Do you agree?
If you are running a business, you would be quick to say: "No Way! Teams make Business happen!" We have come to accept that teamwork, team collaboration, team building, teaming, team spirit -- are essential to business success. We have been told to never use the term "I" in business.
Selected references:
Leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business
Creativity and Innovation Best Practices
Creativity and Innovation Case Studies
The Innovation Index
Top 50 innovative companies in the world
The david Adidas - "We over Me" (or "We over I")
According to Wall Street Journal, Adidas is about to launch a new innovative campaign praising the Team Spirit in sports. In a new 11-year partnership with NBA, Adidas is launching a brand new campaign with the slogan: "It takes 5IVE" - celebrating the concept of team over individual or "we over me". The campaign is the brainchild of Simon Atkins, Adidas' director of marketing in the U.S.
Adidas will showcase five NBA stars together: Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, Kevin Garnett of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Tracy McGrady of the Houston Rockets, Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons, and Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards.
It's interesting to note that Adidas has picked the sort of blue-collared, hard working, good citizenship team players, and role models of the community as part of its 5IVE Team.
A TV commercial will began airing this week where the players look into the camera and say: "It's not about them, but rather the team." Besides the commercials, there will be print ads, online web ads, and even a new video game in collaboration with EA Sports.
Adidas will launch signature basketball shoes for all five players in the range of $80 to $130. And to take this one step further, Adidas is also launching 30 different basketball shoes - each shoe representing special design and logo of an NBA team - for about $100 each.
The goliath Nike - "I want to be like Mike"
Nike has always been big on marketing the individual as the passport to selling basketball shoes. From the world famous Michael Jordan who made an empire for Nike in basketball with the Air Jordan shoes and apparel, to the new king of basketball LeBron James riding high on the success of Nike Zoom Lebron, it has always been about the Individual spirit, the Individual drive, the Individual personality, the I in the Individual. Shaquille O'Neal has also championed the growing line of Shaq by Nike.
Nike owns over 80% of the U.S.'s $2.6 Billion basketball market and its share is also growing year over year; while Adidas' share of the market is only about 14%. Adidas is growing market share. But it remains to be seen whether it will grow at the cost of Nike, or other lesser brands.
Who will win?
If this was running a business, We always wins. I always loses. But this is not just running a plain ole business.
For now, Adidas wins with the new partnership with NBA and EA Sports, creating the "team spirit" in the NBA where everything is literally about "I" and players lack camaraderie, great community message that could jive with the NBA fans, and a cool line of new shoes touting Teams and showcasing each NBA team. Even NBA wins in the process.
Adidas is definitely innovating and challenging the widely held "I" culture of NBA. And Adidas is doing this creatively. NBA has a lot to gain from this program as well.
However, when I go shopping for basketball shoes, do I really care about the "team" or "5IVE" or "We". I am out there buying a great pair of sneakers. And I am definitely thinking Jordan, Shaq, LeBron - "I want to be like Mike" when I put them shoes on and go for that layup. I am not thinking Duncan, Garnett, Arenas, McGrady, Billups - whose collective popularity is probably less than any of the Nike stars. Perhaps I am not an average shopper. Perhaps Adidas could have picked the NBA stars who are the most popular, and created a team with them. Then again, that wouldn't have been a team, would it? It would have been an "I Team".
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