PRWeek understands about 12 agencies (including incumbents), ranging from smaller consultancies to larger shops, have been called in for chemistry meetings, with a shortlist expected to be drafted before the end of this year.
Pitches are expected to begin in January for one of the most prestigious sports brands in the world.
There are several agencies on the current Adidas roster in this market, including Hope & Glory, H+K Strategies and Dust PR.
Currently, comms duties across the company is split into different verticals, such as women’s running and performance (handled by Hope & Glory), sports eyewear (Dust PR) and so on. We Are Social also works with the company on specific projects.
H+K Strategies is Adidas’ retained agency across the UK and US market and Iris manages Adidas football globally, while other communications agencies work with the brand in different regions. For example, Ketchum works with the company in Russia, the Netherlands and Brussels.
The aim of the review is to consolidate comms into different regional hubs, including London.
Adidas has previously said it will focus its marketing on six global mega-cities: London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo.
In June, Adidas awarded its $300m (£229m) global media account to MediaCom following a competitive review.
It is unclear how much the PR budget in this market is worth, but one industry source estimates it would be well into seven figures.
The sports apparel and equipment giant increased annual marketing spend by 13% to €2.73bn (£2.4bn) last year.
