Sneaker marketing tries a smaller size
Some sneaker makers are giving national advertising campaigns the boot. To get more traction, they are increasingly turning to a tactic known as hyper-local marketing. Curt Nickisch reports.
Lower price-point sneakers such as high-tops are back in style during this recession, as customers turn to cheaper technology and retro looks. (Curt Nickisch)
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"Sneakerheads" wait in line in Cambridge, Mass., for a limited-edition shoe release.
TEXT OF STORY
Kai Ryssdal: For the retail community, the summer of '09 will not be fondly remembered. Even the back-to-school season isn't working out so well. It's not just pencil and notebook makers bemoaning slow sales. Clothing stores are, too. They're trying almost anything to sell more T-shirts, jeans and shoes. And to get more traction, some sneaker makers are selling their wares very, very close to home.
Curt Nickisch reports now from WBUR in Boston.
CURT NICKISCH: See a line around a store nowadays and you might think a new iPhone or video game is coming out. But earlier this summer in Cambridge, Mass., more than a 100 people waited in line for a week -- mostly in the rain -- to get their hands on a limited run of sneakers.
Nick Ferdo waited under an umbrella, spitting chewing tobacco into an empty water bottle.
NICK FERDO: Oh man, I've been out here in the rain. I didn't sleep last night. I'm going to wear them every day.
"Them" is a pair of Blue Lobster Nike SB Dunk Lows. Blue sneakers with fluorescent yellow laces. A boutique shoe store here teamed up with Nike to design them. Just 300 pairs went on sale -- only here -- for $250 each. Ferdo was determined to strut out with one of them.
FERDO: The exclusiveness. People break their necks looking at you walking down the street.
News of the sale spread on blogs popular with kids who call themselves "sneakerheads." The store fielded calls from around the country. Three teenagers even drove all the way from Cleveland to stand in line. It was a minor marketing coup for Nike.
MARSHAL COHEN: It's almost like a walking billboard for them.
That's Marshal Cohen. He follows the sports apparel market for NPD Group. He says the recession has forced sneaker companies to slash marketing budgets.
The problem is, consumers are harder to reach during a downturn. So Cohen says instead of investing in national ad buys that are costly and anonymous, sneaker companies are trying more small-scale efforts. So-called hyper-local marketing tries to connect with consumers where they shop and get them to help spread the message for companies.
COHEN: This is the product and the consumer that's going to be talking about this and giving them all kinds of leverage against their competition.
Competition that's getting stiffer all the time. Although clothing sales are down overall, sneakers are one of the few products that are still selling. The global sneaker market is worth almost $30 billion. And that's attracting new players like Under Armor to a field already crowded with heavyweights like Nike, Adidas and PUMA.
So to try to keep its edge, PUMA just launched an ad campaign in a few U.S. cities that showcasrd some of its workers at the company's local retail stores.
AD: Hi, my name is Basmah. I'm from Houston. And I work at the Houston Galleria Store.
The Global Marketing Officer for PUMA, Antonio Bertone, says this new campaign doesn't mean that his company is dropping its sports stars. He was thrilled to see sprinter Usain Bolt shatter a world record recently in bright orange PUMA racers.
But Bertone thinks by letting consumers get to know sales associates at their local PUMA store, they'll be more interested in getting to know the brand and its products.
ANTONIO BERTONE: Nevermind the United States. It's not even East Coast/West Coast. I think brands are going to have to think city by city, you know, in terms of how to effectively communicate to consumers and hope that there's a spillover effect into other markets.
Expect more hyper-local campaigns spilling over to you. The recession is changing the race, and even the biggest sneaker companies are finding that little steps may be the way to win it.
In Boston, I'm Curt Nickisch, for Marketplace.
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From Miami, UT, 09/02/2009
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From Cambridge, MA, 08/27/2009
I would have loved to see this story get the proper coverage it deserved but unfortunately it seemed to be more of fill in the gap piece. "Concepts" the store that released the shoes in conjunction with Nike SB created and redefined what you refer to as " hyper local marketing". In fact that assupmtion could not be more off base.The shoe was released first in Concepts Cambridge location with a three week lead time over other retailers whom some of which needed a shoe that could create a markup (well over msrp) to generate revenue that has been sorely missed. Concepts initially created a mock website with no affiliation to the shoes or store following a professor (Walter P Gillstrom) whos claims of blue lobsters infestating Bostons waterfronts were going unnoticed. Every couple days this website would show various youtube clips and tweets indicating that the situation was becoming out of control. This website "bluelobsterdanger.wordpress" had accumulated 10,000 plus hits before even disclosing a 6 minute mini movie created to finally unveil it was in fact all for a "sneaker". To further tie in the theme of blue lobsters taking over, they packaged the sneakers in a sturdy foam hazmat container and even had the first pair delivered by men in labsuits to resemble a hazmat team. All viewable on theyre website cncpts.com. To be clear Concepts created this campaign on they're own with no help from Nike but rather Bostons own Pilot Design Co out of South Boston. So while the theme of lobsters is a local one,the results and reaction globally were anything but. Lastly, there was well over 400 kids in line on release day from has far out as Florida, California, and the Midwest. http://vimeo.com/5101604
From No Man's Land, NJ, 08/27/2009
Nike SB pioneered this approach in 2002 in a landmark partnership with a skate shop in NYC. Also - these sneakers were not Boston exclusive, they were "launched" there with packaging not included in the worldwide release. Not only does this increase the publicity of the release and the prestige of the store, it potentially allows the store to maximize revenue from limited stock by essentially forcing the consumer into buying a package of accessories.
From Los Angeles, CA, 08/26/2009
I hope the sneakers company bring prices down to really get us to start buying them again.
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