Presentation Slides: Make Your Mark

Research Video

Viral Video

New Balance 80's Retro: Nowhere to be seen in the UK!

NEW DISCOVERY: THE US HAVE LAUNCHED RETRO NEW BALANCE HI TOPS. NOWHERE TO BE SEEN IN THE UK MARKET.

This range shows how the brand is making it quite clear that it wants to embrace both genders and every athlete.New Balance launched the retro the BB790 high-top silhouette in 2009, which was worn by the likes of James Worthy. It released in four colorways, each which have a predominantly white base, with accenting colors that match New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and what appears to be either the Chicago Bulls or Atlanta Haws team colours. How this has not already been translated into the UK market, I do not know!

Below is an image of an actual retro 80's New Balance trainer which is also very cool in terms of design, colour and softer texture.

New Media Age: 3 in 5 think that adverts are not relevant

Millions of pounds are invested into advertising for every company; if there is no advertising the consumer will not know about the brand or product for sale, simple. Well, we have found an article that seems to prove all this money is wasted, revealing that 3 in 5 Britons think that adverts are not relevant. Could this be because we live in such an over crowded world of advertising, where messages are hard to actually impact upon the consumer? If this is the case, perhaps New Balance needs to step back from the advertising scene and invest it's money on improved Visual Merchandising that will generate Word Of Mouth promotion and PR . It is a fact that people are more likely to purchase a product if it has been recommended to them by a friend or trusted source.

For this brief we really need to home in on what the Tier 2 consumer wants and needs to ensure that our campaign does not fall under the irrelevant criteria. 

3 in 5 think ads are not relevant

Source: New Media Age 12-10-2010

Three in five Britons believe online advertising is neither relevant nor well-targeted, according to a YouGov survey.

Only 25% found targeted ads relevant to them in any way, while more than half of the respondents (57%) said they would choose targeted ads over a blanket approach if it meant there were fewer of them.

Steven Filler, UK managing director of ad network Collective, who commissioned the research, said: “We currently see two extremes being used to target consumers: re-targeting users who have visited a site before, often at high frequency, or generic brand messaging targeted at sites rather than audiences. If brands are to make a strong connection with consumers, they’ll need to use genuine audience insight to target the right user with tailored ad formats in good quality environments.”

New Balance: Let's Make Excellent Happen 2011

The 2011 campaign titled "LETS MAKE EXCELLENT HAPPEN" aims to introduce the new New Balance 890's to the UK market. The campaign is designed to motivate and inspire individuals to reach a new level of personal performance, so the aim is very similar to Nike's 'Just Do It' really. They are told to reach a 'new level of excellent'.

The print campaign is as follows:

The copy reads:

'Excellent is built from the ground up.

Excellent proves itself every day.

Excellent raises the bar, and dares us all to raise it higher.

New Balance: Lets Make Excellent Happen.'

I do like this campaign, the font is reminiscent of Puma's After Hours Athlete, however 'Outrun Ordinary' a phrase used in the copy could have made a more solid foundation for the marketing campaign.

I do think though that this print campaign is a vast improvement from the ones originally looked at, it gives the brand more personality, whilst still keeping its identity. It looks like a campaign that could compete on the same level with brands such as Nike, Puma, Adidas, which is where New Balance needs to be. Elements of this campaign can be brought into the lifestyle campaigns - the arty, cutting edge feel for example.

Video Campaign: 

The TV campaign has been launched world wide, it shows a New Balance track being constructed at Pier 54, New York, where New Balance athletes celebrate competition as a way to inspire each other to achieve new levels of excellent performance.