This was announced today by our CEOThe Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a company is the highest-ranking corporate officer and in charge of total management of an organisation. Herbert Hainer during a football media day at our headquarters in Herzogenaurach. Thus, for adidas football 2014 will be the continuation of an already extremely successful year 2013: Lionel Messi was awarded with the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the fourth time in a row, Chelsea FC won an all adidas final in the UEFA Europa League and FC Bayern Munich has just been crowned as the UEFA Champions League winner. At the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, four out of eight teams are adidas teams: Spain, Japan, Mexico and Nigeria. However, today’s outlook of 2 billion Euro sales in the football category in 2014 shows that we don’t intend to rest on our laurels. We will maintain our brand’s visibility and will continue to bring exciting innovations to the market. So stay tuned.

You are very welcome to download and share the infographic below which shows why adidas is the world’s number one football brand. But what is more important: share our excitement for football and the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil…the images of today’s event prove why football is so popular. Check it out.

adidas football media event 2013

Brazilian idyll on the World of Sports in Herzogenautach before our guests arrived

adidas football media event 2013

Diogo Guimaraes, Head of Brand Marketing, adidas do Brasil came to Germany to answer the journalists' questions on the Brazilian Market

adidas football media event 2013

The day started with some beach soccer with mixed teams. Even the weather was like in Brazil

adidas football media event 2013

Markus Baumann, Senior Vice President, adidas Global Football, shows his football skills

adidas football media event 2013

The exhausted but happy participants

adidas football media event 2013

Cold drinks for the players

adidas football media event 2013

After the game and before the press conference the journalists got insights into our innovation lab...

adidas football media event 2013

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A disadvantaged background closes doors

In the period leading up to the Two Oceans Marathon, Xolisa said that, although he had lived in Cape Town all his life and loved running, he thought it would never be possible for him to participate in such a big race. He has been unemployed since he finished grade 12 a year ago and lives with his mother who sells fruit to children attending schools in the area during breaktime to make some money for the family to survive.

Xolisa when he won his first 5 km fun run

Xolisa thought the Two Oceans Marathon was only for privileged people, not for people like him, living in the impoverished township of Khayelitsha. In fact, although Khayelitsha is only 20 minutes’ drive from the centre of Cape Town, Xolisa had never been to most of the places the Two Oceans Marathon winds its way through and before the run had never had the opportunity to see what makes this marathon one of the world’s most beautiful. Such is the reality of poverty.

A dream comes true

Xolisa first became involved when SCORE supported running clubs in South Africa to organise fun runs across the country. He won a 5km fun run, which he led from start to finish – running in normal school shoes. Being able to participate in the Two Oceans Marathon was therefore not only an opportunity to test his running capabilities, it was also an empowering experience which showed that talent and opportunity can help someone like Xolisa to rise above his circumstances, succeed despite his background and provide a vision of a future beyond what he previously thought would be possible.

Xolisa after he completed the Two Oceans Marathon

When he finished the 21km half marathon in a remarkable time of 1:25 hours, Xolisa was very excited about his achievement. “I trained very hard and I am happy to have done well,” he said.

Another runner with lots of potential who finished the Two Oceans Marathon is Class Shime Segwabe from Skuinsdrift, a very rural village community in the North West province. He became involved more recently after winning a World AIDS Day 10km run SCORE had organised in his community. In the past, Class only ran because he had an individual passion for the road; but now, he no longer runs just for himself. Since he started working with SCORE, Class has been a major driver in setting up a new running club in his community. His participation in the Two Oceans Marathon is therefore not only a personal dream come true, but also an inspiration to all the aspiring runners he is working with to form this new club. Running has now become much more than what it once was for him – it’s also a tool for Class to help transform the future of the young people in his community.

Class when he arrived in the finish of Two Oceans Marathon

Supported by the 3-Stripes

Thanks to adidas, both runners were well equipped for the race. During the “Refresh Your Gear” campaign in October and November last year, adidas collected 3,098 used shoes from consumers and donated more than half of these to SCORE. The organisation then distributed these shoes to communities around the country where they are establishing running clubs – and the race was run by these two boys in their donated shoes.

