Adidas: Brand Research and Logo Analyses

Sport brand and retailer Adidas, has been going from strength to strength since 1949. The company’s story began in Bavaria, Germany in 1924 as Adolf Dassler registered ‘Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik’ and embarked on a mission to provide athletes with the best possible equipment. It was not until 1949, however, that Dassler decided to start over. On August 18, 1949, he registered the ‘Adi Dassler adidas Sportschuhfabrik.’ It was also on this day that Dassler registered a shoe that featured the registration of the famous adidas three-stripes, and in doing so set in motion an extraordinary launch to fame making Adidas one of the most recognisable sportswear brands in the world, impacting branding in ways previously unimaginable. 

When consumers think of Adidas, their next immediate thought is undoubtedly the company’s signature three-stripes — with even Dassler having been known to have referred to his brand as ‘The Three Stripe Company.’ Although at first these were used for superficial aesthetic, they have since transcended into a more conceptually driven foundation to the Adidas brand. Another distinctive visual of the Adidas brand is the swiss, sans-serif, lower-case typestyle used that was in emergence in the nineteen-twenties in Russia, The Netherlands and Germany when Dassler began registering his ventures. This bold, modern aesthetic has served the company great purpose in establishing a timeless brand that has remained and maintained a current, contemporary identity despite the time that has passed since its creation. 

The next milestone in the Adidas branding came in 1972, with the introduction of the trefoil logo, potentially the most significant symbol in Adidas history. The logo was developed as the company began to expand into leisure and apparel markets, and as such was their first purposefully designed logo having simply relied on the three stripes featuring on all they manufactured as an element for consumer identification. 

The logo shows a symmetrical three-leaf trefoil. Each of these leaves represent the main landmasses of the Americas, Europe and Africa (and Asia respectively) in order to communicate the company’s expansion into a global brand. Three intersecting horizontal lines are suggested through space across the trefoil, representative of the brand’s diversity whilst providing cohesion and connection to the company’s established identity. This understated, iconic logo has been cemented into cultural consciousness across the globe having been worn by celebrities and hence has permeated every aspect Popular Culture. Though this logo is now reserved for only the heritage Adidas Originals products, it remains legendary as part of the brand.

In 1990, the brand produced a new logo for use on equipment and sporting goods to differentiate them from their leisure and apparel products. The aesthetic of this logo is reminiscent of the three-stripes originally featured on Adidas trainers. Exhibiting three slightly staggered diagonal lines — horizontally cropped at the bottom — the logo was created by creative director Peter Moore to resemble a mountain to signify the challenges athletes face and the limits they push themselves to for success. Though this logo did achieve the same success as the trefoil, it remains consistent as part of the Adidas brand and therefore shares the same fame. This logo was made the overarching company logo 1997. 

The Adidas logo in 2015 again changed to a simple word-mark logo, still using the type introduced in the company’s early years. Featured left, alongside the word-mark are 3 horizontal lines, said  to represent quality and leadership whilst maintaining flexibility for the future.

In addition to the companies undeniable leadership in the sporting industry, the fame of the brand has manifested itself into an altogether new form that comes by the name of ‘Sports Luxe.’ This being one of the most significant fashion trends of 2015, going into 2016, consisting of sport-inspired garments worn as statements of identity — whether an athlete or not. Adidas have achieved this through collaborations with major high-street fashion retailer Topshop via the ‘Topshop x Adidas Originals’ collection, acclaimed British fashion designer Stella McCartney via the ‘Adidas by Stella McCartney’ collection as well as British singer Rita Ora’s collection ‘Adidas Originals by Rita Ora.’

Adidas unquestionably owes its success to the simplicity, adaptability and understated aesthetic of it’s branding. By remaining consistent, cohesive and distinct in their approach to the identity the brand has survived numerous logo adaptations and remained at the forefront of its industry. The brand has also established and maintained a thriving relationship with its target consumers by remaining true to its heritage and visual language throughout its time as a leader in its field. 

Essay Points and Accompanying Quotations

Essay Question: “What is the relationship between branding and The Consumer Self?"

Point One: Brands are Representative of Identity.

Through point one I wish to address the perspectives of each source concerned with the notion that brands are representative of identity.

• "Branding enables us to define ourselves in terms of a shorthand that is immediately comprehensible to the world around us." (Olins. 2003: 14, 27)

• "(Brands are) everything that enables human beings to help define themselves. Brands represent identity."  (Olins. 2003: 27)

• ‘I believed that by the sheer virtue of acquiring these objects, they would magically convert me into a dramatically different person — the person I longed to be.’ (Millman. 2011: 2)

• ‘Design, by its very nature, can cast ideas about who we are and how we should behave…it has an especially important role in the visualisation of class positions and status.’ (Miles. 1998: 39)

• 'People identify strongly with cultural icons, and often rely on these symbols in their everyday lives.’ (Holt. 2004: 1)

Point Two: Consumers decide which Brands will Succeed.

Through point two I wish to explore the ideology that is is the consumers who decide which brands will succeed, as opposed to the marketing companies and brands themselves targeting particular groups and lifestyles to ultimately ensure success.

