Tapout enters the shoe business

My take
I'm guessing that Tapout is looking for opportunities for growth as their t-shirt business begins to level off, and shoes seem like as good of an adjacency to pursue as any. I'm not a huge fan of the shoes themselves, but I'm not really representative of their constituency. Or as my mom says, "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of guy I'm preaching too." In any case, this seems like a good extension of the brand that gets them into a new business without reaching too far. They'll certainly be facing some new competition, but should largely be able to leverage their existing relationships with retailers (for example, they've been in Journey's for quite a while), marketing efforts, and other infrastructure.

Buy Tapout shoes here

Adidas Originals TV spots are brilliant lifestyle marketing

My take
This is some seriously brilliant stuff. It draws from hip hop, skateboarding, graffiti, rock and roll, soccer, and a wide variety of other subcultures without ever feeling contrived. And why should it? Adidas is endemic to all of these subcultures, just like lots of kids who buy their shoes are. Growing up, I was equally into punk, hardcore, hip hop, metal, graffiti, and skateboarding. At the time it seemed like I was the only one, but over the years I met hundreds and hundreds of other people just like me and realized that if anything, I was the rule, not the exception. I was also far from the first: Def Jam was putting out Slayer one record and LL Cool J the next in 1986.

The big takeaway from this spot is that Adidas has succeeded by breaking down the barriers between different elements of youth culture. It's a perfect fit for kids who grew up like me, with roots in all kinds of different forms of self-expression. It's relevant to just about anybody because the company's DNA is so diverse, and that's what makes it such a great lifestyle brand.

Converse launches the EB1

Via The Wall Street Journal:

Nike Inc. said it has entered a deal with retailer J.C. Penney Co. to sell a new line of shoes from its Converse brand, a move that will puts the maker of high-end sportswear more deeply into the budget retail market.

The shoes, basketball sneakers called EB1, will be sold exclusively at the department store for $65 starting this month. The name comes from NBA power forward Elton Brand, who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers.

LoHud.com has some more details:

The shoe is available only at J.C. Penney, for $64.99.

"My favorite shoes growing up were Jordans, but we really couldn't afford them," Brand said. "We shopped for shoes and back-to-school clothes at J.C. Penney, so when we were approached about this partnership, it was a no-brainer."

Even though J.C. Penney lacks blacktop credibility, Lawrence is certain this shoe will be a hit.

"I think it'll work," Lawrence said. "If you look at the product, that's a great shoe for the price. I see it taking off. Elton's playing on an NBA court with it, so it's a legit product that functions with the best of the shoes."

My take
First, I should be clear that I'm anything but an expert on basketball. Elton Brand seems like a smart and cool guy, and that's about all I know!

That said, the critical detail that makes me think the EB1 is a solid idea is the fact that he actually plays in NBA games with these shoes. That's the kind of credibility that turns this from a value-destroying discount brand into a smart, value-creating play that delivers quality at a low price point without compromising the brand. I wouldn't expect anything else from Nike, and hope the EB1 is a big success.

And1 sponsors Nate Quarry

Via MSNBC by way of MMA Payout:

And1 is primarily a basketball company, best known for its moderately priced footwear and apparel as well as the high-energy mixtapes that functioned as guerilla marketing and launched the brand into national consciousness. The California company, however, recently decided to dip its kicks into the waters of MMA, signing popular UFC middleweight Nate Quarry to a multi-fight sponsorship deal.

My take
Much like I said about Lugz' sponsorship of Lyoto Machida and Houston Alexander, I'm happy to see And1 entering the MMA world, but this particular move is strange to me. Anybody will tell you that Quarry is definitely a great guy, but he isn't the best fighter by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, he's most known for being KOd by Rich Franklin in extremely brutal fashion. That's not a dealbreaker for sponsoring a fighter, but it does matter.

The real puzzler, though, is that Nate has absolutely nothing to do with anything hip hop, urban culture, basketball, or anything else that most people would associate with And1. The MMA scene in general is a stronger match for action sports and rock culture, so it's tough to find fighters that are a perfect fit for hip hop brands like And1, but they're out there. Nick Diaz would be a good candidate, especially since his smack talking and showboating are very similar to the kind of stuff you see in an Anda1 mixtape (watch some interviews with him, he is absolutely out of his mind- in a good way).

In any case, I have no way to verify this, but the popular and generally correct MMA forum The Underground says:

The connection with And1 and Nate Quarry is Portland Trail Blazers point guard Steven Blake. Some of you might remember him from the national championship winning Maryland Terrapins in 2002. Blake also has a deal with And1. Blake and Quarry became friends because Blake trains BJJ in the off season. Blake introduced And1 to Quarry and they struck a deal.

