A REPORT ON COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF REEBOK

Reebok

Introduction
Company Background
Headquartered in the US, Reebok is worldwide designer, marketer and distributor of sports, fitness and casual footwear, apparel and equipment under the Reebok, Rockport, CCM, Jofa, Koho and Greg Norman brands. Reebok announced in August 2005 that it would be merging with Adidas. Reebok is an American-inspired, global brand that creates and markets sports and lifestyle products built upon a strong heritage and authenticity in sports, fitness and womens categories. The brand is committed to designing products and marketing programs that reflect creativity and the desire to constantly challenge the status quo.

Reebok India
Reebok started its operations in India in 1995. Headed by Managing Director Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, Reebok India has a pan-India presence with branch offices in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore and ranks at the top amongst international footwear companies in India. The Company's brand vision is fulfilling potential, its mission Always challenge and lead through creativity. Reeboks brand values are authentic, individualistic, courageous, empowering, innovative and real. Reebok has introduced its internationally acclaimed fitness programs in India, conducted under the banner of Reebok Instructor Alliance, which is dedicated to fitness instructors, personal trainers and health club owners. Reebok has trained and certified more then 800 trainers till now. Reebok India commands a 54% market share in the premium sportswear industry according to the calendar year December 2008. Its revenue has touched 1400 Crores (at retail price) in 2008. It plans to increase the store count from the existing 500 to over 600 before 2007. Reebok reaches out to its target customers through its 500 exclusive Reebok Stores, 200 Shop in the shop outlets & 2500 dealer outlets. Reebok has the single largest store in Hyderabad.

Reethink. Reesport. Reejoy. Reebok

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Corporate Goals
Reeboks Vision
Reebok is dedicated to providing each and every athlete - from professional athletes to recreational runners to kids on the playground - with the opportunity, the products, and the inspiration to achieve what they are capable of. We all have the potential to do great things. As a brand, Reebok has the unique opportunity to help consumers, athletes and artists, partners and employees fulfill their true potential and reach heights they may have thought un-reachable.

Reeboks Mission
At Reebok, we see the world a little differently and throughout our history have made our mark when weve had the courage to challenge convention. Reebok creates products and marketing programs that reflect the brands unlimited creative potential.

Corporate Responsibility Reeboks Purpose To Empower Global Youth to Fulfill their Potential
Commitment to Corporate Responsibility is an important legacy and hallmark of the Reebok brand. For two decades, Human Rights, through the Reebok Human Rights program, were the primary focus of this effort. Reebok has expanded on what had been built and created a Global Corporate Citizenship platform with a purpose for the brand that will help underprivileged, underserved youth around the world fulfill their potential and live healthy, active lives. REEBOK'S BRAND TERRITORY

Having Fun Staying in Shape

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Having Fun Staying in Shape comes to life through a fun, bold, provocative manner expressed through fresh, eye catching imagery signed off with a unique 'Reeword.' The tone and manner allows the consumer to look at sport and lifestyle through our lens of 'Ree

Reebok Is for Real

Reebok 4 Real is our Corporate Citizenship platform and encompasses four key areas: Philanthropy: The Reebok Foundation focuses its philanthropy in communities where Reeboks offices are located. The Foundation strives to promote social and economic equality by funding non-profit organizations delivering programs aimed at inner-city youth and underserved groups to empower youth to fulfill their potential programs that provide youth with the tools they need to lead healthy, happy and actives lives. Programming: We offer a wide range of programming designed to inspire and engage our employees including time off to volunteer, matching gift programs, and the REACH product donation program and through the Reebok4Real Human Rights Student Advocate Program. Partnerships: We seek partnerships which reflect our commitment to being responsible and making a difference. These collaborations include working with our athletes and assets and an active sponsorship of the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Sustainability: We take pride in our long standing efforts to set responsible workplace standards and to reduce our impact on the environment. As part of the Adidas Group, we continue to help ensure fair, safe and healthy factory conditions and believe that all workers involved in the production process deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We also strive to reduce our environmental impacts through our design process, day-today operations and in our supply chain.

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Reebok Product Mix

Reebok offers a wide range of Footwear, Clothing and Accessories for both Men and Women. In the footwear product mix it offers in Athletic, Casual and Court in a color range like black, brown, grey, white, blue and pink. The footwear mix is offered both in men and women. In the clothing, Reebok offers like jackets, tops and bottoms for both men and women for activities like yoga, tennis, walking, fitness and training. Accessories like bags, sippers, caps.