• "We like brands. If we didn't like them, we wouldn't buy them. It is we consumers who decide which brands will succeed and which will fail." (Olins. 2003: 15)

• ‘Brands are no longer internally managed “objects.” They are managed by consumers despite what a company’s P&L or annual report might otherwise state.’ (Millman. 2011)

• ‘Power in this relationship,  from one point of view, is with the consumer.’ (Miles, 1998: 38)

• ‘Most consumer brands need a cultural strategy as part of their branding tool kits. Often enough, brands require hybrid strategies.’ (Holt. 2004: 8)  

Point Three: They Key to a Successful Brand is Emotion and Social Content.

Point three is to identify the ideas of the sources concerned with what they believe the key to a successful brand to be.

• It's not just what they are, but also what they represent that makes them powerful. (Olins. 2003: 18)

• ‘The most important aspect of creating a brand is the ability of the brand to make a difference in someone’s life.’ (Millman. 2011)

• ‘Companies must inevitably operate as part of the industry as a whole and thus must, at east to a certain extent, prioritise financial profits before ecological concerns.’  (Miles. 1998: 45)

• ‘Iconic brands provide extraordinary identity value because they address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation.’ (Holt. 2004: 10)

Point Four: The Future of Brands.

Point four is concerned with capturing the predictions and forecasts from the sources on the future of branding. 

• ‘We will see brands coming from cultures and countries we did not previously take seriously.’ (Olins. 2011: 21)

• 'Consumer habits are subject to shifts.' (Millman, 2011: 5)

• "Nations and niche products are striving to brand their individuality.’ (Millman, 2011: 5)

• ‘Branding should in effect become more of a negotiation between the designer and the consumer.’ (Miles. 1998: 50)

• ‘A set of tactic strategic principles I call the cultural branding model’ (Holt. 2004: 22) 

Identifying Sources and Quotations - D. B. Holt // How Brands Become Icons.

Douglas B. Holt's 'How Brands Become Icons - The Principles of Cultural Branding' presents a systematic model explaining how some of America's most successful iconic brands have reached such acclaimed positions of social power. With brands such as Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson, Nike, and Budweiser - all of which are valued by consumers more for what they symbolise than for what they do -  having achieved cultural iconic status, Holt highlights how these brands create "identity myths" that, through powerful symbolism 'soothe collective anxieties' resulting from acute social change. Holt argues that icons cannot be created via conventional branding strategies which focus on benefits, brand personalities, and emotional relationships but instead must be instilled with a deeper cultural perspectives. He outlines a distinctive set of "cultural branding" principles used by some of the most successful brands of the last half-century to build their own iconic brands.

Harvard Reference:

Holt, D. B. (2004) How Brands Become Icons. Boston, Mass. Harvard Business School Press.

Identified Quotations:

• 'People identify strongly with cultural icons, and often rely on these symbols in their everyday lives.’ (Holt. 2004: 1)

• ‘Most consumer brands need a cultural strategy as part of their branding tool kits. Often enough, brands require hybrid strategies.’ (Holt. 2004: 8)  

• ‘Iconic brands provide extraordinary identity value because they address the collective anxieties and desires of a nation.’ (Holt. 2004: 10)

• ‘A set of tactic strategic principles I call the cultural branding model’ (Holt. 2004: 22) 

Identifying Sources and Quotations - Steven Miles // Consumerism as a Way of Life

Steven Miles' 'Consumerism as a Way of Life' book provides an introduction to the historical and theoretical foundations of consumerism. This is followed by an examination of the experience of consumption in the areas of space and place, technology, fashion, 'popular' music and sport. Throughout, miles evidences a critical perspective to bear upon the subject, thus providing 

a 'reliable and stimulating' guide to a complex field with many sides and views.

Harvard Reference:

Miles, S. (1998) Consumerism: As a way of life. New York: Sage.

Identified Quotations:

• ‘Design, by its very nature, can cast ideas about who we are and how we should behave…it has an especially important role in the visualisation of class positions and status.’ (Miles. 1998: 39)

• ‘Power in this relationship,  from on point of view, is with the consumer.’ (Miles, 1998: 38)

• ‘Companies must inevitably operate as part of the industry as a whole and thus must, at east to a certain extent, prioritise financial profits before ecological concerns.’  (Miles. 1998: 45)

• ‘Branding should in effect become more of a negotiation between the designer and the consumer.’ (Miles. 1998: 50)

Identifying Sources and Quotations - Debbie Millman // Brand Thinking & Other Noble Pursuits

Debbie Millman's Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits is a collaborative publication through with Millman and whole host of other creative greats help to define the notion of the brand via open

discussion of the subject to the level of revelation. Each chapter is an extensive dialogue between Debbie Millman, herself a 'design visionary,' and a different leader in the field. By asking questions deeply informed by her own expertise, she is able to evoke a dialogue that is both engaging and enlightening, shedding light on the state of modern branding and how companies and consumers

can best understand the behavior behind why we brand and why we buy.

Harvard Reference:

Millman, D. (2011) Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits. New York, NY: Allworth Press, U.S.

Identified Quotations:

• ‘I believed that by the sheer virtue of acquiring these objects, they would magically convert me into a dramatically different person — the person I longed to be.’ (Millman. 2011: 2)

• ‘Brands are no longer internally managed “objects.” They are managed by consumers despite what a company’s P&L or annual report might otherwise state.’ (Millman. 2011)

• ‘The most important aspect of creating a brand is the ability of the brand to make a difference in someone’s life.’ (Millman. 2011)

• 'Consumer habits are subject to shifts.' (Millman, 2011: 5)

• "Nations and niche products are striving to brand their individuality.’ (Millman, 2011: 5)