Why Did NBA Star Stephen Currie Refuse To Speak For Nike?

Signing sports shoes endorsement contracts with basketball stars is one of the most popular promotion strategies for sports equipment manufacturers.

But sometimes, the "willfulness" of the spokesperson will make the rising star get the chance to challenge the industry leader.

NBA is the hottest star in the world today.

Why did you refuse to speak for Nike? When the regular season drew to a close this year, ESPN sports news network reported on the most disruptive event in the history of sports equipment.

The website columnist Ethan Sherwood Strauss (Ethan Sherwood Strauss) revealed that 3 years ago, Nike thought that the ace of Jinzhou warriors would choose their own sneakers, since the university has been a fan of Nike since then.

However, Nike's arrogance led to an unknown Under Armour company.

A giant star revitalize a brand

Act as

Andrew Martin was founded by retired football player Kevin Planck (Kevin Plank) in 1996.

A few years ago, the company gave Kent Bazmol Kent Bazemore a commercial contract, and later generously provided sports shoes and equipment.

Facts have proved that this is actually the intention of drunken men not in the liquor - under the line of Baz Moore, Andrea finally defeated Nike and its old rival Adidas, successfully developed curi as spokesperson, and used a super long contract to lock up the super scorer who is upgrading from "All Star" to "historical superstar".

Curry's popularity on the pitch has pushed up the sales of its endorsement products.

As the main basketball shoe of Andrew company, "Curry2 2" is particularly outstanding in the retail sector.

According to statistics released by Morgan's Stanley Inc authorized commercial insider website, Andrew's sales of shoes have increased by 350% this year.

Morgan and Stanley further predicted that, under the guidance of curi, Andemar's annual sales volume is expected to reach 160 million dollars (about 1 billion 50 million yuan), and Nike is on equal footing.

If so, Stephen Currie will become the only spokesman for sports shoes after Michael Jordan.

The rising sales figures sparked people's thinking: unlike Nike, ADI, even Asics, Saucon and other new brands, Curie's signature boots do not have much brand value added, nor do they intend to play popular symbols.

In the streets dominated by Nike shoes, the 2 generation of Curie is extremely low-key.

As a result, the shoe collectors were hesitant to face the 2 generation of Curie.

Morgan Stanley's report frankly said: "we believe that there is still a distance between Andemar's footwear products and the collection market."

But Andemar did not care about it.

According to the US Slate website, Planck CEO believes that Currie helped himself to the "most powerful young fans" circle in April.

Currie, on various occasions, has been advocating the endorsement of the target, and has repeatedly stressed that the 2 generation of Curie is "a shoe that is really suitable for playing."

It's good to have a sneaker on the court.

However, as ESPN columnist Strauss pointed out, in North America's four major sports alliances, sports equipment endorsed by famous athletes has gone beyond the market category and become an alternative pop culture phenomenon.

"Walking on the street, looking at Jordan," the Jordan series is the product of Nike's main sneakers, as if Michael hadn't retired at all, "Strauss wrote." this is probably the greatest miracle that an athlete can create in this fleeting world. "

Indeed, today, many young sports fans have never seen Michael Jordan's elegant demeanour, but in the world of basketball shoes, the past "basketball flying man" is still an immortal legend.

Spokesperson character influence

The prosperity of sports equipment is closely related to the strong performance of the spokesperson. It is also the result of the painstaking efforts of the manufacturers.

Take Jordan's brand shoes as an example.

In those days, it was the legendary designer Tinker Hatfield (Tinker Hatfield) who designed the "flying man" trademark and used it for the 3 generation of Jordan's sneakers. This series of fire broke out all over the world overnight. In the 5 generation of Jordan, he was inspired by the P-51 fighter jets in the Second World War and used many breakthroughs in the design.

By contrast, the 2 generation of the ugly Kuri looks very different from ordinary shoes at first glance.

Unlike the futuristic style adopted by Nike's popular "Lebron James Signature Series", the 2 generation of the Curies lacks individuality.

In addition to the word "SC" on the tongue of the shoe, it is almost the same as Charged Stepback, another shoe under the banner, and the second point is different from the "I can do everything" on the inside of the heel, but the font is too small to be seen with a magnifying glass.

