I’ve stated continuously and even came up with a marketing strategy titled Niche Out, that in order for brands to compete with Nike they will have to look at the places where Nike isn’t placing an emphasis. Note I said ’emphasis’; Nike is in every lane. Some lanes they aren’t focused on and that is a kind of an achilles. New Balance has obviously been reading the site as in the last few weeks they shifted their focus to signing a number of African-American athletes to sponsorship deals. Race is important here as NB has a perception of being “the shoe of White America and White Nationalists“. The company is also spoken of often when “Trump and politics with shoe companies” arise.
I’ve said often that sneaker politics is a ‘grey’ issue because of the tariffs and import duties assigned to sneakers. The fact that New Balance produces a considerable amount of shoes in the U.S. they would naturally lean towards politicians who see the benefits of “Made in the USA”. This aligns them with Republicans who have been practicing the politics of divisiveness. The irony is that Nike is seen as more progressive when Phil Knight has donated millions to Republican politicians this year and years before.
This takes us away from a 14 year old wonder in CoCo Gauff, and the fact that New Balance is utilizing Niche Out as a strategy to build a roster that doesn’t simply talk diversity, but represents the truest essence of a melting pot. Gauff is already being spoken of as the “next” great player. According to ESPN she has everything needed to become just that.
Below is a recent tweet from CoCo showing her spending time at NB Boston. It’s an exciting time for the talented youngster and New Balance is planning something big as they continue to acquire talent from the sports that operate in the fringe:
First time to Boston was amazzzzing🔥🔥😍@newbalance @NBTennis 🙏🏿👏🏿 pic.twitter.com/1MnCYPRLPF
— Coco Gauff (@CocoGauff) September 13, 2018
