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January 2007 - Strategy Magazine
Upfront

The art of Adidas

by Annette Bourdeau
page 9

Marketing to jaded urban hipsters is no easy task. So to generate pre-launch WOM for the December opening of its Originals store on Toronto's trendy Queen Street West, Adidas Canada used the store's construction scaffolding as an artist's canvas, and commissioned local art collective Fighting to interpret what Adidas means to them.

"We associated ourselves with underground artists," explains Micki Rivers, senior marketing manager at Concord, Ont.-based Adidas Canada. Jim Gabel, president of Adidas Canada, adds that marketing the brand's Originals line can often be tricky, as the trendy young target "doesn't want to be marketed to."

Pre-launch efforts also saw street teams spray paint outlines of Adidas founder Adi Dassler's head on sidewalks around the store, with vague messages directing passersby only to "go west" or "go north."

And, at press time, a VIP opening party was expected to draw local scenesters like Toronto Raptor TJ Ford, supermodel Linda Evangelista, and perhaps even Queen Latifah to generate further buzz and ink.

This is the second Originals store to open in Canada; a Vancouver location opened in fall 2005. Originals are located in large urban markets around the world.

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