The success of those two runners will go a long way correcting perceptions about townships athletes

Xolisa’s and Class’ great success is hopefully only the beginning. Both athletes are now supporting SCORE to set up a new running club in their communities and reach their goal to establish various running clubs in communities across four provinces. SCORE will continue to support running clubs and assist them in structuring themselves properly, training youths and organising fun runs, like the ones where Xolisa and Class were “discovered”. Moreover, Xolisa hopes that his involvement in this race and the new running club will be the beginning of his career in running and coaching. SCORE keeps in close contact with these two runners and is currently looking to find ways for them to receive proper coaching and training, proper medical and nutritional advice and gain access to even more competitions. It’s a good thing that they are also talking to adidas and their partners to address these issues.

And perhaps at some point, participating in great running events will be as natural for all talented runners in South Africa as it is for us.

What does networking mean to you?

Networking is all about building connections. Meeting people who share common ideas or goals can give you inspiration for your work and make life so much more interesting. Understanding people and their stories is fascinating and I find that with nearly everyone you meet in life you can find some connection, even in the most diverse cultures, places and backgrounds.

A lot of people say that men are better in networking. Do you agree? Why?

That is what the studies say, but women can be amazing networkers – they probably don’t know it or shout about it! They may not realise the networks they already have or use them to the same extent. If you go in with a mind-set “how can I help” rather than “what can I get out of this”, you find it a much more rewarding experience. We have to be better in asking for help and use our network for support.

Why do you think networking is so important?

Without a network, our team would not be able to function. The nature of our work and how we are set up crosses functions, markets and skill sets: we are a matrix organisation and need to be able to rely on a good flow of information to run quickly and efficiently. It is something we are working on and we have set “Team Up & Communicate Better” as one of our key goals for 2013.

Your personal benefit?

Networking is not always about personal gain. It can be very satisfying seeing other people or ideas develop as a result of connections you may have. Staying open-minded and sharing your knowledge can lead you down paths you never expected. Networking also gives you a sense of belonging and the confidence to get to know like-minded people and an alternative way of thinking. I think the only way to develop is to stay curious.

How can networking make great things happen?

One of the kids who benefits from "The Great Football Giveaway" initiative

In 2011, a friend of mine from the UK took a 3-month sabbatical to run a charity called “The Great Football Giveaway” for underprivileged children in Tanzania. She asked me to use my network to get involved and see what we could make happen. I used my network to collect footballs and get other volunteers to join us on the project, including a photographer and journalist; without networking this would never have happened.

What are your top tips for successful networking?

Nourish your relationships, which requires give and take; a little often goes a long way; stay open-minded and curious.

Given the way the modern world works, you have to take responsibility for your own career and personal development. Networking can help inspire you and find something you love and do it with passion. You cannot hide passion: it is infectious.

Maybe you can inspire someone else by sharing your story?

Unfortunately though, cotton production can be very polluting. As an example, about 10% of all agricul­tural chemicals used worldwide are processed by the cotton sector. The environmental damage, the high costs as well as the low farmers’ incomes rapidly increase the demand for sustainable cotton.

Ambitious goals

As a pioneer member, the adidas Group has been involved with the Better Cotton InitiativeThe Better Cotton Initiative (BCIThe Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) was formally established in 2005, with the adidas Group as a founding member. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, composed of brands, non-governmental organisations and institutional organisations, the BCI develops and promotes good farm practices, allowing more cotton to be grown while reducing water and chemical use and protecting both working conditions and biodiversity.) was formally established in 2005, with the adidas Group as a founding member. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, composed of brands, non-governmental organisations and institutional organisations, the BCIThe Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) was formally established in 2005, with the adidas Group as a founding member. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, composed of brands, non-governmental organisations and institutional organisations, the BCI develops and promotes good farm practices, allowing more cotton to be grown while reducing water and chemical use and protecting both working conditions and biodiversity. develops and promotes good farm practices, allowing more cotton to be grown while reducing water and chemical use and protecting both working conditions and biodiversity. from the very beginning. Additionally, to further support and strengthen the implementation and success of the BCIThe Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) was formally established in 2005, with the adidas Group as a founding member. As a multi-stakeholder initiative, composed of brands, non-governmental organisations and institutional organisations, the BCI develops and promotes good farm practices, allowing more cotton to be grown while reducing water and chemical use and protecting both working conditions and biodiversity., a consortium of market leading private and public organizations founded the Better Cotton Fast Track Program in 2010. The adidas Group is also one of the funding private partners of this group, which invests in farmer training projects around the world and initiates the procurement of the Better Cotton that is produced. The aim is that – by 2015 – Better Cotton farmers will be producing well over 1 million metric tons of Better Cotton.

