History Storytelling: Concepts for New York and London Flagships
When adidas opened its new flagship stores in New York City and London, we collaborated closely with the Retail and Design teams to integrate the brand’s heritage into the store environments. Our challenge was to determine how to best narrate the adidas legacy for a modern audience. We worked hand-in-hand with the retail teams to identify opportunities to tell both location-specific stories and overarching corporate milestones.
For New York, we focused on local ties to basketball, the NYC Marathon, and the company’s founder, Adi Dassler. We also utilized historical catalogues and vintage shoeboxes as large-scale posters and banners. I co-developed the brand storytelling concept under the motto “Connect Past, Present, and Future.” As the project lead, I worked across Brand Design and Retail to make our history accessible to customers in a retail setting for the very first time.
In London, we followed a similar strategic path by highlighting culturally relevant products and local narratives. This included a spotlight on the “London” sneaker, alongside features on football, the London Marathon, and tennis.
Key Learnings:
- Strategic Collaboration: Actively seeking contact with the right internal teams is the key to gaining visibility and influence for your projects.
- Concept as Foundation: Having concrete, well-defined ideas and concepts is the essential starting point for any successful execution.
- The Power of Heritage: Understanding the weight of your own history is vital. For brands, these stories are culturally significant because they foster a much deeper, more emotional relationship with the customer.