Adidas hypes EQT line with star-studded video and Parisian event

Last week, Adidas Originals staged an evening event in Paris in collaboration with Hypebeast, the sneaker aficionados’ platform of reference, which for the occasion launched its French version. The event attracted the French capital's street culture connoisseurs, and reverberated with the echo of the launch of Adidas' latest advertising campaign for the EQT line.

The new video was launched in the middle of summer and reprises on the 'Original is never finished' riff, with the 'My Way' remix featured last January. Actress Kendall Jenner and NBA ace James Harden star in the video, together with rappers 21 Savage, Young Thug and Playboi Carti. In other words, a wicked mix of influencers, top-notch athletes with a streetwear attitude and pop stars.

Each autumn, Adidas Originals usually places a special promotional emphasis on one of its lines.
In the last few years, the spotlight fell on the NMD and Tubular lines, and now it is the turn of EQT, created in 1991 and extensively made over for its relaunch earlier this year, with no less than 25 models currently available. The line also includes an apparel collection blending street and performance wear and, as well as by a video, it is also supported by traditional adverts - as in Paris at bus stops and underground stations.

The campaign was further amped up in Paris by last week-end's event. "Events are a very important component of Adidas Originals launches. They are an opportunity for the brand to work with all the local street culture players, clearly our ideal expressive milieu, said Nathalie Beguinot, Director of Communications for Adidas France. As we did in Paris, we tap into local talent to share and rewrite our vision and values: dancers, performers, graphic designers, artists, set designers, musicians, models, etc. The spin-offs are always remarkable and the effects are felt almost immediately, notably on social media. And of course, they add weight to the ongoing campaign on traditional media."

The approach is rooted in Adidas' ‘key cities’ strategy, which aims to introduce the brand's products and new developments in the world's most influential cities, so that the impact of events and campaigns can then resonate countrywide and worldwide. Adidas' other core strategy, for which a dedicated team exists, is to identify each line with a brand ambassador.

"We have an Entertainment and Influence Management (EIM) department at our worldwide newsroom, whose task is to recruit the faces for our advertising campaigns. Pharell Williams, for example, is now involved in many products and has developed his own franchise, Human Race (HU), said Nathalie Beguinot. The idea is to find the right celebrities, who can best embody our messages and support our brand narratives. For EQT, NBA player James Harden is the ideal combo of sport and style, with an urban, laid-back mood."

This approach seems to be effective, as Adidas is achieving a balance between its vintage models and new, directional lines like Yeezy or NMD. "The sales share is rebalancing very naturally, said Beguinot. Of course, from a technical standpoint, we have tools which enable us to control the volumes we market, and to optimise product cycles. But all our new consumers are waiting for new shapes, paying special attention to the direction the future of street culture is taking." Adidas Originals is planning to satisfy these expectations with more new product launches in 2018.

Adidas hypes EQT line with star-studded video and Parisian event

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