To achieve our target of 100% sustainable cotton by 2018, we have set incremental annual targets for the quantity of ‘Better Cotton’ that will be used: 5% by 2012; 40% by 2015; 100% Sustainable Cotton by 2018.

I love this job, it’s dynamic, and every day presents a new challenge

I love to create order from the chaos and I feel like it’s a perfect mix of structured and unstructured elements – It’s the perfect job for me. Before adidas, I worked for ten years at a university as a professor of Quality Assurance Management (pretty structured!). I’m also a painter and writer of kids books (definitely creative activity!), so my life has always been balancing these two different worlds.

Here, at the adidas Group the challenge is to create a new culture and a new collaboration between these two different departments. Together with the IT Virtualization team and adidas Design Department, I have built a methodology called IT4D: IT for Design! We want to understand how designers work and communicate, then provide tools to help them save time on boring administration activities, giving them more time to create! Our teams’ goal is to support the creative core of the company!

Bringing different teams together

I love to create “shared moments” by putting people together in the same room, because real communication and understanding can only truly happen with common experiences and emotions! In our team, we are interested in feedback, ideas and comments from designers because only when we understand them, can we provide IT solutions that really make sense!

We are currently planning for an especially unusual event to bring IT and Design together. The idea is to set up a huge DESIGN Wall in our IT building. We will paint images (ten canvases in total) in three sessions where IT and Design will work together. I am very excited about that! We will bring music and art materials: brushes, acrylic paint, glue, paper, sketches…and our inspiration. I personally believe that the power of art can bring people together and really stimulate emotions.

I love the adidas Group. It is like a big canvas with lots of different shades: We are all very different, yet we still contribute together as part of the same company. To me, differences are so beautiful! In the end, it does not matter whether you work in Design or IT – we are part of the same painting!

Read on to find out more about DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. and its development…

In case you are not familiar with the term DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process., this is one of the key sustainable innovations for the adidas brand, and a game changer in the textile dyeing industry (find out more in my last blog post). The technology eliminates the use of water during the dyeing process, but as well reduces the use of chemicals and energy by 50%.

Think about it: it normally takes 25 litres of water to color one shirt. With DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process., this water can be saved. We first introduced the technology to the market in 2012, with a limited collection of 50,000 t-shirts. Then, we have gradually rolled out this technology across ranges and product categories – with major water savings in the dyeing process.

adidas Performance Prime Tee

For Spring/Summer 13, the majority of the fabric has been used for the adidas Performance Prime Tee, one of the best-selling, versatile, training t-shirts in the adidas sports performance range.

Over the last years, the adidas Group has actively supported the development of the DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. technology in collaboration with the Yeh Group.

Thanks to this partnership, DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. has made tremendous progress, especially in the last year. Applying the technology to one of our key products already means that in one year we have been able to take it to the next level as this is not a limited collection, but rather a full line of DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. apparel that is now available globally. This is a clear sign that the production is truly scalable.

Molly, our Director Material sourcing, celebrates with David Yeh, Co-owner of the Yeh Group

By using 1 million yards of DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. fabric we have been able to save an impressive 25 million litres of water in the dyeing process! And this is only the beginning!

During our visit at the Yeh Group, we were able to see the process and benefits of DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. first hand. The team built up already great expertise on this new technology. But, it is really a “learning by doing” process, as there is no other similar technology existing in the industry. The process is improved on a daily basis, literally.

It is also fascinating to see machines in full production: I have seen so many textile dyehouses in my career and they can be quite wet. The DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. dyehouse is so clean. Other than in conventional dyeing the fabric is completely dry when released from the machine and there is no additional drying needed.

The DryDyeDryDye is an innovation introduced by the adidas Group in 2012. Usually it takes 25 litres of water to dye a t-shirt. The revolutionary DryeDye technology eliminates the need for water in the dyeing process. By requiring no water, DryDye also uses 50% less energy and 50% fewer chemicals when compared to the conventional fabric dyeing process. technology is really a game changer and I am extremely proud to be part of the team that is working on this project. It was great to meet the Yeh Group team, a very passionate team, and celebrate with them such an impressive milestone.

That is until the 89th minute. Until the moment when Arjen Robben achieved immortality and scored the deciding goal for his club on an exciting night of football: Robben fired the ball into the Dortmund net – Bayern Munich wins 2-1! Robben had “lucky feet”. 

It goes without saying that FC Bayern Munich’s success is mainly due to the outstanding talent of its players and the manager’s ability to turn this group of highly gifted players into a unit that works together perfectly. But adidas and its employees also played their part in the triumph in London.

This is evident when you take a closer look at Robben’s “lucky feet”

One of the personalized football boots for a Bayern Munich player at the final

Robben’s football boots with which the offensive player scored the most important goal of his career are inscribed with the names and birthdays of his three children. Robben requested that these details be added to his boots to spur him on – and this was made possible by adidas employees. In ScheinfeldScheinfeld is located in the south-eastern part of Germany and is 40km west of the adidas Group’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach. It is the only adidas-owned shoe production facility. adidas Scheinfeld is known for its unique expertise in footwear production. Over the years, it has evolved from being a traditional factory into a highly flexible service centre. Today, Scheinfeld produces 2,500 pairs of ‘Copa Mundial’ and ‘World Cup’ football boots per day, as well as around 900 pairs of custom-made shoes for adidas top athletes per month. The factory also makes specialised shoes for the Winter and Summer Olympic Games, and is entrusted with exclusive design projects. , professional footballers’ boots are decorated with the name of a girlfriend or their children, etc. on request.Flags can also be printed on the boots – in Robben’s case, the Dutch flag was added. This is called embellishment. Perhaps this special printing on Robben’s boots played a crucial role in sending the ball into the net?

During the weekend of the Champions League final, we wanted to make sure that people not only see this on the pitch when FC Bayern Munich took the crown of European football but also that they get a chance to experience it themselves. So, a couple of months ago, we came up with the idea of creating the adidas lab. A place where you’d be able to experience, see and feel the future of football. A place where those pushing the boundaries of technology, media, marketing and the sport itself would gather.

The great thing when you start with something like this here at adidas is that the moment you start talking to people about your vision, they get excited and start adding their part to make it great. So, my team and I started talking to our colleagues at the adidas Innovation team, where experts think about the products that are 2, 5 or even 10 years away from being launched on the market. We checked with our Digital and Social Media teams to see what they are working on at the moment, and we had long conversations with all the people working in Football, from the Business UnitBusiness Unit (BUBusiness Unit (BU) is an organisation within the company which unites various business functions which are all relevant to a specific market segment. At the adidas Group, BUs are suborientated to the individual brands. Business Units at the adidas Group include BU Basketball, BU Swim or BU Football.) is an organisation within the company which unites various business functions which are all relevant to a specific market segment. At the adidas Group, BUs are suborientated to the individual brands. Business Units at the adidas Group include BUBusiness Unit (BU) is an organisation within the company which unites various business functions which are all relevant to a specific market segment. At the adidas Group, BUs are suborientated to the individual brands. Business Units at the adidas Group include BU Basketball, BU Swim or BU Football. Basketball, BUBusiness Unit (BU) is an organisation within the company which unites various business functions which are all relevant to a specific market segment. At the adidas Group, BUs are suborientated to the individual brands. Business Units at the adidas Group include BU Basketball, BU Swim or BU Football. Swim or BUBusiness Unit (BU) is an organisation within the company which unites various business functions which are all relevant to a specific market segment. At the adidas Group, BUs are suborientated to the individual brands. Business Units at the adidas Group include BU Basketball, BU Swim or BU Football. Football. to Brand Marketing. And last but not least, it was clear right from the start that the future of sport is also driven by insights and data. So naturally miCoachmiCoach is an adidas product category that has been created to offer consumers of all levels personal coaching with training programmes designed by the world’s top coaches. miCoach aims to make the user a better athlete, regardless of the sport. had to play a big role in our lab.

