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Document 20 of 67.

Copyright 1998 Information Access Company,
a Thomson Corporation Company;
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Copyright 1998 Fairchild Publications Inc.
Footwear News

August 10, 1998

SECTION: No. 32, Vol. 54; Pg. 12; ISSN: 0162-914X

IAC-ACC-NO: 21037516

LENGTH: 737 words

HEADLINE: SENDING THE RIGHT MESSAGE; footwear manufacturers marketing strategies

BYLINE: Atmore, Michael

BODY:
AS MORE COMPANIES ADVERTISE ON TELEVISION, THE RISKS ESCALATE DRAMATICALLY

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is the value of a 30-second television spot?

That is the question many footwear executives have been asking over the past year. With the need for more comprehensive and sophisticated marketing plans, many of the industry's top manufacturers have been combing budgets lately in search of the copious dollars needed to make a memorable marketing presence in today's multimedia world.

For a long time, companies could get by advertising in selected print outlets with campaigns that were amateurish at best. But Nike and a few other big guns changed all that. Using edgy ad campaigns that set standards in the media world, they not only pushed the envelope for the rest of the industry, but the entire advertising world as well. As a result, the issue today is not so much whether or not a company will advertise, but what the feeling of the campaign should or should not be.

The tone issue is perplexing for many companies inexperienced in the marketing game. Even the ground-breaking athletic campaigns have encountered mixed consumer reactions. While Nike has enhanced the overall brand image, others haven't been so lucky. Reebok's well-documented history of marketing missteps proves that the message must be a clever mix of entertainment and substance.

When entering the TV-ad arena, many footwear companies find the costs could induce a heart attack. For those that had only print ad campaigns running in selected magazines, the price tags attached to producing and airing 30- or 60-second spots were a bit intimidating. For a long time it seemed that only the athletic side of the footwear business was going to take the big plunge. But led by Skechers and a handful of aggressive marketers on the brown-shoe side of the business, the landscape changed quickly. Today, even the minor players know that some television, in combination with print, is a powerful tool for growth. But it is the nature and execution of the campaign that can determine how much of a bang one gets for the buck. A number of footwear companies with limited experience in this area have come up with arresting campaigns that do not match the product they are supposedly touting, while others -- some with very hip lines -- simply haven't captured that cool image that is their birthright.

Influenced by a tidal wave of marketing messages entering their homes and offices on a daily basis, the average American has become a connoisseur of fine advertising. The campaigns that really work can turn a nothing brand into a real force in the marketplace. (Remember the first Snapple ads?) But when the opportunity is lost, not only are the copious dollars wasted, but the public has been exposed to a message that either didn't move them, or worse, one that encouraged them to have a negative view of a product or brand.

Much of the new advertising in the footwear industry has been print. And while many of the campaigns have been successful on their own terms (Candie's, for example) others seem to be either stretching or not reaching far enough. A number of manufacturers who are anxious to attract a younger customer base (and there are many of them out there) have come up with edgy, sometimes elegant ad campaigns that are visually stimulating.

What's the problem? They have little or nothing to do with the product the customer will come to the store looking for. Why is it that these vendors don't see the risk in promoting a certain look or image that simply does not exist?

With the move to television, these issues become more important. Every one of us is a consumer, and we need to think more like the shoppers we are. When we hit the stores looking for that new item, perhaps drawn by a clever ad, we have certain expectations. A clever marketer knows that building those expectations is the first order of business. A smart manufacturer knows that meeting them is much more important. All the stylish ads in the world cannot disguise a product that doesn't cut it. And even the coolest product in the world can sit forlorn on a store shelf if the public doesn't know about it.

Making the correct match between product and message is critical in the game of high-stakes marketing. It can spell the difference between success and failure, fame and obscurity.

Are you ready to play?

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

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