Source: adidas NEWS STREAM : Dame 4 Confirmed
As performance footwear has taken a backseat to casual athletic, basketball shoes are becoming lighter, sleeker, and more street ready to try and gain some ground. Historically hoops shoes transitioned from the court to streetwear without any adjustments to the design. This is no longer the case. The rugged, sturdy, bulky basketball shoe is not a fashion item.
adidas is one of the few brands that saw an increase in basketball footwear sales, but that is because adidas had literally fallen off the map in hoops footwear. Introducing the Harden silhouette provided a boost in sales and the Dame Dolla line benefits from being a well priced shoe, but it didn’t exactly push people to buy. Although I found that it was one of the best looking styles in hoops and it didn’t look like a typical balling shoe as a mid cut, people didn’t really see it as a style option. That’s because the silhouette even as a mid read hoops. When the trend is sock like fit and knit uppers basketball shoes have a difficult time becoming an option. adidas has corrected this by taking the Dame and turning it into a performance casual shoe with these design elements: Dame 4 is seamlessly designed with focus and function in mind, ensuring sock-like comfort and fastened stability so Dame can attack the opposition. A ventilated mesh upper increases airflow and maximizes breathability while the supportive lace cables reinforced fit, keeping the foot locked in.
This is the most fashion forward release in the Dame line. There was care crafted into this release. When contrasted with the Rose 8, it’s apparent where adidas is placing its effort.
adidas also makes a solid decision in marketing as in their own description Dame is given a true creators label as both “basketball star and hip-hop artist”. Which will allow for a continued representation of the adidas Creators campaign in a more organic and appealing manner. This is important because sports aren’t reaching the new generation of kids. The game has to find a way to engage young people and giving the endorsers lives beyond the court could enable a return to signature shoes carrying more weight. The marketing opportunity here is authentic from an entertainment and music aspect as well as a sport aspect.
Will Dame’s appeal as an emcee carry enough weight to finally push his shoe forward as one of the top earning kicks in hoops? Only if adidas takes the time to craft the narrative as they’ve done with the Future and Creators campaigns. In the current marketing for the 4, Dame’s voice is utilized and that’s a positive. If the merchandising for retail includes the use of Augmented Reality with a download of Dame’s next album this could be an opportunity for adidas to do something that has never happened in footwear, but has been happening with the distribution of cell phones and music. Jay-Z recently garnered a platinum record because of the distribution of his music with the purchase of a Samsung. If adidas decides to utilize AR and make Dame’s music downloaded and actually pay Lillard’s label for the album, Lillard could be a platinum artist based on adidas distribution which opens an entirely new window of marketing opportunities.
How dope would that be?
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Description
- 35.12 – Breakout game stats that put Damian on coaches’ maps in high school
- 25.6.4 – Nation-leading stats that got Dame noticed during his final season at Weber State
- 6 – Selected as the No. 6 overall pick and averaged 19 points, 6.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game to earn 2013 Rookie of the Year
- 0.9 – With just .9 seconds remaining on the clock, Dame drained a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer in 2014 and Dame Time was officially born
- 0 – 0% chance critics gave Dame on his journey from Oakland to Ogden to Oregon