Jordan Keeps Scoring In Nike's Global Marketing

Basketball nation is alive and well at Nike. The Beaverton, Ore., company accounts for 85% of the $2.5 billion basketball shoe category, up from 77% last year, per research firm SportsOneSource, Charlotte, N.C. Last month, Nike, in alliance with Foot Locker, opened the first House of Hoops, a 4,000-square-foot store on 125th Street in Harlem, N.Y. The basketball haven features limited-edition and high-end products from Nike and its Jordan Brand and Converse divisions. About 50 more are due to open over the next three years in cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Las Vegas. Each will contain a Hoops Essentials section where players will make personal appearances; consumers can watch Nike commercials and interviews with athletes on a 65-inch screen; and an electronic community board posting real-time scores from local basketball games, basketball news and information about upcoming store events.

Nike’s Jordan Brand, formed in 1997 as a result of the phenomenal success the company had with Michael Jordan, now includes NBA players Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), Ray Allen (Boston Celtics) and Richard Hamilton (Detroit Pistons); and Derek Jeter (of the New York Yankees). Marketing just launched behind the new Jordan Melo M4 shoe. Plans in 2008 include support for the release of Air Jordan XX3 before the NBA All-Star Game (Feb. 17 in New Orleans); retro releases from the Air Jordan line; Chris Paul’s first signature shoe (March 1); activation at the MLB All-Star Game (July 15 at Yankee Stadium in New York), where Jeter will serve as Jordan Brand ambassador at numerous events; and overall Nike activation at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Jordan Brand, which also produces casual apparel, last week unveiled an alliance with Levi Strauss, San Francisco, to create limited-edition “toe-to-head fashion packages” called 23/501 that will include a pair of Air Jordan Retro 1 sneakers, a co-branded pair of Levi’s Original 501 jeans and a T-shirt (MSRP: $395). 23/501 will hit specialty retailers, Levi stores and Niketown stores in March. Jordan Brand spent $15.8 million on media in 2006 and $8.8 million January-September 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Lead agency is Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.

Roman Vega has been brand manager at Jordan Brand for more than five years, overseeing strategic development and marketing. He spoke with Brandweek executive editor Barry Janoff.

Brandweek: How’s business?

Roman Vega: It’s an exciting time for us. We’re primarily a basketball brand. With the NBA, college and high school basketball going, we’re getting our products on the court.

BW: Is it fair to say that Carmelo Anthony has replaced Michael Jordan as the face of Jordan Brand?

RV: Yes. And he’s earned it. “Earn” is a big word for us. Michael is very big on that. You have to earn the respect of others, and that’s something Carmelo has done. It’s his fifth year with the Jordan Brand. There were people who said he should have been co-rookie of the year with LeBron James [in 2003-04]. He was named to the all-star team last year. He’s continued to play strong, most recently with the U.S. National Team [he was the leading scorer with the gold medal squad during the FIBA Americas championship this past summer]. He’s been a leader and a catalyst. As a brand, you really leverage those performances.

BW: Anthony was suspended last season by the NBA for 15 games because of his role in an on-court brawl between the Nuggets and the New York Knicks. Did that incident hurt his marketing image?

RV: It was an unfortunate occurrence. But it’s part of sports. People are in the heat of battle and these guys are competing at the highest level. Sometimes emotions get the better of you. But “Melo” was a true man about it. He accepted his punishment and learned a great deal from that experience. We still have tremendous faith in him and so does Michael.

BW: At the height of his playing days, Michael Jordan also was at the height of his marketing prowess. He retired in 2003 (Jordan is part owner and managing member of basketball operations at the Charlotte Bobcats). So how influential is he today?

RV: His marketing power is still tremendous. He has a strong presence not just in the sneaker community, but in pop culture. We are expanding the brand globally and when we take him to Asia or Europe the [international] power of Michael is tremendous. The presence and excitement he brings into each market is amazing. We are working on a new brand campaign that will come out in January. One of the things we are working on is transitioning him from player to the “coach” of Team Jordan. Michael has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the game of basketball and how players should carry themselves on and off the court. So from a brand perspective we’re looking to make that transition as well in the eyes of consumers.

BW: How are you reaching your core of young, male consumers, who generally don’t get their information from TV?

RV: We’re excited about our Web site, Jumpman23.com, which we continue to make more interactive. With House of Hoops by Foot Locker, Nike is building a closer connection with consumers at street level. And we have the Jordan Brand “Breakfast Club,” where we send athletes into communities to meet with young players.

BW: Is it still important to have an athlete associated with a basketball shoe or brand?

RV: I can’t speak for other brands. But for Jordan Brand, yes. Michael is so integral to our business. What helped us even back in the day was that he was validating the performance aspect of our product. Now, for us to have Carmelo Anthony, Ray Allen, Chris Paul out there performing and doing their thing, today’s generation knows and understands that they are what the Jordan Brand is all about.

BW: What about the Stephon Marbury $14.98 Starbury’s from Steve & Barry’s?

RV: That particular brand is fine for Steve & Barry’s, and they are hitting a lot of consumers they want to reach. That’s their business model . . . From a marketing standpoint, our job is to ensure that the energy and excitement is out there for our brand. Our product teams take great pride in developing high-performance products that are innovative and help change the way people perceive basketball-performance products.

BW: The AJXX3 (23) is coming in 2008. How important is the Air Jordan retro line to the overall marketing mix?

RV: Nike has a rich history, and we are able to go back over the previous [versions since the first Jordan basketball shoe launched]. There is an appetite [among consumers] for this product. We see a different type of consumer mix here. We get more older consumers, who remember when Michael wore the Air Jordan 5, 6 or 7, and what they were doing at the time and that they wanted to “Be like Mike.” But we also get young consumers who heard about these shoes from their dads or older brothers and want to have them.

BW: Did the NBA take a marketing hit because of the scandal involving Tim Donaghy, who admitted to betting while an NBA ref?

RV: The NBA did not suffer. I was disappointed to hear about [Donaghy]. But honestly, commissioner [David] Stern had a slam dunk in handling it because I don’t know of any marketing partners who left and I don’t remember reading any more stories about the NBA and gambling.

bjanoff@brandweek.com