By: William Matthews
Have you ever gone to customize your shoes but were limited by the number of options available to you? Or have you ever wanted to completely personalize your own shoes with pictures from your personal experiences? Now you can with Adidas’ photo printing app that allows customers to customize their sneakers with their Instagram posts. Imagine that, a picture you took when you were on vacation at a beautiful beach, now on your feet.
The new mobile app is compatible with iPhones and Andriods. Consumers looking to purchase Adidas ZX Flux sneakers will be able to personalize their shoes by printing out their Instagram images. Adidas said on Instagram: “Print your favorite photos straight onto one of 2014’s hottest silhouettes and make a statement on your sneakers like never before.”
Adidas’ competitors, like Nike and Puma, have similar options when it comes to customizing shoes. Nike has their online site NikeID and Puma has Puma Mongolian BBQ. Unlike these companies, Adidas is taking shoes customization to a whole new level by making their product more social by using Instagram.
The personalization of products allows customers to incorporate digital experiences into physical products. “The allure of [this campaign] is not about customization. It’s about personalization in a way that downloads memories we’ve digitally captured in time onto tangible and touchable objects.”
The price of the customized sneaker was not disclosed, and it is still unclear if Adidas’ new Instagram campaign will boost Adidas’ revenue. One thing that is clear is by using social networks such as Instagram, Adidas is forming a new type of offline social media. This campaign will no doubt get Adidas’ brand out there and have people talking about it.
“Media channels have no boundaries, he says, so brands should abandon a channel-by-channel planning approach to marketing.” Adidas was the first brand to use social media as a way of personalizing a product. Because of the massive amount of social content out there, I believe more and more brands will start to “find innovative ways to close the gap between social content and e-commerce.”
So do you think Adidas’ concept of “Instagramizing” sneakers will be a popular product and boost revenues? Also, do you think more Brands will follow Adidas’ footsteps and use social media for their products to boost revenues? Finally, do you think because this concept in only compatible with one Adidas model shoe, (unlike NikeID where you have multiple options) it will stop the project from reaching its goals? Or do you think Nike would be able to apply this concept much more affectively with its NikeID Website and Brand Equity?
Marketing Discussions 
While this is a very cool concept, the only flaw I see is that only one Adidas model is compatible. If, once this product takes off, will there be more other shoe model’s that would be compatible?
LikeLike
I think that this concept will be hit or miss. Although social media is popular to get a brand name out there but pictures on shoes seems like a flaky idea. if it takes off I will be surprised because this is a fairly new concept.
LikeLike
This is an idea that athletes should be one of the prime targets. Yes you have your shoe collectors and other targets but I see athletes using this product/service the most. It is a great new service being provided by adidas. Will nike jump in on it? Absolutely. I think they may keep an eye out for what adidas is doing and adjust accordingly, but I feel if/when this takes off there will be other companies with a similar product. The only thing I would be careful for if I was a big company promoting this is that there needs to be some sort of restriction on what can be printed. There are always people in this world who take things too far and I feel there needs to be a set of “rules/regulations” to go by in order to create a criteria for consumers to follow. As I said before, this is a great idea and I wouldn’t be surprised if we began to see more of it in the near future.
LikeLike
I am a huge fan of this option to “instagramize” your shoes. Although I am not an avid Adidas customer, this idea is great to capture the attention of those who are, or those who love to personalize their clothing. I hate going into stores and finding a shoe I love, but having them only come in colors that are unappealing to me. A good pair of running shoes would last me about six months with the amount of experience I do. So for that amount of time and usage I want something stylish to wear to the gym or while on a run. I would definitely invest in a shoe that I can personalize and make my own, even if it is Adidas.
LikeLike
As customization becomes more and more popular, products like this will keep arising. While I like the idea of customization, I think this shoe may be a fad, unless Adidas continues to expand and improve the product. If they want to come out with items similar to this, they will have to keep creating new ideas so that their customers will not get bored of the same products, especially since this product is limited to one shoe style.
LikeLike
This an awesome idea simply because you can customize your shoe to truely be one of the only kinds around. The only problem i have with this idea is the fact that Nike has already brought up this concept of customization with its nike shoes. I feel that in the shoe business, as a brand overall, people would prefer Nike over Adidas which would be a big problem that i can foresee happening with this idea. Not that Adidas isn’t great, but Nike does such a good job with marketing its brand through advertisement that i cant see this idea getting enough attention to the point where enough people recognize it to be successful.
