After its biggest ad, “worn by supermodels in London and dads in Ohio,” New Balance has proven that its marketing efforts have evolved to resonate with highly diverse audiences.
The brand’s journey from functional footwear to a world fashion icon is a testament to its smart, adaptable marketing strategies.
You are invited to look closely at how New Balance’s marketing strategy has redefined the sneaker landscape. From iconic campaigns and strategic collaborations to leveraging brand heritage and constructing digital communities, we’ll explore the important thing promoting moves which have made New Balance greater than only a sneaker brand—it’s turn out to be a life-style statement.
What’s Inside
From Dad Shoes to Style Icon: The Evolution of New Balance Marketing
As for 2024, New Balance had an 88% brand awareness rate amongst sneakerheads within the United States, and 40% had a positive opinion of the corporate. How did the brand reach that turning point in its marketing strategy, then?
Actually, New Balance’s association with the “dad shoe” image has been a big aspect of its brand identity, with models just like the 990. These products, characterised by chunky silhouettes, comfort, and retro designs, gained popularity back within the Nineteen Nineties.
However, we are able to clearly see that New Balance’s marketing evolution reached its pivotal turning point in 2015 with the launch of the “Always in Beta” campaign. That undoubtedly marked a strategic shift from a lifestyle-focused image to emphasizing athletic performance.
Over the years, within the realm of sports marketing, New Balance has continued to strategically partner with athletes and teams to boost its brand visibility.
What’s more, in 2023, New Balance experienced significant growth. So much in order that the brand hit $6.5 billion and doubled sales since 2020.
What happened in 2020?
Yes, the retro “dad shoe” trend reached latest heights then, and New Balance’s classic 990 and 327 models were embraced by street fashion enthusiasts.
The dad shoe trend isn’t nearly fashion. It reflects a cultural shift towards appreciating functional and practical items, especially those with a nostalgic appeal. New Balance shoes represent a balance between style and functionality, making them perfect for the fashionable world.
At that time, we’ve got to acknowledge that COVID-19 significantly influenced that trend. With people working from home and spending more time indoors, there was a heightened demand for comfortable footwear. And it was an excellent call to make use of related sports marketing strategies to succeed in that audience, including Gen Z.
Fundamentals of New Balance’s Marketing Strategy
New Balance’s marketing strategy has a novel edge; with over a century of history, it has built a loyal following by staying true to its core values of quality, craftsmanship, and independence.
But what really sets New Balance apart is its ability to evolve. CEO Robert DeMartini highlighted this approach, stating:
We’ve all the time been a contrarian. That’s what the owner, Jim Davis, built this business on. As a personal company, we are able to make a call based on a five- or ten-year period.
As mentioned before, the brand has embraced trends, partnered with top sports marketing agencies to succeed in latest audiences, and collaborated with high-fashion icons to remain relevant.
Let’s dive deeper and discover the basics of New Balance’s marketing approach:
“Made within the USA” Ethos
Launching and promoting the “Made within the USA” series is part of that ethos. As you already know, the series highlights the brand’s heritage and dedication to quality, resonating with consumers who value local manufacturing.
Tapping into Youth Culture
We’ll look closer to that, but for now, we are able to state that New Balance has successfully tapped into youth culture via a mix of collaborations, targeted endorsements, and trend-conscious product releases.
By partnering with fashion-forward brands like Aimé Leon Dore and enlisting popular athletes equivalent to Kawhi Leonard and Coco Gauff, New Balance has expanded its influence inside younger, style-conscious demographics.
In other words, while embracing the trends with re-releases of classics, the brand cleverly honors its heritage. And that approach makes it a favorite amongst each sneakerheads and the fashion-forward youth.
Partnering with Culturally Relevant Figures
For its “We Got Now 2024” campaign, the brand teamed up with new-age & diverse athletes known by youth as an alternative of “the figures of all times” equivalent to Usain Bolt, Steven Curry, or David Beckham. They collaborated with Coco Gauff, Shohei Ohtani, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Jamal Murray., Tyrese Maxey, Cameron Brink, and Bukayo Saka.
Taking Advantage of Nostalgia
New Balance is amongst the businesses that actually understand how you can capitalize on nostalgia marketing.
