New Balance 'Runs In The Family' Campaign Showcases Kawhi Leonard, Success Of Brand, Athletes

An independent sneaker company, New Balance thinks of itself as a family. And now, more than ever, the Boston-based brand wants to share the success of that family with the world, creating a new campaign championing the recent feats of its partner athletes and launching a new family of 997 Sport sneaker products. 

The “Runs in the Family” campaign launched ahead of the upcoming July 13 997S sneaker launch, highlighting the success of NBA Champion Kawhi Leonard, MLB All-Star Francisco Lindor, musician Jaden Smith, track star Sydney McLaughlin and all without losing sight of the limelight that World Cup winner Rose Lavelle and breakout tennis star Coco Gauff have all enjoyed. 

“We have a lot of exciting, great new relationships with athletes,” says Chris Davis, vice president of global marketing. “I imagine this is one of the more exciting times we have ever seen as far as visibility and enthusiasm and what the athletes represent and how they help us to tell a New Balance story.” 

The new campaign centers around the 997S, a relatively new product based on the classic 990 design that comes full of collaborations. Already we’ve seen Leonard get in on the mix with his own design and collaborations have included Kith, Comme de Garcon and Bodega. Other 997 models have collaborated with Aime Leon Dore and Concepts and expect to see more coming in 2019, including Reserva in August, Animale in September and more, including part of a new product launch from Smith next year. 

A more forward-future perspective of a classic style that has been seen on the feet of models gracing the runway in London to dads in Ohio, as the brand likes to say, the 997 gives the brand an opportunity to lean into the classic aesthetic of New Balance with a fresh, modern design perspective. 

Beyond the sneaker, New Balance has put together 30-second and one-minute spots featuring ambassadors to support the Runs in the Family campaign and also created deeper stories from the individuals seen in the campaign, narratives of what independence means to them. 

“Being independent is a big part of being part of our family,” says Allie Tsavdaridas, director of global marketing for lifestyle. “It allows us to make decisions different than our competitors. It is a big part of our identity and a big part of our behavior and choices.” 

As New Balance looks at specific sports and finds athletes who are slightly different and less traditional, whether the youthful creativity of Gauff or the singular personality of Leonard, it all bleeds into the motif of the brand. 

“We consider ourselves to be a challenger brand and independently and purposefully contrarian,” Davis says. “When we are looking for athletes or teams or ambassadors to join the family, being fiercely independent is the first filter.” 

With the Runs in the Family campaign, athletes have the opportunity to tell a story through their voice and lens, Tsavdaridas says, calling the effort a co-creation. We will see new music debuted from Smith, for example. “As we work with Sydney, Coco, Kawhi, Jaden, the storylines are very much co-authored from a literal and figurative standpoint and we invest in one another and come together with a unique voice,” Davis says. “With some of the other brands, that collaboration process isn’t as tight-knit.” 

Using the campaign, New Balance can now tell a unified story of its ambassadors, launching what will turn into a months-long effort to build on a theme that New Balance has already made waves with in its marketing of Leonard during his run to the NBA title with the Toronto Raptors. 

From the “Fun Guy” T-shirts and billboards promoting Leonard to the “dads in Ohio” quip when launching new 990 models, New Balance has taken a fresh approach to its attitude. “Kawhi is helping us reshape the New Balance narrative,” Tsavdaridas says. “It represents a lot of what we believe internally, but that the broader consumer base hasn’t seen from us. It is opening a new conversation to a consumer who knows about us but hasn’t thought about us engaging in culture in this way.”

Add in the quippy marketing and New Balance has a “tone of voice” that stands out. 

She says the brand is healthier than it has ever been — New Balance strives for an 80-20 split in footwear to apparel — and now has athletes able to help tell stories on new stages and in varied venues. Coupled with ongoing collaborations, continued growth of performance running, fresh technologies across multiple footwear platforms and the relaunch into basketball this fall, New Balance says the success of both product and athletes makes now the perfect time to tell the story of the New Balance family. Of course, with a “fun guy” always on hand.

Source: Forbes.com

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