Adidas calls in John Doe for fashion brief amid comms shake-up

The sportswear giant has called in consumer agency John Doe as it looks to heavily promote its key Originals line, which includes footwear, jeans and hoodies, and uses David Beckham as a brand ambassador.

John Doe takes the prestigious account from Ketchum Pleon.

Adidas head of PR Sarah Gower said: 'Sometimes big brands need to review how they use PR. We are still very much a sports brand with sport at the heart of what we do, but we needed an agency with awareness and understanding of style.'

One of John Doe's first projects is to promote a new 2012 Team GB-inspired fashion range, which is to be launched in October. Adidas has sponsored the Olympics' Team GB since 1984 and the new-style collection will be the first crossover for Adidas' Team GB performance range into fashion.

In March, Adidas unveiled a global brand campaign bringing together for the first time the brand's presence across different sports, cultures and lifestyles, and merging the worlds of sport, music and fashion.

The 'All In' campaign featured a number of brand ambassadors from football stars Beckham and Lionel Messi to pop icon Katy Perry.

The comms shake-up comes as Adidas global PR manager Rosie Holden joins John Doe. Holden moved to the consumer agency last week to help it launch a new style division.

Adidas PR chief Gower said: 'Rosie fully understands our unique positioning as a sport-inspired brand and the Adidas Originals sport and style heritage'.

ADIDAS FACTS

• Adidas is currently the second largest sports brand in the UK and has a 15% share of the £4bn market. Nike has an 18% share.

• Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer has said that the company aims to increase sales to £15bn by 2015, up from £10.6bn in 2010, thanks in part to its sponsorship of the 2012 Olympics.

• As of the end of 2010, Adidas employed 42,541 people worldwide.