Fred Kerley isn’t as vocal and capable of generating the same social media energy as his adidas counterpart Noah Lyles, but his silent, confident demeanor is lion-esque. He is one of the biggest sprinters in the game and his presence attracts all eyes when he enters the arena. Moving towards an Olympic year Kerley will undoubtedly become a focal point for the sport of track and field and ASICS will be able to capitalize on the talented sprinter’s performance and his regal status. With an amazing field of sprinters on the men’s side Kerley proved less than three weeks ago that he was ready to excel through the Diamond League and into the World Championships.
ASICS seems to understand how reluctant Kerley is to hype himself and it appears they will begin to build content around the training and competitive aspects of Fred’s life. If they do it will be in complete contrast to how Noah Lyles has begun to build his persona on social media. The bombastic Lyles just hit 100,000 subscribers on YouTube (a milestone), but this builds his brand more than it does adidas. If ASICS can begin to amplify Kerley the growth would generate considerable growth for the ASICS brand which lags behind on the biggest growing platform for track and field, YouTube.
note: I came up with the name Quiet Lion – Shizukana Raion correct me if I’m wrong in this translation.
