“Team” became the message and +10 became the graphic expression of “Together I am Strong”. The communications plan that was rolled out across nine months aimed to develop +10 from an unknown concept to encompass everything that adidas stands for in football. The strategy targeted consumers in three phases - EXPOSE, EXPLAIN and EXPAND. Digital was at the heart of each phase, the objective being to drive consumers to interact with the brand.

Net sales grew by 20% totalling €1.2 billion, topping all other brands in the category. (FT 7/06)Brand tracking showed adidas as the brand clearly associated with the World Cup. 81% of people named it as the first sports brand they associated with, as against 11% for Nike.