The branding of Lakers stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe
Bryant is examined by AD AGE's Jeff Jensen. Management Plus
President Leonard Armato, who manages O'Neal, says that
during the spring, O'Neal "will become the first athlete/
brand to be repositioned and relaunched." The "new Shaq"
will be unveiled during the NBA playoffs, and Armato says
that "the changed positioning speaks to [O'Neal's] status as
a sports and entertainment icon and will be communicated via
a host of marketing alliances. Jensen calls O'Neal's
relationship with Reebok "[m]ost problematic." O'Neal gave
Reebok "credibility as a performance brand, but product and
marketing have too often misfired," as O'Neal developed a
reputation as "another big man who can't sell shoes."
Reebok licensed Warner Bros. Consumer Products to sell a
low-price WB Sport/Shaq branded footwear through mass
merchants. Armato said that "nearly 2 million units have
been sold in the past nine months without any consumer ad
support." Armato claims that sales of Reebok's Shaq shoes
"have been hindered more by weakness with the Reebok brand
and general industry sluggishness than by any problems with
Brand Shaq." Jensen: "With or without Reebok, Management
Plus wants to develop a footwear and apparel unit devoted to
Shaq that it can control." A Reebok spokesperson: "We very
clearly want to continue our relationship with Shaquille and
we're in very active discussions" (AD AGE, 3/16 issue).
SHINING STAR: Jensen also examines the marketing of
Bryant, slated to star in the "largest ad efforts to come
out of Spalding Sports Worldwide and Adidas America" in '98.
Jensen: "He is 1998's athlete brand in demand." Spalding's
Bryant campaign, hitting this spring, supports new brand
positioning. Spalding will increase media spending by 50%
this year, as TV spots will run "almost exclusively" during
NBA telecasts. Bryant will also get a signature basketball
product line, while adidas will release the KB8 3, Bryant's
third signature shoe (Jeff Jensen, AD AGE,3/16).
