For the opening of the dedicated adidas Originals areas in three of Foot Locker’s German flagship stores and three of its Italian flagship stores, adidas tasked iris with developing a creative execution which would be flexible and adaptable to work across in-store POS, signage, print media, in-store TV and launch day activation.

So our Manchester office came up with this impactful and iconic piece of design that uses adidas and Foot Locker assets to communicate that adidas Originals have now taken over the first floor of the stores.

By using adidas’ well-known branding of three stripes to resemble an escalator device, the creative clearly communicates the customer’s in-store journey.

This key visual was used throughout all activity to deliver an integrated campaign across in store signage, animated movie and launch day activity.

In addition to coming up with the creative concept, iris Manchester was responsible for conducting the site surveys, the installation and managing the launch day events.

adidas in-store signage

adidas in-store animation

The breakfast will cover the topic of Payment by Results, a key issue that arose from a survey that iris conducted among procurement bodies. As always, the breakfast will be free to attend.

Sue Leach, head of communications and content for iris’ newest client Orange, will be giving a detailed business case presentation on the topic, which will be followed by a panel discussion to include Debbie Morrison, director of consultancy & best practice at ISBA and iris’ own commercial director Brian Southward.

iris launched its procurement breakfasts to encourage positive dialogue between agencies, marketing and procurement and to step away from the outdated and negative perceptions held by some in the industry.

The first two breakfasts have so far proved a roaring success, with attendees reporting that it has given them an excellent insight into how others are doing things and network with fellow professionals. Download your invite here.

The breakfasts are fast becoming oversubscribed, so if you would like to reserve your space at the breakfast, please email nicola.osmond@iris-worldwide.com.

adidas will launch two nationwide campaigns by iris in sports stores across Australia this week for its 118 Pro boot and Predator boot.

Both campaigns will go live at the same time and will work in tandem to position adidas as the leader in football boot technology, style and comfort, owning the retail space during this key boot-selling time of the lead-up to the World Cup. The campaigns aim to leverage adidas’ association with the event itself and leading athletes to drive the brand’s sporting credentials.

118 Pro boot creative

118 Pro
adidas has tasked iris with creating a new identity for the adidas 118 Pro football boot to launch the boot into adidas own retail and wholesale retail environments.

The campaign revolves around the idea that when it comes to football in Australia, there is one thing that all codes have in common: the hard surfaces that all sports are played on. No matter what level you play at, all football pitches are like concrete. But with its EVA wedge, adiPRENE heel, and TRAXION sole, the 118 Pro has been designed to protect and support the foot in these conditions.

The creative execution features powerful imagery that shows Aussie football pitches replaced with rock-hard surfaces and illustrates how the boot has been purpose-built for Australian conditions. In-store, the creative will be executed through a wide variety of POS materials.

Predator X
The second campaign revolves around adidas’ most premium and elite boot range – the Predator. adidas tasked iris with creating a compelling range of in-store POS materials to inspire its target audience of 14-34 year old A-Spender males to try the new Predator X boot, now in its 10th generation.

As the boot of choice for many professionals, iris’ campaign features global footballing legends Steven Gerrard and Tim Cahill. The campaign carries the strapline “Every Team Needs The Gladiator” and positions Tim Cahill as the gladiator in the story, whilst keeping the boot the ultimate hero of all its messaging.

Like all things, irons are updated constantly. But people don’t seem to see their iron as part of the world of change. They see it more as a necessity, something that gets kept in a dark cupboard until it’s needed, and is only replaced when it’s on its last legs. We wanted to change this perception.

We wanted to get our market to question the age and ability of their irons. And in so doing, persuade them to buy a new Philips. So, using original 70s photography, we asked our audience to cast their minds back to “What they were wearing when they bought their last iron?”

The idea was rolled out to form a truly integrated campaign, including everything from press and posters, to on-shelf activity, digital, moving image and disruptive media in stores. We distributed the ads in places where consumers would be thinking about their clothes and appearance such as clothes retailers, dry cleaners, offices and restaurants.

The campaign has gone live in Germany, Italy and Australia, and will be rolled out to more markets in 2010.

