When Germany’s soccer team knocked off Argentina to win its coveted fourth World Cup, it wasn’t the only big winner celebrating a wildly successful tournament. German sporting goods heavyweight Adidas AG also scored a major victory against arch-rival Nike Inc. in the fierce battle for brand supremacy among global sports outfitters.
Adidas was already assured of a higher profile and a hefty increase in sales regardless of the outcome, because it sponsors both finalists, as well as FIFA itself and the Golden Boot awarded to the top scorer, Colombia’s James Rodriguez, who is part of Adidas’s stable of star athletes. It also makes the official ball, the Brazuca, for which it launched a widely viewed social media campaign.
Billions of dollars are at stake in a fight being waged across every major global sports platform from soccer and basketball to tennis and golf, with the leading combatants spending record sums on marketing and sponsorship rights.
"They run neck-and-neck, and they have both overpaid for premier positioning" in various big-time sports, said Brian Cooper, president of Toronto-based S&E Sponsorship Group. "This is an ongoing battle for supremacy. It says a lot in terms of the intensity of the battle between the two parties."
The day after the World Cup, Adidas grabbed soccer headlines again with a record £750-million ($1.3-billion U.S.), 10-year deal to become the exclusive supplier of shirts and gear to Manchester United, one of soccer’s biggest global brand names. Nike, which has held the Man U rights since 2002, had earlier backed out of the bidding. The U.S. maker was also replaced after 20 years as the outfitter for another English side, Arsenal, by the No. 3 sporting goods maker, Puma SE, in another record deal.
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB