Why would a brand claiming not to be endorsed by no one change its mind and choose the most renowned athletes in their discipline?
Well, according to Ray Hilvert, Vice President of Global Sports and Marketing and Team Sports at New Balance, in an interview for The Boston Globe, signing different athletes to represent them only amplified their vision of “endorsed by no one”. But why would he say that?
The brand is specializing in several sports, and they chose one or several athletes to work with them on shoes for these specific sports. Being endorsed by so many people and from so many different sports makes the brand endorsed by everyone and no one at the same time.
Who can endorse the brand?
How does New Balance choose its athletes and how can they represent the values of the brand which doesn’t want to be endorsed by anyone?
Well, they choose independent-minded players interested in a partnership. Athletes that do not want to be trapped in a specific area and do not go with the flow. They look for standout performers with an independent streak.
For example, the first basketball player endorsing the New Balance Basketball shoes was Darius Bazley when he was 19 years old and a rookie with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
If you look closely, each athlete working with New Balance is related to one of the values of the brand and what they want people to think of them.
In 2019, they signed Kawhi Leonard, a basketball player, while he was playing with the Clippers. He is the most recent and most popular athlete the brand ever signed. His enigmatic personality is in perfect adequation with the image the brand wants to convey. People are eager to understand who he is because he is such an enigma, and it is the same thing with New Balance, the brand that does not make waves but grows from year to year. They especially play with it in his commercial when is shushes the public watching the ad.
The brand also gets involved in feminine sports and has especially launched partnerships with football, creative player Rose Lavelle or 15 years old ambitious tennis player Coco Gauff.
Implementing fearless creativity thanks to the design and agility of Lavelle’s shoe or audacity in Gauff’s ad campaign helps customers understand every aspect of the brand.
“Call me what you want but, win or lose, just call me Coco”
The famous soccer player, Rose Lavelle and her signature shoes : the New Balance Tekelas.
The young tennis player Coco Gauff modeling for her signature shoes.
The brand doesn’t stop at the most popular sport. It supports every kind of sport and shows it by sponsoring and collaborating with the most renowned athletes. Skateboarder Tiago Lemos, England cricket team, world second all-time fastest 400m hurdler Sydney McLaughlin, the list is long.
Tiago Lemos Sydney McLaughlin
English cricket team
Is brand endorsment only for athletes?
It is not new that the goal of a company is to reach as many people as possible. And New Balance understood well how sponsorship and partnership work. The brand also chose to address it with street shoes.
By signing the famous Jaden Smith, it reaches a brand-new kind of customers making a vegan and environmentally friendly shoe. An article in the Vegconomist compares the values of the shoe to Smith’s and New Balance’s ones.
Jaden Smith is a very engaged person regarding philanthropy and environmental awareness. Through this collaboration, the brand wants to express staying true to oneself, giving back to the community, and respecting heritage while co-authoring a distinct future.
New Balance even gives a chance to “normal” people to endorse them by offering a brand ambassador and influencer program. Showing people that someone like you and I can endorse a brand which makes it closer to its customers and more accessible.
New Balance’s strategy of being “endorsed by no one” is central to its expansion and marketing strategy. Being present in a lot of different sports and being endorsed by so many unique athletes (and public figures) shows its range of values and what image the brand wants to leave in society. Social awareness, uniqueness, mystery, and perseverance.
References
New Balance brand ambassador & influencer program, Yazing. Retrieved from https://yazing.com/brand-ambassador-programs/newbalance-influencer
Jerry Bembry (2019), Coco Gauff endorsers, like New Balance, are benefiting from her rising stock, The Undefeated. Retrieved from https://theundefeated.com/features/endorsers-of-coco-gauff-are-benefiting-from-her-stock-on-the-rise-new-balance/
Peter Verry (2020), Coco Gauff Is Helping New Balance Appeal to Gen Z Consumers — Here’s How, Footwear News. Retrieved from https://footwearnews.com/2020/focus/athletic-outdoor/coco-gauff-australian-open-new-balance-1202909639/
(2019), New Balance Football create bespoke Rose Lavelle boot, New Balance's Press Box. Retreived from https://newbalance.newsmarket.com/latest-news/new-balance-football-create-bespoke-rose-lavelle-boot/s/04c81c3d-bb80-48bf-9ef4-85ae3f6c26cc
(2020), New Balance & Brand Ambassador Jaden Smith Design & Develop the Vegan-Friendly Vision Racer Scheduled to Launch This Week, The Vegconomist. Retrieved from https://vegconomist.com/fashion-und-beauty/new-balance-brand-ambassador-jaden-smith-design-develop-the-vegan-friendly-vision-racer-scheduled-to-launch-this-week/
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