Are you finding January unusually tough this year?  Because if you are – if you’re here, reading this – it’s not because January sucks, it’s probably because your job does.

The thing is, most people in our business now work for big groups.  Which means, ultimately, they work for shareholders. And, as we all know, shareholders aren’t interested in the quality of your life, they’re interested in profit.

iris was set up to be different. We’re owned by the people who work here. And we reinvest our profits back into the company every year to make our product and people better. That’s why The Sunday Times voted us the 10th Best Company To Work For in the UK. And why, last year, we won 14 pitches including Orange, Barclaycard, Kelloggs and VW.

It’s also the reason why, right now, we’re investing in some brilliant new people, who can make our work, our clients and our company better.

At the moment there are still 57 places left to fill. Have a look at our careers section and see if we can help your career go horribly right.

Click image for full size ad

“The agency of the future will be much more multi-dimensional than today’s agencies. Today’s agencies are still basically built around the notion of  “persuasion” and often have a single communication skill set at their core (e.g. advertising, direct or digital). But, in the internet age, the notion of corporations persuading us to buy stuff is simply insulting.

“The future role of the agency will be in facilitation. We will facilitate better relationships between consumers and companies by helping to create platforms, products, services and, yes, communications or entertainment, that have genuine value for the recipient.

“This is not about giving people jingles to sing  – rather, it is about using marketing money to make the brand more useful to people – because that will be why people wish to engage with it – emotionally, as well as rationally.

“This is a move from 60 year old mass market selling tactics to modern empowerment strategies that enable the consumer to derive actual value from brands.

“Facilitation is also truer to the role of an agent. Just as sports agents create opportunities that bring their stars closer to consumers and offer entertainment (films or TV), access (pro-ams, testimonials etc) or opportunity (branded product, How To books and DVD’s etc).

“These are win win deals where everyone gains. There is very little of value for consumers in today’s advertising – the  most you get from a TV commercial is an irritating slogan lodged in your head.”

Shaun has been a key voice in the industry for many years, and contributed to a wide variety of literature on advertising. Back in 2002, Admap published this piece on his thoughts on the future of the creative industry.

The microsite will aim to promote the message that different sports require different forms of breast support.

The site, http://www.shockabsorber.co.uk/focus, will showcase the range, which is a first to market by Shock Absorber and features specific sports bras for running, ball sports and racket sports, as well as explaining the science behind the revolutionary new range. Press and online ads will also go live this week in both sports and leading women’s health & lifestyle publications.

The campaign targets dedicated sportswomen and leverages Shock Absorber’s status as a leading sports performance brand. It is the first campaign to be rolled out under Shock Absorber’s new marketing strategy for Spring/Summer 2010.

Julia Nolan, spokesperson for Shock Absorber, said: “Even though women’s attitudes to sport have evolved, the sports bra market has not and is still offering generalist sport products. The range is a key launch for us – changing the face of the category – and has been developed as a result of 18 months extensive research into how various sports impact on the body and breast movement. We’ve partnered with iris since 2007 and have always seen great results from their work.”

Pete Armstrong, creative director at iris Manchester, said: “It’s great to be partnering Shock Absorber on another category-defining product launch, which sees us continue to build their credentials as a leading sports performance brand.”

In March 2009, iris launched a microsite for Shock Absorber’s new performance swimwear range, www.shockabsorber.co.uk/swim.

This meant encouraging drivers to keep their car well-maintained, check their route before setting off, and pack an emergency kit just in case.

iris enlisted multi-disciplinary design boutique I Love Dust to provide striking illustrative typography to bring to life the simple and actionable messaging to give great standout across an outdoor and print campaign. Just as well considering the 09/10 winter has thrown up some of the most extreme driving conditions the UK has seen in many years.

The key focus for iris this year has been broadening and deepening its product offering across Asia-Pacific. Over the last 12 months, the agency concentrated on three specialist disciplines, retail, experiential and digital, and invested heavily to recruit specialist teams in Singapore, Sydney, Delhi and Beijing.

iris also introduced CRM and sponsorship consultancy services to clients, working with specialists from its London headquarters. It substantially strengthened its creative firepower with senior creative hires in all regional offices. iris challenged and motivated its staff through a range of schemes and retained the best talent this year.

