The start of December saw US sports retailer Champs Sport and Eastbay (its direct mail sister company) launch a new campaign called ‘We Know Game’ fronted by a team of athlete ambassadors including the Cavinder Twins, Gable Steveson and Rudolph ‘Blaze’ Ingram.
Following the company’s new NIL (name, image and likeness) student athlete partnerships with the Fresno State women’s basketball stars Haley and Hanna Cavinder, plus Minnesota wrestler Gable Steveson and young sprinter/footballer Rudolph ‘Blaze’ Ingram – which were penned ahead of the festive season – the sports retailer rolled out an integrated holiday season campaign called ‘We Know Game’ featuring the new endorsers.
The campaign seeks to showcase both the performance and lifestyle side of Champs and Eastbay and why they’re coming to market together through a social media led holiday campaign led by short-form content and supported by a set of media partners and also running across Champs TV and Eastbay TV on Youtube, as well as in-store work in Champs 505 shops (including window signage and printed materials).
Champs Sports, which operates as a subsidiary of Foot Locker and sells sports apparel, equipment, footwear and accessories across its 540 stores in the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, launched its ‘We Know Game’ campaign on 1 December across its digital and social channels and amplified by the young athletes on their own platforms.
“We think using the empowerment component of NIL athletes who are developing themselves in college is a significant way of how we move ourselves forward and connect by partnering with these individuals who are really making a difference and are standing up as role models and doing some unique things out there,” explained Champs Sports and Eastbay SVP and General Manager Guy Harkless.
Champs Sport and Eastbay is a brand familiar with working with professional athletes and is embracing new opportunities to work with college athletes following NIL legislation passed in summer 2021.
This approach also dovetails with the company’s LEED initiative (Lead Education and Economic Development): a project and commitment to the black community based around a $200m five-year investment to ‘give back’ in terms of providing economic opportunities and development opportunities to young consumers.
“We wanted to make sure that we had athletes that could represent very well both on court and off court, or on the field and off the field, and we felt that the the talent that we chose and connected with all carry those attributes extremely well for us,” said Harkless. “We know that they’ve got big followings through social media. We know that they’ve done a lot of things that are connecting and engaging with the consumer. And oh, by the way, they also are top athletes performing very well in the sports that they’ve chosen. We found that they really do fit what we are looking to portray to the consumer and how we connect with the consumer. All three really are positive role models for what our consumers are looking for.”
Harkless also noted then when it comes to working with student athletes, their commitment to working with purpose-driven companies stands out.
“They’re very interested in the values and purpose of the organizes they partner up with. The things they would ask us about are, ‘What are the values of the organization?’ and ‘How are we connected to this?’ and ‘Why have you chosen us to be part of this?’ We gave them a true and authentic response that we are here to serve the athlete,” continued Harkless. “I think we are doing some things that are unique as far as organizations and businesses go to empower the consumer and to make sure that we do give back in ways that are meaningful to the consumer and to the world that we live in.”
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This initiative is part of the wider US sports marketing rush around student athlete ambassadors following the summer 2021 US NIL legislation.
This initiative fits in with the brand’s strategy of engaging through the lens of the athlete – whether it’s speaking to performance or speaking to lifestyle – via empowering messages to consumers: especially through peer-to-peer tactics.
Champ Sports new young stars include Steveson, who won Olympic gold this summer in Tokyo and has already signed a multi-year deal with WWE, the Cavinder twins who boast a huge TikTok following and have both already racked up all-conference honours twice.
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