By Rory Rostant Thursday, May 10 2007

Footwear giant, Adidas, is ramping up its regional presence as it moves to increase its market share and visibility by tapping into the growing youth market.

“We have confidence in this market,” said Keiko Hara, head of brand communication, Latin America, Adidas, in a telephone interview last week. “It is a growing market.”

The global company has spiked its “Impossible is Nothing,” bringing in 30 more athlethes to its existing portfolio all in an effort to capture that growing interest in sports and “encouraging everyone to take their first step in reaching their impossible.”

While no Caribbean athlete was selected, Hara said it was something that Adidas has to consider in its global plans. “The company is not going to rule it out,” she said.

She pointed out though that a lot of ads have been appearing on cable stations like Tempo and Synergy. “We want to inspire and motivate,” she said, noting that Adidas sponsored the Soca Warriors during last year’s World Cup.

“Through stories of real people attempting and achieving what once seemed like impossible goals, adidas hopes to inspire people to think about their own obstacles and how to overcome them,” a press statement from the company said. Each athlete chose a defining moment in their life and then illustrated it through images and words which would later be combined to create the campaign, it was noted.

Hara said Adidas has seen double digit growth in Latin America and the Caribbean and 31 percent increase in revenues in 2005. Adidas acquired Reebook in a February 2006 deal and was seen as a strategy to head-to-head against Nike, another global footwear giant.

She explained that international sports stars and everyday athletes have been encouraged to tell their “Impossible” stories using their own hand-drawn illustrations and paintings.

“With this campaign we get a glimpse of the athletes not at the finish line, but rather at a pivotal point in their journey,” explained Eric Liedtke, Senior Vice President Global Brand Marketing, Adidas Brand. “When you witness the victory, the end result, it is not always clear how they got there or what they had to overcome along the way.

“By sharing the journey and, more specifically, a challenge that was encountered along the way we get to a place that is truly inspiring and not often seen. We believe that by giving everyone a glimpse behind the scenes of lives of these athletes, we really will be encouraging them to attempt their own journey,” he said.

The unique content was created by inviting the athletes to spend time in an art studio with a toy box of art supplies and allowing them to bring their story to life in their own way. This created a wealth of material which consumers will see in commercial films, posters, books, documentaries, exhibitions and even clothing designs. “In film, print, digital, and retail content, the athletes’ real-life experiences come to life through animated films and static images created by the athletes themselves. The results are deeply personal, edgy and refreshingly honest,” it was noted.

Highlights from the new campaign include David Beckham telling how he braved death threats from fans after the 1998 FIFA World Cup. All Blacks rugby legend Jonah Lomu talks about the challenges he faced when told of the possibility of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair and US basketball star Gilbert Arenas explains the reason he wears the number 0 on his shirt.

The integrated campaign was launched simultaneously on a global and local level and includes TV commercials, documentaries, one long-format film, behind the scenes footage, print, large scale outdoor as well as exclusive digital content on www.adidas.com.

Hara said Adidas was using 17 percent of its advertising budget to boost sales across the globe and was “investing heavily” as it spreads its global message.