Star(bury) Power

When does a cheap product, the $15 Starbury basketball shoe, become a hot brand? Rob Walker chronicles the rise.

Todd argues that big-name brands build advertising costs into their prices, which are set as high as they think the market will bear, in contrast to the discount model of the lowest possible markup, paying off in sheer volume. “Anybody can afford a $10 jersey,” he says. “It’s available to all.”

This is interesting in part because the prevailing wisdom among many marketers is that nobody wants things that are “available to all” anymore — that’s why pricey customized or limited-edition sneakers are popular. It’s also interesting because plenty of big-name discounters sell cheap sneakers and clothes, but few if any have enjoyed glowing, power-to-the-people media treatment. (Wal-Mart leaps to mind.)

The difference may be in how Steve & Barry’s adopted the big-brand strategy of getting the endorsement of a big sports star (the Knicks’ record notwithstanding) on an exclusive product line. Having a brand tied to Marbury, an N.B.A. player who wears the sneakers on court, addresses quality issues, Todd argues. More important, that star endorser was able to frame the product as a response to overpriced brands that take advantage of people still mired in the poverty that he escaped. It gave the sneakers a “cool” factor and message that could be delivered not in an ad but on “Live With Regis and Kelly.” “It became this social movement,” Todd maintains.

There are many paths to the top of the brand heap.

Comments

[Kris Patel]

Indeed many paths that both differentiate and converge towards making a brand "HOT". It is also interesting to note that often times a brand becoming "hot" is not due to marketing strategy but due to a group of customers who pick up the brand and spread it. How does this group differentiate from anyone else? They are trend-setters, connectors, mavens of the consumer world.

+1 John and Rob

[SufferingKnicksFan]

Wait. Let me get this straight... Starbury on the cheap and ligting it up?