Dive Brief:
- Reebok debuted its new “Be More Human” tagline in Germany this week on billboards and onsite ads in gyms which invites passers-by to flip a giant tire.
- Parent company Adidas has been boosting marketing for the Reebok brand since February in the United States, focusing on its heritage of personal fitness and group training rather than team sports.
- Reebok sales have declined by more than one-third to about $1.8 billion since Adidas bought the brand in in 2005 for $3.8 billion, but are now rebounding.
Dive Insight:
Adidas’ marketing push behind Reebok seems to be working. An aggressive campaign that includes extreme-fitness ads tagged “Be More Human” helped increase Reebok sales 8% worldwide during the first half of 2015, although the North American market offset strong growth in Western Europe, China, and Latin America. Adidas says that the weakness is due to the closing of Reebok factory outlet stores.
Favoring Reebok’s resurgence as a fitness brand is the fact that “social fitness”—group workouts like those from the CrossFit, Zumba and Spartan Race systems—is coming back into style, much like the aerobics craze that helped the brand reach prominence in the 1980s.
As a percentage of sales, Adidas is outspending rivals in the crowded athletic footwear space. While Reebok sales are rebounding, the brand's faces strong competition from New Balance and Under Armour, which also target the personal fitness space. For its part, Adidas is seeking to shore up its position against Nike and Under Armour with a broader brand positioning that focuses on athletic performance.