So here’s what happened when people came to the adidas lab:

1. They got a little wristband with an RFIDRadio-frequency identificationRadio-frequency identification (RFID) refers to a wireless technology that leads to transfer data to automatically identify or track objects that have been fitted with special identification tags. (RFID) refers to a wireless technology that leads to transfer data to automatically identify or track objects that have been fitted with special identification tags. chip so they could register via Facebook or Twitter.
2. They saw some of the milestones of modern football. From the shoe that helped Fritz Walter and his team to win the World Cup in 1954 (the first with exchangeable studs) to the legendary Copa Mundial and the Predator. From the Telstar Durlast, the first ball designed to be more visible on TV (and the first with the distinct black and white pattern) to the ball that was used in this year’s UCL final.
3. We took them through a little test at “The Track”. We all know that you can improve your game already by making sure you wear the right boot. “The Track” shows how we identify whether a player is a speed demon, the engine or the technical wizard of his team and we provide them with the stats to prove they are an f50, a Nitrocharge or a Predator player.
4. We explained to them how coaches will be able to make more fact-based decisions in the future? Take a seat and experience the miCoachmiCoach is an adidas product category that has been created to offer consumers of all levels personal coaching with training programmes designed by the world’s top coaches. miCoach aims to make the user a better athlete, regardless of the sport. Elite Team system. We are already working with the MLS and some national teams like the German national football team to make athletes better and coaches smarter through data. This new adidas product is the first system of its kind that uses physiological data in real time, sending it straight to a coach’s tablet on the side-line. The system not only provides real-time insights during training, but also tracks total training impact, collects and manages data and is highly portable. The state-of-the-art system measures everything from power, speed and distance to heart rate, acceleration and field position, allowing key insights into player performance and work rate, helping teams achieve and maintain peak physical performance.
5. Here at adidas, we know that light makes fast and not having to carry around extra weight for 90 minutes might be the tip of the scale when you need to score in extra time. So, together with Zinedine Zidane, we presented a prototype of an adizero boot weighing a mere 99g.It is part of a concept of a full football kit that weighs only 630g (not only is that almost two pounds less than the kit Fritz Walter wore in 1954 but it also equals the number of minutes played during a World Cup until you lift the trophy).
   

   The adidas Smart Ball sensor

6. In football, every touch counts. The adidas Smart Ball has been designed to improve technique, power, spin and accuracy through an automated coaching system. After three years of development, adidas has created a ball with in-built sensors that track its movement and feed the information back to the player through an app on their phone. The app is built around four key sections that help improve players’ technique through immediate analysis, direct feedback, a series of challenges and a record book. Smart Ball is set for release in 2014, but fans visiting the ‘adidas lab’ had the chance to test it out with three shots against a giant interactive wall that projected their impact and results immediately

Check out this video for a closer look at the adidas lab:

Opening the lab to the public on the Friday before the final with some help from Zinedine Zidane and Michael Ballack has to be one of the highlights of my career. Watching the game at the lab with live data coming in on our Virtual Footwear Wall showing every tackle made, every mile run and every tweet sent during the match was amazing. Just before the kick-off, we had a little panel discussion with experts from YouTube, BTone and the Future Foundation and it was clear right from the start, not only is the way we play and coach football changing, the way we can watch it and get more insights into the game is changing rapidly, too.

The adidas lab in London was just a start to show how we as a brand intend to keep on redefining the future of sport, and I am much looking forward to the next lab. So, here are my questions to you:

What do you think the future of football looks like and what should our next adidas lab be about?

What is the Cash factory concept?

In support of our company’s push for speed, consistency and consumer focus, the Treasury team launched the Cash Factory programme to centralise the adidas Group’s cash management and payment processes globally. The resulting cost savings allow the Treasury team to contribute to the implementation of both the Finance strategy and the Group’s Route 2015Route 2015 is the Strategic Business Plan for 2015 that aims at growing the business of the entire adidas Group to € 17 billion by 2015. This plan is the most comprehensive business plan the adidas Group has ever prepared, incorporating all brands, sales channels and Group functions globally. It is our road to success: our Route 2015. profitability goals.

Michel Bekkers, Senior VP Group Treasury: “Our goal was to set up a global and consistent approach towards managing cash across our company. We wanted to move away from individual subsidiaries managing their cash individually, maintaining their own bank relationships.

What we wanted to establish was full transparency on where our excess, unused cash reserves are sitting and a reduction in the amount of bank charges we were paying as a Group. This was the starting point of us setting up a project called “Cash Factory” to resolve the situation.”

