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Document 18 of 67.

Copyright 1998 Information Access Company,
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Copyright 1998 Fairchild Publications Inc.
Footwear News

August 17, 1998

SECTION: No. 33, Vol. 54; Pg. 28; ISSN: 0162-914X

IAC-ACC-NO: 21101411

LENGTH: 1337 words

HEADLINE: ATHLETIC FIRMS ARE REPOSITIONING THEIR BRAND IDENTITIES BY ENHANCING THEIR GRAPHIC IMAGES.

BYLINE: Solnik, Claude

BODY:
When Nike got ready to launch its Tiger Woods signature line last year, the company decided to develop a new logo to help identify it. To select just the right image, Nike staff met with Woods before he played the masters to solicit the golfer's input.

But Nike said Woods vetoed the company's four favorites, complete with campaigns. Instead, he singled out one symbol -- an oval with a center area split horizontally and vertically by a twisted "X" -- in a room filled with sketches of other logos the company was considering. Woods clearly favored this simple, direct symbol, and Nike okayed it. Thus, a sub-brand, and its logo, were born.

"What inspired him was this ying-yang approach," said Valerie Taylor-Smith, U.S. creative director of image design for Nike, Beaverton, Ore. "It reflects a lot of his beliefs, the ideas of balance and focus," she added.

Nike still has its swoosh, Reebok its vector and Converse its star. But to inject excitement and freshness into their images, some companies are taking these once tamper-resistant symbols and changing or adding to them.

"It shows you how things change," said Butch Lee, vice president of national accounts for Altoona, Pa.,-based Airwalk. "It wasn't quite as important to call things out [in the past]. There were fewer companies competing for the skate crowd."

In part, one could label the current focus on icon creation the Nike effect. But these efforts come, oddly enough, as Nike is reinventing or altering its branding strategy. Many firms, witnessing Nike successfully stamp its fresh roster of logos on the global consciousness, are seeking to create newer, sleeker symbols.

"This generation of kidslikes the change," said Eric Forman, director of marketing, national accounts for Vans. "The shoes change, the logos change. It lets them see evolution in the brand."

Back when Nike was still selling its shoes from a car, the company virtually invented the sports icon when it paid the graphic artist who created the swoosh less than $ 100. More recently, it developed the jumpman for Brand Jordan, as well as symbols for Tiger Woods product and ACG (all conditions gear). In February, it launched its Alpha line's five-dot symbol, symbolizing the five steps it takes to create the product. Nike said it is fashioning new logos, in part, to escape swoosh backlash and build up followings in special categories.

"The feeling about Nike is we're this big umbrella brand that doesn't specialize in anything," said Taylor-Smith. "The fact is we're competing in these markets." Nike is not getting rid of the swoosh, according to Taylor-Smith. "We need to start developing these categories, sub-brands, and almost position them as an independent company," she said.

In the name of "diversification [and to] build equity compete in niche markets," Nike said it has been rolling out new logo versions and plans to unveil more. It dropped text from the jumpman and did a switch on the swoosh for ACG. Also, the firm is experimenting with new symbols that could start showing up on soccer, golf, team sports, tennis, running and hockey products.

"Nike's been the key on adding sub-brands within," said Marcia Aaron, an analyst with B. T. Alex.Brown. "For those consumers who may be a bit overwhelmed by the availability of the swoosh, it gives them something different. They definitely let the consumer know it's not just Nike. It's Jordan. Or it's Tiger."

Beaverton, Ore.,-based Adidas, however, adopted new logos to resurrect its position in the American marketplace. After finding its brand had virtually dropped from the U.S. retail radar screen in the early '80s, the company decided it needed to reinvigorate. So it reinvented its image and its icon, remaking and "remarketing" its brand. Adidas created its mountain-like performance logo, largely replacing the traditional Adidas trefoil, along with the three stripes, which is still evident on much of its apparel.

"That's when the shift in corporate direction for the brand took a stronghold," said Mike Fread, an Adidas spokesman. "Positioning Adidas as a performance brand helped instigate a new logo that did steer us away from the trefoil."

While other athletic companies launch sub-brands, Adidas has taken a different approach. Its equipment or performance line includes three bars above the logo with the word equipment under Adidas. But it's not, according to the company, a sub-brand so much as a category stretching from apparel to footwear. "We've kept ours real simple and real focused," said Fread.

After trying different treatments with the word Converse, including a star in the "O," the North Reading, Mass.,-based firm is returning to its logo roots. It now uses the Chuck Taylor All Star patch on virtually all of its products. The company put a star in the middle, which went on the inside angle of the All Star high top created in 1917. Converse added Chuck Taylor's name to the patch in 1923.

"It's obviously something very much a part of our heritage and what Converse is," said Jennifer Murray, vice president, marketing communications. "If there is an archival logo used on any product, the product will also have the patch on it."

Still, the Chuck Taylor name isn't always the only icon Converse places on fashion product. The One Star has a star on it, as well as the Chuck Taylor logo. And the Jack Purcell, which Converse said is a sub-brand, has no Chuck Taylor logo, but reads Jack Purcell by Converse on the outsole. The star and chevron, which Converse said is "considered an old-school logo by the skate community," was used on basketball products from the early '70s through the mid '80s. That logo is now on Converse skate product.

When it comes to logoing, Vans goes to extremes, tailoring its logo to its various lines and using it as elements in shoe design. The Santa Fe Springs, Calif.,-based company contends that distinct logos, or at least variations, appeal to different customers. "Partially, it has to do with the segmentation of the line," said Forman of Vans.

The basic, traditional Vans logo remains on vulcanized product. The corporate Vans symbol is an oval logo that reads "since 1966." Added to that are the flying "V," the enthusiast logo and the high-performance logo, which is simply a shape or icon. Vans argues that a logo that stays identical too long becomes stale.

Vans has toyed with its logo, splashing wider versions of the flying "V" on some product. At certain points, the Vans' "V" gets so wide it becomes an unrecognizable element of the design. Some Vans' product is heavily branded, but the company's high-performance logo is the closest to being a Nike-like icon. It is a shape, not a word, sought after by customers whom Vans contends value individuality over brand identity.

Airwalk has gone through a complete logo change. Formerly, the company's image was identified by a figure walking on air or the "Ollie," a silhouette of a skater doing an Ollie, a skateboarding stunt. Those remain, but "only on a few and on bottoms." Now, the company uses the "circle 'A' " most frequently on its shoes.

"There are kids who are very brand aware and by the time you're done with the Puzzle [an Airwalk shoe], there's no way you're going to not see the logo," said Lee of Airwalk. "The skater -- the real enthusiast -- doesn't want that."

Airwalk is among the companies who have used myriad variations of its logo. Is it overbranded? Probably not, according to the company. Other Airwalk product goes light on the logo. Airwalk work boots, for instance, have only one embossed logo. And sometimes the name is muted or set in components such as buckles.

Regardless of the version, a company never knows where its logo might turn up. Airwalk logos, like those of most athletic vendors, often appear on treads that stamp the images like ads across the landscape. "If you're on the beach or in a field, you'll leave your logo behind," said Lee. "You leave imprints wherever you go."

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

IAC-CREATE-DATE: October 16, 1998

LOAD-DATE: October 17, 1998