Basketball and sneaker culture go together like shoes on feet. Major sportswear and sneaker brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and Puma know it, and Foot Locker—the multinational retailer that carries them all—knows it, too.
“Basketball has been a huge part of our DNA and how we’ve gone to market,” Kim Waldmann, Foot Locker’s global chief customer officer, told Marketing Brew. “We’ve partnered on some of the most historic basketball sneaker launches, all the way back to 1985 and Air Jordan, so it certainly is a deep part of our history. That being said, we’re absolutely doubling down our investment as we think about…the next 50 years.”
Last November, Foot Locker became an official partner of the NBA, and earlier this month it announced a multiyear deal with the Chicago Bulls that formally kicks off Wednesday when the Bulls face the Orlando Magic on their home court at the United Center in Chicago.
Bullish on basketball
Foot Locker’s basketball partnerships are part of a strategic effort to cement the brand’s association with sneaker culture, hook new customers, and connect with its existing base of shoppers, Waldmann said.
“They’re more likely to be young, they’re more likely to be multicultural, they’re more likely to play basketball, and they’re more likely to be inspired by the fashion of basketball,” she said. “So to me, that means that we’re going to continue to prioritize [basketball] as we think about our investments.”
During its first season with the NBA, Waldmann said her team was pleased with the earned media coverage the brand saw around the partnership announcement, as well as the subsequent paid storytelling opportunities like broadcast media buys and content on the NBA’s owned channels. After those results, Foot Locker expanded its basketball sponsorship portfolio to include the Bulls.
Of the 30 teams in the league, the Bulls were “kind of a no-brainer,” Waldmann said, noting that Chicago is a major hub for both basketball and sneaker culture, nevermind where Michael Jordan played for 13 seasons.
“The new fashion runway”
Tunnel walks, where athletes show off their game-day fits, have become ubiquitous across pro sports leagues, especially the NBA and WNBA, and they will play a major role in Foot Locker’s content with the Bulls this NBA season, Waldmann said, including a co-branded tunnel walk series on social media that gives fans “behind-the-scenes access to their favorite players” and a look inside the tunnel at United Center.
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That content presents an opportunity for Foot Locker to strengthen its ties to fashion and sneaker culture.
“It’s the new fashion runway,” Waldmann said. “When we talk about Foot Locker’s role—this bridge between the game, style, sneaker culture—something like branding the tunnel walk is the perfect embodiment of that.”
As part of the Bulls sponsorship, Foot Locker will also help the team put on community basketball events including Bulls Fest and a youth 3v3 tournament for which Foot Locker served as the presenting partner last month. Additionally, Foot Locker will host pop-up “Bulls celebrations” at some of its retail locations, beginning in Chicago next month, where fans can meet players and influencers, Waldmann said.
Full-court press
There’s no talking about basketball in 2024 without talking about the women’s game, and Foot Locker is eyeing the space going forward, Waldmann told us.
Foot Locker has some experience with WNBA athletes in the past. At the start of the 2024 WNBA season, Foot Locker dropped an ad alongside Nike featuring Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd, and the retailer has been involved with the release of signature shoes from WNBA stars including Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart, both of the reigning champs the New York Liberty.
Next year, Foot Locker is set to be a “key partner” for the debut of three-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces’ signature Nike shoe, Waldmann said.
The brand’s campaign with Loyd resulted in “really strong results” on social, Waldmann said, adding that Foot Locker plans to do similar work down the line.
“The game is more popular than ever…and then, of course, the women’s game is hotter than ever,” she said. “Our ability to tap into that side of the game, I think, is incredibly important.”