Nike goes hardcore

Nike recently sponsored a show with, among others, the Cro-Mags in honor of the hardcore retrospective book Radio Silence:

Massive thanks to Nike who funded this event, let us do whatever the fuck we wanted, made sure it was all-ages, removed seats from their venue and covered the orchestra pit to make sure everyone could have fun and treated hardcore with the respect it deserves, an idea which was the root and heart of Radio Silence. The Ricardo Montalbán Theatre is now the oldest standing theatre in Hollywood and was in great need of a makeover until Nike volunteered to restore it. They gave the building a massive overhaul and host a variety of community events at the venue for kids and adults. Time, money, blood and sweat was put into this space and they opened their doors not knowing what the fuck would happen in honor of a good time. Thank you again to Tim Bergevin for coordinating the event, Robbie Labelle Nike Sportswear’s brand manager, Nils, Brad and the entire staff on hand that made this an epic night.

My take
From 1989 until 2001 or so, pretty much my entire life revolved around hardcore, especially going to hardcore shows. So not only am I excited to read Radio Silence, I'm also stoked to see that Nike is taking steps toward tapping the passion and potential of hardcore as a venue for sponsorships. Hardcore kids have been wearing Nike gear since forever, and many of them are also skateboarders who are familiar with Nike in that context as well. This is a perfect fit for Nike, so I hope to see them reach out to the hardcore scene more often.

The only wrinkle here is that Nike defines itself as a company that makes products exclusively for athletes, and hardcore has nothing to do with athletics (unless you count dancing and fighting). I think they can solve that problem by perhaps sponsoring the right people that have roots in both hardcore and sports, such as, say, skateboarder Mike Vallely or an MMA fighter like Dan Lauzon (who has been sponsored by Deathwish Inc. in past UFC appearances).

Lugz signs MMA fighters Machida and Alexander

Via MMA Payout comes news that UFC fighters Lyoto Machida and Houston Alexander appear in new Lugz print ads, as you can see above.

My take
MMA is a great platform for Lugz to build on, but I am a little puzzled by their choice of athletes. Machida is an excellent fighter, but has absolutely zero charisma, and even many hardcore fans find him boring in the ring. Alexander, on the other hand, has tons of charisma, but isn't a very good fighter. He does have some hip hop cred, though, in that he has a radio show in his native state of Nebraska that is apparently good (I've never actually heard it).

Ideally they would be using fighters that have hip hop cred, charisma, and at least a decent record in the ring. The record is actually the least important part, but it does matter if you want the approval of the MMA core (and you should). While some of them already have shoe deals, Brandon Vera, Quinton Jackson, or Rashad Evans would be good places to start looking.

10 Commandments of Sneaker Design

Sneaker Freaker offers 10 witty commandments of sneaker design. For example, #5, "Thou Shalt Pay Attention To Detail":

Give the consumer a few little surprises.

A little trim that’s hard to spot here, a reference for those ‘in the know’ there. It makes a tremendous difference and rewards the heads without descending too far into cliquesville. Go ahead, contrast that stitching to set off your choice of colours, and illustrate the lining. Who cares if that’s the part that’s invisible from the outside? There’s no such thing as too much attention to detail. Don’t let it get rejected by consumers after an initial wave of excitement on seeing low res images on a hype blog turns to disdain on seeing the production model in the flesh.

My take
This is great reading whether you're in the sneaker design business or not (I'm not, but I am in the product design business). With a little imagination, it works as a playbook for product design in any lifestyle category.

If you only remember one thing from the article, make it #5 (above). With lifestyle brands, the devil really is in the details. Don't skimp, because your core consumer will notice! This is in contrast to traditional brands where the design details really aren't that important. For example, does it really matter what the graphics look like on the Kleenex box? No, because nobody cares about Kleenex. On the other hand, consider Sanrio's paper goods business. They polish every detail of all their products, because they know their consumer will scrutinize and appreciate every one of them.

Read more here

Sneaker Set's history of Nike

While I'm not really a sneakerhead, I keep tabs on the world of athletic shoes because it's probably the most sophisticated, mature, and dynamic group of lifestyle brands. The nuanced and complex world of shoe collectors is a great source of ideas and leading indicators for what's going to happen in mainstream lifestyle marketing in the near future. There is no better example of how to build lifestyle footwear brands than Nike.

To that end, Sneaker Set has a great history of Nike written from the perspective of a shoe collector, including some of their biggest successes and failures, key models, and so forth. If you want a playbook for implementing lifestyle marketing, this is a great place to start.

Check it out here.