Adidas Reviews Strategic Options For Reebok

The Business of Fashion

After purchasing Reebok in 2006 and redeeming its profitability in 2019, Adidas will announce its decision of whether to sell the division, potentially to VF Corp., parent company of Timberland and North Face.

Why it matters: The move is part of Adidas’ new five-year strategy. According to German publication Manager Magazin, chief executive Kasper Rorsted had hoped for about $2.4 billion from selling Reebok before the pandemic, but he would now be happy with less than that.

Could Gen Z Consumer Behavior Make Capitalism More Ethical?

Harvard Business Review

In an effort to support racial equity and enhance customer value, companies such as Netflix, Twitter and PayPal are transferring funds into black-owned banks. 

Why it matters: The move comes as Gen Z’s desire for brands to address social justice issues increases. 

How Leading Companies Are Innovating Remotely

MIT Sloan Management Review

According to a study that MIT conducted among 1,000 innovation leaders across 17 countries between April and August 2020, companies responded to the disruption of COVID-19 in one of two ways. Businesses that mostly ignored innovation, namely “mourners,” struggled to adapt, taking a conservative approach and re-purposing their offices. “Stormers,” or businesses that focused on innovation, such as Twitter and Amazon, focused on increasing interactions with their audiences to inspire loyalty.

Why it matters: Innovation in a remote work model will require defining a schedule and sticking to it, introducing service culture, turning leaders into stewards and letting employees own customer relationships.

Inside Diageo North America’s Marketing Strategy

Forbes

Edward Pilkington, Diageo North America chief marketing and innovation officer, says his team has responded to the drop in on-premise alcohol sales by considering new consumer dynamics, such as a rise in in-home consumption and mixology, online shopping and spending over $100 on luxury brands.

Why it matters: Brands that wish to survive the pandemic must pivot and ensure their media is as targeted as possible with more people in lockdowns. 

Pandemic And Programmatic Push Mobile Gaming Into A New Era

The Drum

According to Adverty co-founder and CEO Niklas Bakos, while in-game has all the makings of a major media channel, mobile specifically will dominate, making programmatic the only route forward into a sustainable in-game ad business.

Why this matters: Global mobile game downloads are projected to increase by 35.7 percent year-on-year in 2020 to 57 billion, up from 42 billion in 2019, reports  GamesIndustry.biz.