Buy my books on the sneaker industry: https://amzn.to/3lD82gb
I wrote a post on basketball activations in February 2020:
In that post, I wanted to look at the new campaigns by Puma and adidas and raise the question of why brands are continuing to pour money into a sneaker option that is decreasing in sales? I gave a list of reasons why it’s important, but the main reason is that basketball offers one of the only widely viewed live sports options for a brand to gain exposure where the consumer can’t “skip” the commercials. More important, the NBA is in a growth phase like it was in the 90s in countries in APLA and EMEA.
This is why both adidas and Under Armour are placing the time into developing better tech for their signature athletes. It’s also why adidas is looking at extending Trae Young and giving him a signature shoe. This video I discuss the new Futurenatural cushion from the Three Stripes and the new Flow by UA.
Links to brand discussions: https://about.underarmour.com/news/2020/12/curry-flow-8-design-and-development-qa