For the shoe manufacturers, the successful recruitment of Curie to their subordinates is a problem for their marketing team, and the key is whether the lifestyle of "not following the crowd" pursued by the library is attractive enough.

There is a lot of fame in the library, but outside the stadium, he has always been a good husband and a good father.

When he talked about why he chose andmar brand, he said that his 1 year old daughter, Riley, picked up a product from andmar under the many shoes that fans sent. When the little girl took the shoes to his father, he told reporters that he did not hesitate to make up his mind.

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This is indeed a human story, but whether it helps the company to publicize its products is not yet known.

In contrast, as a sports equipment industry, Nike's promotional activities should be "big and tall".

Recently, it joined the president of the United States, Obama, to sponsor the promotion of the American photographers association.

In last winter's advertising campaign to promote Jordan's brand new product, Russell Westbrook, one of his spokesmen, swam to the stadium like a boxer entering the rope ring. It seemed to take the way of players access to the locker room as T.

In the 7 battle of the NBA Western Conference this year, Westbrook, who plays the role of Nike shoe as the chief of the thunder team, has also created great trouble for the Klee and the warriors.

Which is more important in terms of performance and grade?

According to the analysis of Slate, Nike always likes to advocate "extraordinary talent" when selling shoes. From Jordan and James to Westbrook, its spokesmen give people the feeling of talent.

In the early commercials of the Jordan brand, Mars Blackmon, who had worked with famous director Spike Lee for many years, told the audience directly, "welcome to buy Jordan products". He said he picked up a pair of Jordan 4 generation sneakers.

Then the screen began to play Jordan's dunk shot, accompanied by Black's Mongolian sarcastic voice, "but you will never be Jordan."

In contrast, Andrea attaches more importance to the practicality of products. Their slogan is simple: "let's help you perform better on the golf course".

In those days, Kevin Planck built the company's original intention from the complaints of rugby players: their underwear is very easy to sweat, and it is a torture to wear.

As a result, Andrea chose to enter the market with specially treated polyester fiber sportswear, and soon gained the trust of athletes, thereby expanding the business range from rugby to baseball and basketball.

For the 2 generation of the Curie, its performance is beyond doubt. The hot performance of Curie himself in the past two seasons has also proved the quality of this kind of shoes.

However, the mediocre appearance is always the bruising of this product.

Therefore, the next generation of the series will "be more close to life". As revealed by Currie in the sports equipment magazine "SoleCollector", the 3 generation of "Currie" can make you play freely on the court, and you can also perfectly match jeans on the sidelines.

From the regular season MVP to the NBA championship, Curie has been breaking his bad words. People have reason to believe that the brand he endorsed will continue to grow.

After all, great products are not natural, but created by people.

When Nike entered the field of sneakers, it also focused on improving product performance. It took Jordan a long time to find the perfect shape.

Promotion routines are not invariable.

According to ESPN reports, Nike has occupied more than 90% share in the sports shoes market, but the challenge of rising stars has made it dare not take it lightly.

In March of this year, Nike removed Dave Dobro Dave Dombrow, who is believed to have participated in the development of his signature series sneakers.

Andemar responded quickly.

In the early May, when Currie took the MVP trophy again, the company released a special version of the 2 generation of Kuri sneakers, using black, white and gold collocations, even though they cost up to $400 (about 2632 yuan) and sold out instantly.

Deutsche Bank Market Analyst David Weiner (David Weine) analysis said that Andrea began to imitate Nike's "fan marketing" strategy, through the sale of special edition products to enhance the brand gold content.

Andemar and Curry's sneakers contract expires only in 2024. Both sides have plenty of time.

It is speculated that Curie had abandoned Nike to cooperate with Andemar, perhaps not only to comply with her daughter's choice, but perhaps more deliberation.

When he signed a contract, he asked to get part of the company's shareholding, which made the outside world see his business vision.

What's more, unlike Jordan and James, who are not able to catch up with mortals, what curry is best at is the ingenious possession of the ball and the devastating long shot.

As long as he practiced hard, all his movements seemed to be repeated by ordinary people.

In this way, the athlete has redefined the definition of NBA superstar. Why can't he redefine the way he sells sports shoes in the future?