LikeLike
I don’t know if I’m the only one but I don’t see this working at all! I don’t think I would ever actually want a photo that I’ve taken on my shoe. This may work for some people, but I don’t see this being very popular or boosting revenues for Adidas. I think it would be cool option to have but I just don’t see a huge demand for it!
LikeLike
I think that the customization of the sneakers by taking instagram pictures is great idea. Addidas is the first company allowing people to put pictures on their shoe. they are entering a field that Nike has a strong hold of, but i think this provides them with the upper hand. In the long run i think that Nike will catch up to adidas and end up surpassing them in the market that they created. I feel as though Nike has a better name and a stronger hold on this industry and when they elect to implement it into their sales, they will then surpass Adidas as i feel they will do it better with higher quality.
LikeLike
This product will definitely appeal to a large array of people. It is a new idea that no one has brought to the table yet. No one would ever think to be putting pictures on their shoes. Personally, I don’t think I would invest in a pair but I do find it to be a neat idea. I’m not sure that Adidas has the brand loyalty and customer base to be able to pull this off though. I know at least here in the US Nike is the super power in this market. It is definitely a unique idea to have as an option for customers, but I don’t think it will be as popular as Adidas needs it to be for it to be successful.
LikeLike
I don’t see this working at all I think it’s somewhat cheesy and doesn’t really make that much sense to me. I personally would not want a shoe with my a picture on it I just personally don’t think that would look good and I’m not sure if this is going to take off.
LikeLike
I think this was a good idea for Adidas. With social media being as popular as it is it’s not a bad idea to use it to your advantage. Also with this idea customers get to be more artistic than ever with their shoes. Along with being artistic this new idea allows customers to have more of a personal relationship with their shoes. This was a smart move by Adidas and I do see many other companies following their footsteps in the near future.
LikeLike
This is a great idea by Adidas. There are many creative people out there who would love to show their creativity by customizing their shoes with their own photos. I feel as though this will be a popular idea for the “sneaker heads” who pay top dollar for the newest and most popular shoes on the market today. And the fact that Adidas is the first company to think of this idea is a big plus for them, giving them the upper hand in the market.
LikeLike
I feel like this might draw in attention for a younger generation of kids but I for one would never but my Instagram pictures on my shoes. It is a very different and unique concept so it could succeed or fail.
LikeLike
I love going into shoe stores and picking out my favorite shoe, but most of the time they do not have the style I want with the color I want, so customizing your shoes is a really well thought out approach. People who are loyal to Adidas would support this or maybe school who want their teams to all have identical school customized shoe. But their problem would be their competition: Nike. Nike already came out with this idea, so it appears that Nike is innovating and Adidas is just trying to keep up. Overall I think this would be a good idea because every teenage is obsessed with Instagram and showing off their newest purchase so combining this with Instagram is a good way to capture their attention.
LikeLike
I think that being able to customize your shoes to this extent is completely bizarre, and to some people could be too bizarre. However, nowadays people seem to think that their image is extremely important, and being able to customize your shoes to this extent will allow people to define exactly who they are as a person. Also, having your favorite design based on your experiences will give a constant reminder of their fantastic memories.
LikeLike
Although this is a cool idea, I don’t think the company will be successful in implementing this “insta-personalization” plan. Customizations usually are expensive and customers have to wait longer to receive their products. I think its will cost the company more money to personalize these shoes because people may not be willing to pay for the customization.
LikeLike
Personally I always go for the brightest shoes out there, I tend to wear very neutral colors and have my shoes be the focus point of my outfit. I like the idea of shoes being so customizable, but I don’t think many people are going to be into the idea of putting their own photograph on their shoes. I think the format might not come out well and that people will be disappointed in the product after spending money on it. I think Adidas intention with trying to engage their customers is pure, but I don’t think this is the way to do it. I doubt this route of customization will last long.
LikeLike
“Instagramizing” a shoe is certainly a new and fun concept, although I don’t know how much more effective it will prove to be compared to NikeID and Puma’s customizations. The idea is very cool, that a person could take any picture they like and put it on a pair of shoes. Also, this truly speaks to having one-of-a-kind style, especially for people who like to stand out or have an artsy side. It seems to me like this is one of those campaigns that will either be extremely successful, or have no impact on the company at all, whatsoever.
LikeLike