Its commitment to product was endorsed with its second annual client satisfaction survey in the region, showing solid performance and support from key clients. Head of retail, adidas India, Neelendra Singh, says: “iris is just one of those agencies that gets it. They solve problems, they over deliver, they drive the process and they really produce some great work. I truly enjoy partnering with them.”

Additionally, Clementine Tourres — APAC retail marketing manager, adidas says: “Whether tactical efforts or larger brand campaigns, iris has consistently delivered fresh, holistic creative that drives traffic, sales and/or conversion rates.”

Sudhin Mathur — general manager marketing, Sony Ericsson India adds: “iris is an excellent agency, undoubtedly the best I’ve worked with — proactive, creative, efficient, strong brand understanding and strategic thought, highly organised and with excellent project management and a superb attention to detail. They are also very reasonably priced.”

The unique two-year graduate recruitment initiative, which will see successful applicants benefit from a CAM accreditation, board-level mentoring and an intensive induction programme including global placement, will offer account handlers a full introduction to all aspects of the advertising and marketing industry, and will sit alongside iris’ graduate initiative for creative talent, The Bunker.

iris, which ranked 10^th nationally in this year’s Sunday Times ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ list and has a consistent 80% retention rate for graduates over the past seven years, has overhauled the previous scheme of the same name to offer candidates greater variation, opportunity and challenge from a competitive, integrated package.

The full-time scheme, which will open on the 8th December for graduates joining in 2010, will see candidates undertake four rotations across the business, including account management, strategic thinking, a stint within iris’ award-winning specialist disciplines – which include digital, experiential and sponsorship – and a placement within one of iris’ offices worldwide. Graduates can expect to get their teeth into briefs for some of iris’ largest accounts, which include Sony Ericsson, Unilever, Hertz, Shell and Volkswagen, upon gaining a place on the scheme.

Kathryn Pritchard, global talent director at iris, said: “People are our most valuable asset and we know that the success of our business is intrinsically linked to our talent’s career development. That’s why we’ve made iris Potential a world-class scheme, offering variation in discipline and geography while allowing grads to really get under the skin of the business and that of our clients. We want the right grads for our business, which is why the application process focuses on real client briefs and the program itself offers global mobility to build global insight and knowledge from day one.

“The key thing that the industry needs to recognise is that the next generation of agency leaders are going to have to be able to integrate disciplines, geographies and work across client boundaries, and this scheme – as one of a raft of new people products we are introducing – aims to help them build the capability they need to become a global industry  leader.”

Successful candidates can look forward to: one-to-one mentoring sessions with the agency’s industry heavyweights (including CEOs Ian Millner and Stewart Shanley, CEO for Europe Paul Bainsfair and Chairman Drew Thomson in the UK); an accredited learning qualification from recognised industry charity the CAM Foundation; four placements including a global rotation; monthly seminars with industry speakers; insight into client businesses; and an induction and buddying programme, as well as other tools to aid their development.

Graduates have the benefit of being able to complete the CAM accreditation through a distance learning qualification, so they will still gain accreditation from the course by completing it at any of iris’ offices worldwide.

iris Potential’s launch, along with the recent unveiling of iris’ recruitment initiative for creative talent The Bunker – a structured 10-week programme for creative talent attempting to break into the industry – sees iris buck the national trend of cutting graduate intake as a result of the downturn.  In August this year, BT announced it was to axe its graduate scheme, and in the same month PricewaterhouseCoopers withdrew offers of employment from 100 graduate trainees.

Candidates for next year’s intake can visit www.iris-potential.com to apply before the closing date of 31^st January. Once they have submitted their application – which includes lives briefs from existing clients such as Sony Ericsson and Wonderbra – they will hear whether they have been successful by being invited to a screening day. If they make it through to a final assessment day, they will be asked to make a presentation to the board as well as respond to a live brief, before finding out whether they have been awarded a place on the scheme.