Nike – The Kobe System

Nike - The Kobe System

 

Nike
has sold out of all of its Kobe Bryant merchandise online, following the tragic death of the basketball legend on Sunday, a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC.

Reports that said Nike had pulled the merchandise from its website are false, the person said.

Now, a search for Kobe Bryant-related items on Nike.com will show a tribute message that extends sympathies to the Bryant family and their friends. “He was a beloved member of the Nike family. We will miss him greatly. Mamba forever,” it says, in part.

Bryant, who died along with one of his daughters in a helicopter crash over the weekend, was one of the most prominent basketball players to sign on with Nike. He inked an endorsement deal with the sneaker maker in 2003. Nike has been releasing Kobe sneakers ever since, even following his retirement from the sport in 2016.

Nike is currently evaluating how it will proceed with selling Kobe merchandise. The company had other Kobe sneaker launches in the works prior to the accident and starts the marketing strong with social media. Using Social Boosting is a good tool to spread your content and have more audience.

Resale sites such as StockX still have Kobe sneakers for sale, and interest in those items has surged since Sunday afternoon. Some pairs are being bid on for more than $1,000.

A StockX spokesperson said in a statement: “As is the case for any live marketplace, real-life events have ramifications on market performance. Following the tragic news of Kobe Bryant’s passing, there was a surge in interest in products related to the basketball legend, including some of his most noted sneaker collaborations. The increased interest is a testament to his impact both on and off the court.”

Another resale company, Urban Necessities, started telling sellers that they would not be allowed to increase the price of Kobe merchandise in the wake of his death.

Nike shares were up less than 1% on Tuesday afternoon. The stock has rallied a little more than 25% over the past 12 months. Nike has a market cap of about $156.4 billion.

 

Nike - The Kobe System

INFLUENCERS in-depth Series / STEVE STOUTE

Influencers Steve Stoute

INFLUENCERS In-depth Series features Steve Stoute, Founder and CEO of Translation, a brand management firm that arranges strategic partnerships between Pop Culture icons (Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, Lebron James, Justin Timberlake, etc.) and Fortune 500 companies.

In this episode, Steve Stoute discusses the concept of cool, how new cultural codes are redefining traditional corporation communication. He also talks about creating successful collaborations between Artists and Brands.

Named one of the Fortune’s 40 under 40 list and inducted into the American Advertising Hall of Achievement (2009), Steve Stoute is one of today’s most influential forces in entertainment marketing.
His client roster includes companies such as Samsung, State Farm, Mc Donald’s, Target, Wrigley’s, HP, P&G and artists such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna (management).

A Marketing Lesson From The Apocalypse (Seth Godin)

the rapture

the rapture

via Seth Godin

If you’re reading this blog, then the world didn’t end, at least in my time zone.

How does one market the end of the world? After all, you don’t have a big ad budget. Your ‘product’ is something that has been marketed again and again through the ages and it has never worked. There’s significant peer pressure not to buy it…

And yet, every time, people succumb. They sell their belongings, stop paying into their kid’s college fund and create tension and despair.

Here’s the simple lesson:

Sell a story that some people want to believe. In fact, sell a story they already believe.

The story has to be integrated into your product. The iPad, for example, wasn’t something that people were clamoring for… but the story of it, the magic tablet, the universal book, the ticket to the fashion-geek tribe–there was a line out the door for that. The same way that every year, we see a new music sensation, a new fashion superstar. That’s not an accident. That story is just waiting for someone to wear it.

And the some part is vital. Not everyone wants to believe in the end of the world, but some people (fortunately, just a few) really do. To reach them, you don’t need much of a hard sell at all.

Too often marketers take a product and try to invent a campaign. Much more effective is to find a tribe, find a story and make a product that resonates, one that makes the story work.

That’s the whole thing. A story that resonates and a tribe that’s tight and small and eager.

I hope you can dream up something more productive than the end of the world, though.