that credit.

00:22:21: ....it was more product inspired.

00:22:23: We wanted to create a stage, platform for very specific footwear trend which is this low profile martial arts inspired silhouettes like the Taekwondo that we have in The Range or Japan and obviously together with Salando.

00:22:37: We didn't want to create traditional campaign of film but using some subculture.

00:22:43: there's true-to-the spirit of that footwear on This where the idea of sukeban Japanese female wrestling came into play The idea to bring the culture from Tokyo to Berlin, as Tsukuban is traveling the world.

00:22:58: They've been to the US but they have never been to Berlin.

00:23:00: and this how we staged it with great success.

00:23:06: As you see in our business numbers home page click-through rate was above benchmark of ten point six percent.

00:23:14: commercial overachievement with forty one percent plus made us just a fun very successful activation.

00:23:24: And you mentioned it, right?

00:23:26: We see that we scored above benchmark here with all KPIs.

00:23:32: So maybe I can just add...we also had a forty one percent positive commercial overachievement and brought eight hundred eighty people together in the room.

00:23:45: So talking about things money can't buy, this was certainly content no one could have created that were super cool.

00:23:54: So now finally, coming to Berlin Marathon.

00:24:00: This is such an important event in sports also for Berlin City.

00:24:06: there's I think not a single one that personally have missed and my I live just at the beginning of so-called dead zone.

00:24:18: There's a big cheering zone and I think all neighbors in Charlottenburg make it their mission to come with everything noisy, cheer for the runners.

00:24:28: It is such an unique event right?

00:24:30: But as we saw earlier this year there can miracles be happening.

00:24:36: so Thomas maybe you start telling us what happened.

00:24:45: This was a positive surprise.

00:24:47: Well, it was also negative because we wanted this to happen in Berlin.

00:24:52: but Sebastian Sawey... ...was a little bit eager to break the two-hour barrier and run a new world record in marathon in London earlier which was a pity cause as a brand.

00:25:05: We supported him on that journey to break The Two Hour Barrier And were prepared to celebrate the moment Which he then did in London.

00:25:14: We were also prepared, and are still prepared to celebrate the same.

00:25:19: Should he do it again or maybe even faster in Berlin?

00:25:23: We'll wait and see but Berlin is just an incredible event.

00:25:28: It's one of the fastest major marathons.

00:25:30: So we're always prepared for miracles should The weather play in our favor which didn't.

00:25:36: last year was a little bit too warm Too hot.

00:25:40: But it's an ideal platform for a brand like Adidas to showcase our running product leadership, our innovations.

00:25:47: And we hope to do that again this year with Sebastian Savi and Tegist Asseva in the women's competition launching their next iteration of our Adizero franchise, The Adios Pro Five.

00:25:59: Fantastic!

00:26:00: So I will be there front row cheering them And so maybe you can let us in a bit on how this is working, right?

00:26:10: So there are three pillars that we always work with.

00:26:14: That's of course the content creation for community leaders and out-of-home.

00:26:20: This is digital where it matters.

00:26:24: Maybe tell me what your plan will be next

00:26:29: year?

00:26:30: Well, the orchestration is obviously manyfold because you have a complex organization.

00:26:36: How did I ask?

00:26:36: You have a global organization that has an interest in Berlin Marathon and then my local organisation activates their marathon.

00:26:46: so it's a complex but fun endeavour.

00:26:50: But every year, we look at the Berlin Marathon and recap very thoroughly to understand what we need to do different.

00:26:57: What will be different this year is that we're going create one space in Berlin where basically everything happens for media, consumers or our friends and family – for our Adidas-running communities because We're celebrating the tenth anniversary of Adidas Runners community.

00:27:19: It's a wonderful coincidence this year, and we are going to celebrate all that in one hub very close to their actual race.

00:27:28: And then obviously it is important you invest in reach out-of-home media throughout Berlin.

00:27:34: It is also important for you to engage with your communities running communities and engage with them over the weekend, but then obviously our own stores are important as an official sponsor.

00:27:48: The Expo which this year will be again at Tempelhof is extremely important and commercially relevant so it all plays together in its going to be a fantastic showcase of Adidas as a running brand.

00:28:07: Oh I can't wait!

00:28:09: So, my last question for you.

00:28:11: We saw three very different moments from football wrestling marathon but they all have the same logic.

00:28:18: underneath and before we close what are three things Thomas that our listeners should take to their own brand?

00:28:29: If I would summarize, if we go back to the beginning of our conversation.

00:28:33: We talked about being culturally relevant or base your storytelling on a universal consumer insight.

00:28:40: this is so important and you're media will only perform... ...if you build your story on cultural relevance then second i would say be in the moments that matter for audience when they are receptive.. ..for your message.

00:28:54: than be prepared pre-and reactively.

00:28:58: Sacha Zverev in Paris, now Berlin Marathon.

00:29:01: Be ready pre and

00:29:03: reactively.".

00:29:04: And then yeah I mean we obviously...I speak here with Salando Marketing Service and Salando as an important ecosystem.

00:29:11: retail media is super-important.

00:29:14: that must be part of the storytelling from day one.

00:29:17: i think those are The three takeaways cultural relevance being the moment and retail media

00:29:23: Fantastic, nothing can come after this.

00:29:26: Thank you so much Thomas for being here with us today and dear listeners thank you for tuning into another episode from Inside Fashion Marketing.

00:29:35: if you're looking For more we've dropped some useful links in the show notes as always.

00:29:41: And yeah make sure to check them out and To follow along.

00:29:45: hit subscribe for more marketing wisdom.

00:29:48: form our end and I say ciao for now.