How Much Are adidas's Three Stripes Worth? adidas v. Payless and Its $300 Million Verdict case study discusses the use of Payless of two or four vertical stripes. The use of Payless of a striped logo resulted in Adidas bringing a case against Payless.
Michel Tuan Pham
Harvard Business Review (CU34-PDF-ENG)
September 12, 2011
Case questions answered:
- What role does a brand like Adidas play in the purchase of products such as sports shoes?
- What role, if any, does a symbol like the three-stripes trademark play in consumers’ purchase decisions?
- What is the brand image of Adidas? of Payless?
- Does it make sense for Payless to sell shoes that seem to resemble Adidas shoes? If so, why?
- Were Payless shoes likely to have been confused with Adidas shoes? Evaluate both Adidas and Payless’s positions regarding this critical issue.
- Do you agree that the Payless shoes were likely to dilute the Adidas brand by tarnishing and blurring it? What would that mean from the standpoint of consumer psychology? How does it relate to your answer to Question 2?
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How Much Are adidas's Three Stripes Worth? adidas v. Payless and Its $300 Million Verdict Case Answers
Memo
From: Sama Srinivas, Rania Sakhi
Section: Brand Strategy & Planning 001
Date: October 14, 2020
Re: Adidas Case Analysis
1. What role does a brand like Adidas play in the purchase of products such as sports shoes?
Adidas’ founder started the company with the intent to devote himself to the sports shoe market, which was a novel idea at the time. His focus on performance for the sports shoe started to build the brand’s equity of innovation and quality.
The Adidas brand portfolio originated with the sports shoe and allowed it to grow into a global sporting goods brand. This history supported them in staying as a strong competitor in the market after Nike joined in, positioning themselves as a cheaper alternative to Adidas and jump-started the running shoe market.
The case mentioned a New York Times writer who “described Adidas’s success in attracting a broad spectrum of consumers: As a brand, Adidas stimulates a sophisticated palate with its evocations of sports heroes… and its legacy of 1970s sneakers. Even if Nike is the undisputed heavyweight champion, Adidas is, simply put, more old-school cool.”
This sentiment was apparent in Adidas’ continued popularity with the consumer. Another testimonial to the strength of their brand and the three-striped trademark was “…Adidas has been one of the most enduring in world sports.
As well as being linked to football superstars such as David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane, the famous three-stripe logo has penetrated pop culture.” This offers a clear and significant role in a consumer’s decision to purchase a sports shoe.
2. What role, if any, does a symbol like the three-stripes trademark play in consumers’ purchase decisions?
Since Adidas is a multinational brand, its three-stripes trademark is…
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