In addition to paying homage to its heritage at every turn, New Balance also revives a few of its signature marketing campaigns. As you might remember, the brand revived the “Intelligent Choice” slogan, originally launched within the Nineteen Eighties. With that marketing move, NB emphasized the brand’s long-standing philosophy of creating high-quality, purpose-driven products.
Time to concentrate on digital marketing and social media strategy of New Balance:
Encouraging User-Generated Content
As you already know, UGC is undoubtedly some of the effective strategies within the marketing ecosystem. In this fashion, the brand encourages customers to share their experiences using its products. And, yes, that’s the long-term marketing strategy of New Balance.
Campaigns like #MyNBalance invite users to post personal stories and photos, creating authentic content and strengthening the brand-consumer relationship.
Resonating with Gen Z’s Values & Trends
One of the wisest moves a fashion brand can embrace is, after all, creating content totally resonating with Gen Z’s values like individuality and realness and trends on social media.
In a recent TikTok video, New Balance referred to the “FIT CHECK” trend on social media and gained 1000’s of likes.
In addition to adopting social media trends to its strategy, the brand can be good at choosing figures to work with. By benefiting from the rise of Korean modern culture and K-pop, New Balance teamed up with Korean singer-songwriter and actress IU and attracted, especially Gen Z.
Leveraging Brand Heritage
Like sticking to the “Made within the USA” ethos, leveraging brand heritage at every turn is a widely known element of New Balance’s marketing strategy.
That approach strengthens its market position and connects with consumers while honoring classic series like 990 and its designers.
What’s more, by integrating its heritage into modern marketing strategies, New Balance effectively appeals to each long-time fans and latest customers.
Most Successful New Balance Campaigns
Grey Days
Since NB annually celebrates its iconic 990 series with different successful marketing campaigns, we must list “Grey Days” at the highest.
The campaign honors its signature grey colorway and pronounces the limited-edition releases. As mentioned earlier, the brand highlights its wealthy heritage and the timeless appeal of its products via that campaign.
Run Your Way
Released in 2023, New Balance’s “Run Your Way” campaign features real runners and their personal, sincere stories. It’s form of a commitment to private expression in sports.
The only right solution to run, is your way. #RunYourWay
Fearlessly Independent Since 1906
As mentioned earlier, New Balance’s marketing campaigns revolve around two fundamental elements: quality craftsmanship and wealthy heritage.
In that iconic campaign, NB underscores its long-standing commitment to independence and quality craftsmanship.
By stressing its heritage and commitment to creating superior goods, the brand strengthens its unique place in the style & sports industry.
Introducing the MADE within the USA 990v6
Runners aren’t normal.
Introducing the MADE in USA 990v6.
An ever-evolving icon, the MADE in USA 990v6 blends modern, performance-minded updates and timeless craftsmanship.
Before jumping into the subsequent campaign, in case you’re wondering how 990 became the universally loved masterpiece, here’s a quick answer by Vice author, Adam Rothbarth:
The first New Balance 990 got here out in 1982—the identical 12 months as Nike’s Air Force 1—to be the best running shoe for serious runners. Retailing for $100 right out of the gate, the shoe was an enormous gamble from New Balance, as sneakers didn’t often cost that much back then; I feel what made people immediately willing to pay this much.
Cloud Jumper
Unlike the opposite campaigns we listed above, that campaign exemplifies progressive social media engagement through interactive content.
Using an interactive mobile game that looked like well-known apps like “Doodle Jump,” “Cloud Jumper” promoted New Balance’s Fresh Foam cushioned shoe line. Through sponsored social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, the sport was distributed programmatically.
What concerning the results? Notwithstanding New Balance’s inexperience in gaming, the endeavor resulted in an overall brand lift of 18.84%, with a 28.9% lift in China, a 14.6% lift within the United States, and a ten.3% lift in Japan.
Runs within the Family
“Runs within the Family,” featuring diverse figures, is one other famous campaign where the brand celebrates its universality.
With that marketing campaign, New Balance demonstrates that their shoes are appropriate for elite athletes in addition to casual wearers while emphasizing the brand’s appeal to a wide selection of age groups.
It’s also an invite to call New Balance a “true family brand.”
Bonus: Saturday Night Live’s New Balance Video
If you’re on the lookout for the running shoe runners use, and the show chubby white guys wear to make an announcement, New Balance is the brand for you.
Read the total article here
