Fashion-forward Adidas x JAY3LLE capsule propels Adidas' activation around AIG Women's Open

Nike enjoyed some heady years, particularly as the equipment sponsor for the planet’s hottest male hitters at the time, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Likewise, Adidas, through its TaylorMade golf brand, was also a major player in golf equipment. However, Nike pulled back from golf equipment in 2016 and Adidas did the same with the sale of TaylorMade in 2017. Both brands chose instead to direct their golfing ambitions towards clothing and footwear.

Golf has its own ‘mega-brands’ – Titleist, Callaway, Ping, Under Armour and FootJoy to name a few – but it is the increasing interest and growth potential around women’s sport – and women’s golf in particular - that has tempted Adidas to start driving forward with a range of initiatives and engaging brand activities.

The massive growth and interest in women's golf helped drive The R&A to increase the prize purse for this year's AIG Women's Open to $9.5 million. Over the last three years, Adidas identified this major championship as a key event for the brand, underscoring their commitment to elevating women's golf by becoming the official apparel supplier and headline sponsor of the Fan Village.

Ensuring that Adidas Golf's brand activations are as impactful as this prestigious tournament is Chris Hedderman, the brand's European marketing and product director.

Commitment to inclusivity & innovation

"As more women embrace golf, there is a growing demand for high-quality, stylish, and performance-driven apparel, footwear, and accessories that are tailored specifically for female golfers," says Hedderman. “We are uniquely positioned to drive the creation of new and innovative products for her on the course, but also believe that through sport we have the power to change lives, so we will continue to look for ways to align our brand with programs that support women’s golf overall.”

Adidas sees growth and evolution across the entire women’s golf category as key to its ultimate success. Patel says the brand’s goal is to break down barriers, provide equal opportunities, and showcase the achievements of women in golf. And, as you’d expect, the sports giant’s involvement in this year’s AIG Women’s Open goes much deeper than slapping three stripes on golf bags and tee boards.

Searching for a specialist creative agency, Adidas chose Leeds creative agency Syn as their partner, to bring their vision to life. This year’s key brand activation at the AIG Women’s Open supports the launch of an exciting collaboration between adidas and luxury fashion brand JAY3LLE, created by visionary Johan Lindeberg that he co-founded with his daughter, Blue. The activation includes a fashion show featuring many of Adidas’ female brand partners and a speaker panel discussion within the eye-catching brand activation space involving Johan and Blue Lindeberg, Adidas Golf’s global director of apparel design, Jennie Ko and guest speaker, Swedish golf star and Adidas athlete, Linn Grant. Naturally, there’s plenty of retail space where AIG Women’s Open attendees can pick up items from the new capsule.

The boom in women’s sports over the last decade has been a boon for brands like Adidas and Hedderman puts this down to the greatly increased media coverage from broadcasters such as Sky Sports Golf, which Adidas recently partnered with, signing a multi-year agreement to become the official apparel partner ahead of The 152nd Open, held earlier this summer. “Broadcasting deals have significantly enhanced the visibility of women’s sports, bringing them into the mainstream and attracting larger audiences, so this was another area beyond our products where we could show our commitment to women’s golf.” he says.

Syn has supported Adidas since 2023 when the agency devised brand activations for last year’s AIG Women’s Open held at Walton Heath. The relationship has grown through brand activity across two key events – one to amplify the launch of the new S2G shoe at Pitch in Soho, London – a vibrant indoor golf venue, and the other an event in collaboration with Black British Golfers.

Senior creative partner, Chris Newell, has spearheaded the work with Adidas and says that building hype around women’s golf has been baked into every brief so far: “We look to combine a fusion of collaboration, disruption, excitement, and fan and consumer engagement through impactful brand storytelling, while elevating the category within the brand and interest in women’s golf in general. Through high-profile events such as the AIG Women’s Open and BMW PGA Championship, our brief was to bring to life the brand and product campaigns, combining sports performance and lifestyle stories that appeal to consumers to raise product and brand awareness. Using influencers, artists, competitions, activations, social media, and retail, the aim was not only to deliver transactionally but also to grow the brand presence and engagement.”

Embracing new generations

The excitement of working with Adidas, and where the fashion collaboration with JAY3LLE came from, is very much around pushing the boundaries of what golf wear can be, and pushing further in female golf can push those boundaries even further, says Newell: “The pandemic accelerated the sport to be taken up by a wider audience, attracting younger gens who want to bring their own style to the game. Fashion has crossed both ways, with golf styles influencing streetwear and vice versa. Golf clubs, brands and rules around the world have had to modernize their approach and embrace new generations who are culturally fuelled and tech-savvy.

“Families, social tribes, and various communities and influencers are all pushing the boundaries of the sport and making golf cooler, more inclusive, more entertaining. It’s human nature to want to break traditions, challenge expectation and convention and golf is the next sport that is fuelling this behavior and driving engagement.”

There is often a perception that megabrands like Adidas simply choose an objective and then mobilize their marketing teams and suppliers to deliver said objective, smashing any challenge out of the way as easily as Lexi Thompson might get ‘up and down’ from a greenside bunker. But Adidas is conscious of several challenges that could stand in the brand’s way. The golf market is highly competitive, with established brands like Under Armour and FootJoy vying for market share. Standing out requires continuous innovation and differentiation. Golf can also be a costly sport, and economic downturns can affect consumer spending on golf apparel and equipment.

The traditional golf demographic is aging, and attracting younger players requires marketing strategies that resonate with them, such as emphasizing inclusivity, environmental sustainability, and leveraging social media. Golfers today are looking for products that offer both performance and style and keeping up with these evolving preferences requires constant product innovation and a keen understanding of fashion trends.

Hedderman concludes: "The AIG Women's Open is a massive event in golf, and this year it took on another level for us with our launch of Adidas x JAY3LLE. Having Syn alongside us to bring our vision for the event to life was a critical piece so that consumers could experience first-hand the many ways we are committed to women's golf."