Expert: Sean Trapani - 4/10/2010

Question
Respected Sir,

I wanted to ask you , How Is  Adidas(Brand of athletic footwear) Positioned? at this time

Will be eagerly waitin for your reply,thanks a lot.

Answer
This is a complicated question, Rushi, because there are many ways to view positioning; and several markets in which a brand's position may be viewed differently.

In my opinion, in terms of emotional/archetypal positions, ever since the launch of their "Impossible is Nothing" positioning line, Adidas has walked the line between the 'magician' and the 'hero.'

In international markets outside of the US - where they are positioned as a leader - this ambiguous distinction is acceptable. But, in markets like the US - where Nike clearly uses the hero archetype - the Adidas message is muted.

My guess is this:  they position themselves as a leader brand in the category of international sports with an emotional branding personality of the hero/magician. My evidence is this. They don't talk about the competition (like a challenger brand would); they don't spend a lot of time talking of anything that differentiates them (like a niche brand would); and they salute the sport (which means, they endorse the category - which is the personality trait of a leader brand).

This is just a guess, though, based on the advertising I've seen - not because of any in-depth exploration.