Eyecube Buzz9 for July 28: Sports-related topics I’m buzzing about

Items from the Shaun White 4 Target Collection

Eyecube Buzz9: Sports-related topics I’m buzzing about

1. Mets and Yankees on the rise: New York, Summer & Baseball
2. Carlos Sastre wins the Tour de France: Spain’s Summer of Dominance Conitnues
3. Shaun White 4 Target
4. Brett Favre: God’s gift to sports talk radio

 

5. Beijing Olympics: Chinese athlete controversy
6. Beijing Olympics: Showdown in the deep end
7. F1 Drivers Championship: Truly up for grabs
8. Twenty20 Champions League: A sport divided?
9. Nike Hyperdunk Ads: That ain’t right

On the horizon: European football season begins
In the rear view mirror: WNBA: Fights and 50-year olds

 

Eyecube Buzz9 will appear on Monday

The Nike-ization of Converse?

Can’t wait to see what Rob Walker makes of this. That’s one of what appears to be many Converse movie shorts. Converse, which was bought by Nike, has developed a massive short film portal that plays to a very edgy audience. A too cool for school, young audience. Other films have titles like “Kissing with Ross”, “Out of Your League Girl” and “The Best Pick of the Draft.”

This seems like a really bold departure for Converse which has relied on its tradition and heritage for it’s marketing. They’ve also tied in rather aggressively with Target.

 

So, where does Converse fall in the Deeply Immersive Narrative Universe matrix? This will be an interesting period for Converse as they try multiple approaches. Target gives them mass, they will probably still hang on to a segment of the anti-corporate/punk rock/DIY/no leather crowd, and this new online short film initiative could appeal to a different group. I think creating a compelling story with those disparate elements will be a challenge.

Interestingly, none of those groups includes athletes, the brand’s original core demographic. I think it’s difficult to have multiple stories out there. Does the uber-cool kid that these movie shorts will appeal to want to wear the same brand that can be picked up at Target?  Do these movies take the brand too far away from its plain, simple roots? 

Converse is a great brand with tons of equity, this new online execution will be worth following to see if it connects with consumers or is dismissed as being too far away from the brand’s DNA.

 

Barneys + Target = ?

I love Target, shop there all the time. I think they’ve done a great job of positioning. I think of them as affordable luxury, or at least affordable style. I like Barneys very much too, though I don’t shop there much. To me they are aspirational luxury, or aspirational style. 

So what do I see walking down the street after work yesterday:

(Apologies for the appalling photo, clearly my camera-phone skills need work).

So, this is pretty interesting. Designer Rogan Gregory has put together a collection for Target. It caught the eye of Barneys Fashion Director Julie Gilhart. And so now a preview of sorts will appear at Barneys Co-op before it goes mass at Target. According to FashionWeekDaily: “The collection, which marks the first time Barneys has carried Target merchandise, will arrive in New York and Los Angeles on May 8 and 15, respectively, and will be carried on the Co-op floor. The pieces will only be in stock for five days-after that, shoppers will have to wait for the mass debut.” (Hat tip for all this to racked.com).

As I said, I like Target and I like Barneys, but I’m not sure this is a Chocolate-Peanut Butter marriage. How will regular Barneys shoppers feel about Target merchandise? It may be fine, I’m guessing there are plenty of Barneys regulars who buy stuff at Target, assuming they don’t live in Manhattan. And yet this feels like it’s bringing Barneys down a bit and at the same time, I don’t know if the majority of Target shoppers, especially those not on the coasts, know or care about Barneys.

Will this be the start of a trend, where high and low (or mid) retail form partnerships?  Bloomingdales & WalMart? Nordstrom’s & K-Mart? Hmmm.