“They had to put us up to par”, said Christian Cueva after learning the news. In addition to the Ecuadorian Marathon (2018-2022), other brands that have made national clothing have been Penalty from Brazil (1981-1982), the German Puma (1987.1989), Power from Switzerland (1989-1991), Diadora from Italy ( 1991-1993), the British Umbro (1996-1997) and the Peruvians Calvo (1986-1987), Polmer (1993-1995) and Walon (1998-2010). Umbro returned for the 2010-2018 period and Peru sweated his shirt at the World Cup in Russia. adidas He dressed the red and white between 1978 and 1981, and between 1983 and 1985. Today he is also with Sporting Cristal.
adidas supports twelve European countries, including world champions Germany and Spain. Italy will join the list next year. In Latin America, the brand is the skin of Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Mexico. Nike sponsors Brazil, while Marathon is with Ecuador and Bolivia, and Puma with Uruguay and Paraguay. Givova sponsors the Venezuelan team. The bicolor is the selection number 24 in the world to wear the three-stripes shirt.
The calculation
The fight for sports sponsorships is disputed between adidas, which invested US$1,405.6 million last year, and Nike, which paid US$1,673.4 million, according to data from the company GlobalData’s Sport Intelligence Center, disclosed by KPMG. The gap can be explained by the fact that Nike is the main sponsor of three major American leagues (NFL: soccer American, NBA: basketball and MLB: baseball), while adidas it has one (NHL: hockey).
The German firm allocates 73% of its sponsorship resources to soccer, which is equivalent to US$ 1,026 million. The other quarter is distributed mainly between futsal (US$105 million), ice hockey (US$72 million), soccer beach (US$50 million) and basketball (US$48 million). Instead, the American brand invests 50% of its budget in the beautiful sport (US$ 834 million). The other half is divided mainly among four disciplines: basketball ($352 million), soccer American ($194 million), baseball ($100 million) and golf ($100 million).
In addition to dressing different teams, adidas It will also provide the clothing for the referees of Qatar 2022, which ensures their presence in all the matches that are played. The official World Cup ball has also been manufactured by the Teutonic brand.
The amount is not known adidas has paid to dress the selection From Peru. In the Colombian press it was said, in 2021, that the brand invested US$75 million to extend its contract with the coffee team until 2030. The Chilean team got US$7 million per year from Nike, since mid-2015 (after winning the Copa América) until 2022. But the American firm broke the link last year due to breach of contract. adidas He has taken the baton and the media indicates that he closed the business with the Lone Star for US$ 1.5 per year, with a royalty of 30%.
What is known is that 37.7% of Peruvians plan to buy a Peru shirt within the framework of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, according to the Lima Chamber of Commerce. It is estimated that, after qualifying for Russia 2018, Umbro’s sales grew between 500% and 700%. But the figures can drop dramatically, after learning that Peru will not participate in international competition. In the last World Cup, 17.7 million shirts were sold globally, eight million only adidaswhich increased its sales by 10%.
The benefits
“The interest and desire to adidas for dressing the selection Peruvian does not come from now. We have been waiting for the opportunity for some time and it finally arrived. Today we can confirm that this wish has come true.”declared to the media Guillermo Byrne, director of Marketing of adidas Peru. What does the brand win?
adidas participated in the previous tender to sponsor the Peruvian Federation of Soccer, but lost to Marathon. Beyond the increase in sales, there are several reasons to insist on signing the contract; for example, the media exposure of the brand, which facilitates the purchase decision; the connection with the values of the selection, as the union; and the possibility of closing spaces to the competition, such as adidas has done with Nike in Latin America. It is suspected that Nike, Puma, Under Armor and Umbro were also unsuccessfully involved in the process.
It is clear that now, having already been part of a World Cup, the interest in the red-and-white is greater and responds to a rational decision to do business. “The one who risked it at the time was Umbro, but now it is difficult for something bad to happen with the selection. The people support the team with everything, and that, in soccerIt doesn’t erase that fast. After 1982, for example, people continued with the fever of soccer a couple more World Cups”comments Renato Ricci, country manager of the Johan Cruyff Institute.
Arnaldo Aguirre, founder and director of Marketeros de Alquiler, who advised the federation when Ricardo Gareca recently took over as technical director, acknowledges that “no one gave a half for the selection” at the time. “The discredit was absolute”, realta. He even says that a brand that had sponsored the team for years was evaluating the possibility of leaving the field.
Beyond the performance of the bicolor, adidas It is convenient for you to win the next tenders. “The criterion of a sports sponsorship is to maintain it as long as possible, because in four years an emotional return is not generated ”, says Francisco Pajuelo, head of sports marketing at Toque Fino – Digital Marketing. This is the case of Coca-Cola or Cristal, which are automatically associated with the soccer Peruvian.
According to experts, the message of adidas towards the consumer would be to be the brand that remains in the country despite the crisis and that does not get in the car. It aspires to position itself as a country brand or a lovemark. adidas did not respond to G de Gestión’s requests for an interview.
The strategy
As one of the world’s leading sports brands, adidas He has a reputation that influences the fact that Peruvians still remember his uniform on the way to Spain 82 and that the jacket he launched in 2018, recalling that time, has worked so well. “Beyond people following the soccer or not, you like to be fashionable. He will prefer to buy a polo shirt adidas before that of any other brand”says Ricci. That will boost recall and sales, but it won’t be enough to explode patronage with the selection.
Pajuelo indicates that the first thing will be to prepare for a high demand for the brand’s products. For that, adidas It will have to strengthen its e-commerce and expand its national reach with its own stores or agreements with large retailers. Then, he recommends appealing to nostalgia and, for the launch of the official shirt, having the figures of the golden generation of the soccer Peruvian who have already worn adidas.
“It is not enough just to appear on the shirt”emphasizes Pajuelo. It also advises carrying out specific actions (games, gifts, merchandising, meet & greet, etc.) that remind the consumer that adidas is with the selection and, therefore, they become loyal to the brand. “Marathon and Umbro did not know how to take advantage of their sponsorship. They have only waited for the selection go to the world to multiply your sales. The correct thing would have been for them to connect emotionally with the Peruvian fan.”think.
For María Alejandra Delgado, Head of Marketing at the UTP Graduate School, another strategy is based on building a ritual around the brand, as Inca Kola did with the phrase “matches everything”. “adidas could build their own ritual in connection with supporting the selection and take advantage of this period to manage relationships with its consumers and cultivate their loyalty”.
Support from adidas to the other categories of soccer and the players also adds. After recently announcing its link with the federation, the sports brand signed Gianluca Lapadula as its image, joining other Peruvian footballers, such as André Carrillo, and international stars, such as Lionel Messi.
Other sports brands may leverage local teams or other disciplines. “But the Peruvian is more of a fan of the selection that of the clubs. That favors adidas”, Pajuelo sentence.