The Reebok brand focuses on three product lines: Rbk, Performance, and Classic. Rbk product line features street footwear, apparel, and accessories. Performance line includes apparel and footwear designed for basketball, running, fitness, football, soccer, tennis, and other sports. Classic lifestyle product line includes footwear and apparel products, as well as classic reinterpretations.

The company also offers hockey skates, sticks, helmets, and hockey-related apparel, as well as recreational skates and the Roger Edwards line of lifestyle apparel. Its licensed and branded active wear lines include fleece wear, pants, shirts, T-shirts, polo shirts, turtlenecks, and outerwear and headwear embroidered with various teams' logos. The company distributes its products to athletic specialty stores and other retail shops, as well as to sporting goods stores, department stores, and shoe stores.

Reebok For Men

Footwear It constantly upgrades its shoes with new comfort levels and offers in various designs, colors, sizes and prices. The various footwear from Reebok are: Reebok swing, Reebok cover point, Reebok sweep, Reebok Verona, Valde fg, Dhoni Trainer, Smoothfit select ride, Hex ride radiate sf, Reebok supreme.

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Apparel Reebok offers singlet, T-shirts, Shirts, Sweatshirts, Leather Jackets in Mens Apparel. Reebok offers in Tee: Graphic tee, Play tee, Race tee flash, Chase tee, Revolution tee, Campus tee, Guitar tee, Class strip shirts, Short sleeves tee, and Campus logo tee

Reebok for Women

Footwear Reebok offers: Premier kfg, Premier road plus, Verona, Hexride ready, Jungle low, Rang de Basanti, Rangela, Swades, Black, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Cirque du soleil boot, Easytone flips, Easytone go outside, Premier sf cushion II

Apparel College strip tank, Disney polo, Graphic tee, Retro tee, Jacquard waist coat, Stripper

Reebok for Children It offers cargo pants, tees, force shirt, jackets, polo t-shirts, sweat shirts, pullovers and Shaimak Davar apparel.

Portable: Reebok sunglasses, Soft dumbbell, Reebok fitness mat, Fitness Reebok Equipment belt, Fitness gloves Non-Portable: Reebok Treadmill, Reebok Cross Trainer

Reebok Shamik

Jazz tops, Hooded sweat shirts, Three fourth pants, Shiamak tees, skirts
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Merchandixe

Reebok Mickey Apparel Endorsed by Yuvraj Disney Mickey tees both for male and females.

Reebok Cricket Equipments

Bats endorsed by Dhoni and also providing cricket kit to IPL tems like Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Knight Riders, Banglore Royal Chanllengers

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Promotion Strategy
The Reebok segment is comprised of the Reebok brand, Reebok-CCM Hockey and Rockport. In 2008, the Reebok brand has further refined its strategy considering the brands heritage and values, consumer insights and positioning within the adidas Group port folio. Inspired by its roots in sport and womens fitness, Reebok developed a clear roadmap for its key businesses going forward: Own Womens Fitness, Challenge Mens Sport and Revive Classics. Central to Reeboks brand heritage is the courage to challenge convention. Unlike many other brands, Reebok is committed to make fitness fun again challenging men and women to fulfill their potential in sport and in life by providing them with the opportunity, the products and the inspiration to have fun staying in shape Reebok provides great deals on quality footwear, apparel, and fitness equipment for women, men, and kids. Reebok sports and lifestyle products are built on a strong heritage, commitment to creativity, and the desire to constantly challenge the status quo. The company uses various promotional tools to bring awareness among its customers. It offers discounts, vouchers, coupons and custom made sneakers on their products. Apart from this, there are celebrity endorsements, road shows, sponsorship events, television commercials, print ads, billboards, alliance events. Rebook has hired currently DBB Worldwide as its advertising and creative agency. Reebok, a multinational company, have separated 15% of its sales for its advertising and promotion activities. It has different advertising strategy in different areas of the world.

Media Vehicles
Reebok uses various media tools to promote its brand and create awareness about the products. Reebok uses television commercials, print ads, billboards, online advertising, sponsorship events and various advertising campaigns for its promotion.

Print Media Advertising

Print Media Advertising consists of newspapers and Magazines. It also includes outdoor billboards, transit posters, the yellow pages, and direct mail.

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In India Reebok features its print ads on magazines like Flimfare Magzine, Cineblitz Magazine, Stardust Magazine. The famous ad campaign of Mahindra Singh Dhoni and Bipasha Basu were featured in these magazines.

