Foot Locker has launched a new brand platform and holiday campaign to reinforce its ties to sneaker culture and some of the biggest names in the NBA.
‘The Heart of Sneakers’ platform created by agency record Preacher, also focuses on the brand’s referee-styled store associates, known as Stripers.
Featured NBA stars who are also brand ambassadors include Kevin Durant with Nike, LaMelo Ball with Puma, Anthony Edwards with Adidas and Steph Curry with Under Armour.
The campaign will run across TV, digital out-of-home, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other social channels and will be part of all the brand’s campaign, online and in-store experiences, events and more.
Kim Waldmann, global chief customer officer at Foot Locker, said: “For nearly 50 years, our authentic connection to sneaker culture and our Stripers have been the magic behind Foot Locker. We’ll continue to put the heart of our company’s DNA front and center in communities globally, creating an unrivaled experience only found at Foot Locker,”
The brand’s 2023 holiday campaign centres around the relationship between sneaker culture and basketball.
NBA stars and singer Enisa, feature in spots that show how Stripers bring “hype for the holidays.”
In ads soundtracked by Wiz Khalifa’s ‘Hype Me Up,’ Puma ambassador Ball teams with Stripers to ready a court for night basketball with glow-in-the-dark paint, while Adidas spokesperson Edwards calls on Stripers to hype up a young fan, video game-style.
Ryan Durr, Creative Director at Preacher, said: “We wanted the launch of The Heart of Sneakers to feel as big and exciting as an actual sneaker drop. Bringing in some of the biggest names in the NBA, plus a global music talent, was a great way to boost the scale and energy of the work,
“Holiday campaigns typically pull on heartstrings, but our intention was to bring heat and hype to the season. That feeling you get when wearing a fresh pair of kicks is what we’re hoping to evoke in this campaign.”
Foot Locker has previously made sneaker culture a part of its marketing, as have brands as diverse as Chips Ahoy and Lexus, as the sneaker market continues to grow and is estimated by Statista to exceed $100 billion by 2026.
Platforms such as StockX and GOAT, in which Foot Locker invested in 2019, have helped drive the market but also cut into sales channels of traditional retailers like Foot Locker.
Credits
Brand Footlocker
Agency Preacher
Production Burn Studio
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