Tangible results

Damjan Stukelj, Director Treasury on the outcome: “As a result of the project implementation, we are now in the position to act like an in-house bank for our subsidiaries. Today, we provide automated cash pooling to 70% of our in-scope subsidiaries and these subsidiaries now pay their invoices via one central payment gateway with one of our global master banks.

Starting in October, adidas AG will also start executing payments-on-behalf-of these subsidiaries from a central adidas AG account. As a result, subsidiaries no longer need to manage their own bank accounts or online banking solutions. Through the central pooling we’ve also been able to reduce the number of banks and bank accounts by more than 50%.”

Interest from other major DAX companies and banks that are looking to implement this solution has been high. Recently, Damjan shared the Cash Factory solutions and learnings with a group of peers at the Finanzsymposium in Mannheim:

“The room was packed with people who were interested to learn how we pulled it off,” he says. “Many people contacted me afterwards wanting me to shed more light on our solution and approach. Bankers told me we are playing in the Champions League now. It was amazing!”

Robin Stalker, Member of the Board and responsible for Finance said: “With the Cash Factory approach, we have not only established maximum transparency and flexibility on how we use our excess cash, we are also much more strategic in how we manage it. I’m impressed with the smooth implementation and pleased to see that we are setting new standards for our industry!”

It starts months before

At adidas America, we invite employees’ kids to the office once a year for “Take your child to work day”. We usually split up 100+ participating kids into two groups (one for kids 13 and younger and one for the older kids) and create specific programs for each group. Planning for the day starts right after the dust settles on the prior year events. Right after last year’s event, all volunteers gathered for a coffee to share what worked and what needs improvement. For the 13 and under the plan is to make it fun, keep them moving and experience something special about adidas. I use my son for ideas of course, but he can be unrealistic. Some of my favorites include; unlimited shopping in the adidas VillageThe adidas Village is home to the headquarters of adidas North America. Just a five-minute drive from downtown Portland, the 11-acre site features five office buildings, an employee store, a conference centre, a full-service restaurant, two coffee shops, a gym, a soccer pitch, a tennis court, a parking garage and public facilities, including a public park and two half-basketball courts. store, famous athlete appearances, all day basketball, soccer etc. Since we have a budget that does not include unlimited shopping we have to take our input with a filter. Movement we have found is the key to success for this group. Keep them moving every 45 minutes and everyone stays happy.

The Teenager “challenge”

The yoga activity was a hit; one of many activities small groups of kids participated in throughout the day.

During the planning phase, most of our discussion tends to fall around how to engage the teenagers, provide something valuable for their actual career thought process and make it fun too. Fortunately the committee is guided by the experience of our leader Valerie who has successfully found solutions to coax this group out of either sleep deprived looking stares or smart phone addicted focus. We never really give them enough credit; teenagers are actually interested in what happens in all those buildings their parents work in every day and how they might “fit” their interests into a career someday. Someone closer to their age normally shepherds this group and works magic to get them talking, this past year that credit all belongs to my colleague Stephanie.

What really happens?

The magic of the day is in the finer details. When my son arrived in the morning we stopped by my desk for a quick email check and he got to say hello to familiar faces. His input was requested on a tee shirt buy that was in the works and he was rewarded with the shirt that he selected to be a top seller! He reconnected with a co-workers son and he was happy to start the day.

During the day, all parents involved see not only friendships but creative genius, kindness, silly stuff and parental “love”. Yep, we adidas people love our kids and while they might not want to eat lunch with us (new friends are hard to compete with) we at least get to see them enjoying their day, taking funny photos, creating art and participating in sport!

Ready to sign up with the 3-Stripes

A group of kids cross the adidas Village skybridge, headed to a pizza lunch!

It takes the Village to make this day work, and while 120+ kids might sound daunting for a day, the team of volunteers makes it all run smoothly. This year we had perfect weather (thank you Portland) and not enough snacks! But we will fix that for next year. Returning from the office that evening, it was great to see how excited my son was and how much fun he had had all day. As a competitive basketball and soccer player he is ready to sign with the 3-Stripes! My son says he thinks that while he will be 13 next year, he would still rather do the younger kids’ fun day for one more year, before moving on to the older group which includes some “career” talk. We will see, but I will happily volunteer again as it’s a privilege to spend the day with such a great group of kids!