Author Archives: Ina Heumann

The adidas Game Changers – Moments that turned us into what we are

Ina HeumannFebruary 8, 2013 3:00 pmHistory

It’s that moment in the last minute of the game when you realize the vital through ball will succeed and you will score – no matter what. It’s the moment when you resolutely turn in a completely new and surprising direction. It’s the moment when you hold your breath because of all the excitement. These are the few but powerful situations which have the potential to fundamentally change the game. adidas has in its history experienced a couple of these special moments, too. Most often they have been triggered by the innovative spirit Adi Dassler anchored in the DNA of our brand and which Bernd Wahler, Head of Innovation at adidas, also described in his recently published interview.

In the last years I have investigated quite extensively adidas’ history for the history book ‘The story as told by those who have lived and are living it’. Based on this knowledge, let me share what I feel some of the most important and game-changing moments in our history were.

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Interview: Team GB’s Olympic Legend Daley Thompson

Ina HeumannAugust 8, 2012 4:39 pmHistory

When talking about Olympic legends you do not need to go any further than Daley Thompson. One of Team GB’s heroes did not only win the decathlon’s gold medal in the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games but also remained unbeaten in his event for nine (!) consecutive years between 1979 and 1987 – a time in which he also became World and European Champion. This year, Daley returned to the Games when he joined fellow legendary athletes Haile Gebrselassie, Edwin Moses, Dick Fosbury and Maurice Greene for a press event at the adidas London 2012 media lounge near the Olympic Park.

As soon as I heard about the ambassadors coming together, I had to think back to another memorable Daley Thompson moment. On December 11, 2008, we met the legend in London to interview him for our employee brand book. He shared timeless insights about his career and achievements, his memories of the Games he participated in and how much he is looking forward to London 2012 to cheer for the team he was once an active part of.

Enjoy the interview!

“The adidas story was even longer, more complex, more intriguing than I had realised” (guest post)

Ina HeumannJuly 20, 2012 2:06 pmHistory, On-the-Job Records

The story as told by those who have lived and are living it (Series – Part 5)

This is the fifth and last article of our series “The story as told by those who have lived and are living it” (see all articles of this series here), which provides you with different perspectives on the project with the same title. The following guest post was written by Keith Cooper, a British journalist, very well known in the sports industry. Keith spent months and months digging into our history, interviewing some 140 people who witnessed the adidas story first-hand. But most importantly he put the whole story together, which was a huge challenge if you look at the amount of information Keith had to “digest”.

My perspective on the creation of the adidas brand book (guest post)

Ina HeumannApril 30, 2012 2:17 pmHistory, On-the-Job Records

This is the fourth article of our series “The story as told by those who have lived and are living it” which provides you with different perspectives on the project with the same title. This project was all about putting together the history of adidas in one book for employees. The following guest post was written by Lars Harmsen, Creative Director of Mellville Brand Design, the creative agency which supported us in designing and publishing the book. Here is how Lars feels about this exciting project.

Putting together adidas’ history in one book (Guest Post)

Ina HeumannFebruary 8, 2012 4:25 pmHistory, On-the-Job Records

“The story as told by those who have lived and are living it” (Series – Part 2)

My name is Peter Moore – the team calls me affectionately “Godfather”. As Ina told you in her post about our brand-book project which is summarized by the caption “The story as told by those who have lived and are living it”, I was in charge to come up with a concept for the book. It does have the goal of putting together the history of adidas. Why I was chosen for this wonderful task? Probably my background helped a lot…