A few years ago, I developed the concept
I reached out to marketing teams to earn consults with brands. My goal was to change the method of storytelling and to highlight both designers and athletes instead of relying heavily on sneaker blogs that focused primarily on the end result, product. E.N.D.E.A.R.S. is a method of building the story of brand, product, designer and athlete, to inform fans and give them more insight into the creation process. There are a million brands on the market, what distinguishes one from the other? What will endear the potential consumer? I was able to track visits to the page and could see brands reading the content. Soon after sharing my concept, I began seeing improved “news” and content management from brands. Today, almost every brand utilizes a CMS to keep information flowing and to offset static websites. What is E.N.D.E.A.R.S.?
Educate the consumer and the athlete about the process that is being started (internal education and external education).
Notate and document the creation process and the discovery process (the athlete is educated and shares via their social a more informed story and the company shares the story via their site).
Designer is just as important as the athlete. The story of how the idea was generated is shared and analyzed by the company’s content creators (designer and athlete create a three headed content distribution team).
Entertain the consumer with important facts. The assumption that the consumer can be influenced with a poster or by the word of the athlete is a myth in today’s environment. The consumer is smart and if they are treated as such then they gain respect for the creation.
Athlete or artist or advocate whoever the person is in the development process all have to deliver the message. This is an extension of the Notate process.
Reason with the consumer and by giving the reason, what has been created is important and the consumer might buy it. At least you(the brand in this instance) creates the likelihood that the consumer will be engaged.
Story is vital. The entire process is the story and the end result whether a product, mission or idea is conveyed via the process and the story the process has created.
Why am I leading with what is basically a self-advertisement? Watch the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiclO5PpwQI
I wrote another post this morning on the appearance of adidas in the show “Insecure” on HBO. In that post I explained the placement of adidas and third-party site StockX into a show about 30something Black women sought to connect with an underserved woman audience. When I discovered the video above about the redirection of UltraBoost 22, it reminded me of a post I wrote on the UB 21:
adidas Should Pull Back from Traditional Sneaker Retail With the UltraBoost 21
In that article I wrote, “I think this model should be geared towards specialty running shops and the UltraBoost should never be treated as a crossover product again. If the model shifts into sneaker culture organically, that’s fine. It should not be thrown in with collabs for pop culture and it shouldn’t be given away to pop stars or entertainers to try to generate cool. It should be utilized in direct marketing strategies for new runners and made available with a stream of training initiatives.”
Forced or Opportunistic Contraction? Empty Shelves at Sneaker Retail
The UltraBoost 22 has been completely redefined. adidas is targeting women and it’s a smart move as brands like Lululemon have encroached considerably on the growth market of women athletes. With startups like Vuori, Gymshark and a host of smaller brands making a sincere effort to capture women, adidas has smartly shifted directions with their flagship. The shoe had fallen into a consistent promotional environment when targeted towards men. With their new campaign, highlight an all-woman led design team and focused on introducing running to more women, the brand removes the product from hype and collabs aimed at men who aren’t as focused on fitness or fashion in most instances. Women are open to learning about the benefits. They want to see themselves. In the marketing for this redefined UltraBoost 22 the athlete is profiled, Shaunae Miller-Uibo an Olympic Champion, images of women running in burkas are shown, and multiple taglines are spoken. The most important line is “Tailored to Us,” a call for celebrating women with design meant to elevate their performance. This is the work adidas was doing from 2015 to 2017 before the brand lost momentum. It’s a good thing to see. ULTRABOOST 22: CREATED BY WOMEN FOR THE FEMALE RUNNING COMMUNITY (adidas.com)