One of the longest and most successful partnerships in sports marketing history is the key role adidas plays in FIFA’s running of the 2014 World Cup.
The two organisations have worked together for 44 years, with their latest deal meaning this relationship is guaranteed to stretch until 2030.
As official sponsor, supplier and licensee in Brazil, the German sportswear company provides the official match ball, kit for thousands of volunteers and a wide range of adidas/FIFA World Cup licensed products on sale worldwide.
They are represented at the tournament by nine teams, including holders Spain as well as Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Russia, Japan, Nigeria, Mexico and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Adidas Middle East and North Africa brand director Jad Chouman explained the thinking behind the exposure the competition provides in what he expects to be another “record year”.
He said: “For adidas, the World Cup is the perfect stage to showcase our company, our brands and our products.
“Adidas is the clear leader in football in terms of sales, innovative power and brand visibility.
“The 2014 FIFA World Cup will once again underline our leading position. Major football events like the FIFA World Cup are certainly an important factor for our business.”
He added. “2014 will be another record year for adidas football – we expect to achieve sales of $2 billion (Dh10bn).”
Adidas were heavily criticised at the previous tournament for the quality of the Jabulani match ball.
The product was slated by a number of leading goalkeepers, with Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon describing the new model as “absolutely inadequate” and Spain’s Iker Casillas went even further saying it was “a bit like a beachball”.
Adidas hope there will be no such complaints this time after working tirelessly to develop the 2014 World Cup ball, according to Chouman.
“Adidas spent two and a half years testing Brazuca using 600 players, 30 professional and national teams in 10 countries making it the most tested ball adidas has ever created. Some of the world’s top players were involved in the process including Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane and Steven Gerrard.”
Adidas launched their biggest brand campaign ever, including the special “All in or Nothing” 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil promotion as well as the special Samba Collection last November.
Chouman stressed the importance of the message the company will be conveying during the next four weeks.
“We will use the World Cup to show fans the innovation, imagination and technological expertise that adidas consistently delivers at the cutting edge of football and to once again underline our leadership in innovation,” he said.
