Puma will offer an endorsement deal to any player competing in the tourney who makes an NBA team
Puma has "struck yet another basketball deal," as the company will sponsor The Basketball Tournament, the $2M "winner-take-all summer hoops tourney broadcast on ESPN that comprises 72 teams of ex-NBA players, former college stars and international players," according to E.J. Schultz of AD AGE. Puma "negotiated a significant presence in the games, 21 of which will be shown on ESPN or ESPN2." The company will "offer an endorsement deal to any player competing in the league who goes on to make an NBA team." Schultz noted 16 players from last year's tourney "signed NBA deals." The agreement gives Puma "another way into the sport beyond individual player deals." Financial terms "were not released for the multiyear deal." The deal with The Basketball Tournament "caps a week of headline-grabbing basketball deals," as Puma this week announced endorsement deals with multiple basketball players, including the top two picks in Thursday's NBA Draft, Suns C Deandre Ayton and Kings F Marvin Bagley III. The company also "named Jay-Z as creative director." Puma is working with N.Y.-based creative shop Nowadays for its "hoops marketing push." Puma Global Dir of Brand & Marketing Adam Petrick said the company will be "depending more on the earned silo than the paid" (ADAGE.com, 6/21).
BALL IS LIFESTYLE: Petrick said that while Puma is "restarting its performance basketball shoe business, it hopes the products will appeal to style-conscious consumers too." Petrick added the company's retail partners indicated "something new was needed to improve and spark interest in basketball footwear." Petrick also said that Puma's "ramp-up in basketball has been more than a year in the making and 'has nothing to do'" with the spinoff of French luxury group Kering's majority stake in Puma last month. The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sara Germano notes Puma's new performance sneaker, the $120 Clyde Court, is "set to be released Oct. 1 through Puma's wholesale and retail channels" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/22).