Newspaper: Reebok features its ad in supplement papers of national dailies like HT City of Hindustan Times, Delhi Times of Times of India, Bombay Times of Times of India
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Electronic Media Advertising

Television Media: In 2008, Reebok commercial of Your Move ad campaign featured celebrities like Bipasha Basu and Mahindra Singh Dhoni. In 2007, global campaign of Two People in One, television commercials include Rahul Dravid. In 2007, Run Easy campaign, Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid and wicket keeper M.S. Dhoni featured in the Run Easy television commercials.

Infomercial
The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals. Reebok arrange several infomercials in the sports based program. Reebok first infomercial was on April 2001 for the Reebok Core Board, a stationary muscle training program. It was a 28-minute infomercial which demonstrated the system, including the workout regimens, user testimonials and the system functions.
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Internet Advertising
Reebok.com sells the same products on their web site as they do in the stores, providing the users more ways of getting what they want. The prices of goods sold at Reebok.com are comparable to those sold by their retail partners, so as not to take away sales and revenues from their traditional channel partners. Reebok.com has not done much to promote its web site, but they do put their web site address at the bottom of all their television commercials and print advertisements. With Reebok.com being international, the marketing message will have to be localized and "the choice of offline media will be determined on a country-to-country basis

Celebrity Endorsement
This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote specific stores or products. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example, when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general products. Reebok had used various sportsmen and non-sportsmen as their brand ambassadors. Reebok International took various international cricket stars like Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Habibul Bashar, etc. in the non sports arena, Reebok took Rapper Jay-Z, 50Cent, Nelly, Scarlett Johansson for the celebrity endorsements. Reebok India took Indian cricket stars like Mahindra Singh Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj singh. Bipasha Basu is also endorsed for the brand promotion.

Sponsorship Advertising
Reebok had sponsored many sports both internationally and nationally. The company had tie-ups with various sports for providing apparel, footwear, cricket equipments.

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Reebok sponsored sports kits for the great rich Indian Premier League teams, such as the and Deccan Chargers in the first edition of the league held in 2008. Reebok also became the official partner of Force India on February 2009. Force India - Indias only Formula One Team - is all set to speed its way into the fast-paced lives of more and more Indians by partnering with premier sports and lifestyle products giant Reebok as its official apparel and footwear merchandising partner for the next 5 years.

After inking the association in 2008, the partnership between Force India F1 team and Reebok has rolled out with the 2009 Force India Team wear collection.

Reebok Below the Line Promotion

In 2007, Reebok India had started with its Run Easy Campaign. In an attempt to encourage consumers to participate in the campaign, Reebok will give away ten thousand pairs of shoes in the first phase. The company has decided to explore the parks frequented by joggers to undertake promotional activities for the campaign.

Reebok Easy Vans along with trainers will demonstrate the spirit of Reebok Run Easy at the parks in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The trainers will also teach fitness steps like warm ups, breathing patterns and foot movements to the joggers. The campaign enables Reebok to associate directly connect with the consumers, unlike cricket where they are involved as mere viewers. Reebok has launched three new footwear collections to attract the consumers who have just started running.
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Reebok Print Ads

The outdoor is a key part of Reeboks brand communication in India. However, Reebok dont see the outdoor as an extension of what they do in the print. It is not taking 2,000 outdoor media sites and replicating what appears in the print. Instead, they see the outdoor as an impactful medium that can be both dramatic and entertaining. The outdoor could make the difference. So when Reebok launched the campaign for Reezig, the 40 ft shoe display did make a big impact. The Media solution Reebok tie up with the movie GOAL last year gave an impetus to the brand image, we took the learning from the last movie tie-up and went a step further. This time we wanted to blend the twin religion in single platform 1.) Bollywood for a Lifestyle platform 2.) Cricket for a mass appeal CRICKET The concept of Advertisers Funded Movie was given a whole new meaning. VICTORY: a joint venture of Reebok with Ajitpal production house. This was a seamless integration of the brand into the movies storyline. The movie theme was cricket. First time ever in the history of Indian
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cinema 40 international cricket players were part of the movie. The perfect combination of the brand requirement and the movie storyline made this association larger than life. The scale of Execution 1.) Reebok is so crucial to the storyline of the movie that no movie promo could be created without Reebok being part of these. Therefore, the brand got the additional benefit of the 20000 plus spots run by the producer. 2.) Presence of 40 international cricketers meant high PR coverage for the movie . The worth of the PR is more than 20 million INR. 3.) There was a 360 degree media approach given to the media plan including TV, radio, cinema, activation, and internet and SMS activities.

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