Glory's Sun

Ok I know that it's all about marketing and making money but geesh, they are just shoes. When you think about all the money Nike, Reebok and Adidas spend on athletes it's mind boggling. What's even crazier is that they are obviously making a profit. Would you love to be the heir of the nike throne

Here's a link for the basketball world and this isn't even close to summing it all up. Although the details haven't been worked out Kobe's deal will be worth more than LeBron's.. I can't imagine being paid millions to wear shoes.

LINK LINK LINK L I N K LINK L I N K LINK LINK LINK LINK

HeyAgain

The reason that corporations pay so much money is that it is way cheaper to get a SUPERSTAR player to wear a product year round instead of paying for a quick 30 second spot on prime time television.

Take golf for example. You see a lot of players wearing hats of their main sponsors. If the player ends up in contention during the final round of golf, the company's name and logo will get a lot of airtime, which results in a lot of advertising for that company.

"Five minutes of airtime for the winning golfer can deliver $1.5 million in national advertising."

gov135

Look at what the group of consumers marketers target most (males, 18-25) are buying: Hip-hop CD's, basketball gear and shoes, tons of hats, etc. It's a whole culture that these companies are trying to corner.

And make no mistake, they aren't paying Kobe and LeBron this kinda money cause they feel they are nice guys. These companies profit from these associations, and then some. Now, imagine what kinda money that is.

BigGov

This isn't just for shoes. Look at the Jordan/Nike partnership and what became of that.

__________________
One day an Englishman, a Scotsman, and an Irishman walked into a pub together. They each bought a pint of Guinness. Just as they were about to enjoy their creamy beverage, three flies landed in each of their pints. The Englishman pushed his beer away in disgust. The Scotsman fished the fly out of his beer and continued drinking it, as if nothing had happened. The Irishman, too, picked the fly out of his drink but then held it out over the beer and yelled "SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, YOU BASTARD!"

username

The amount they pay people to wear shoes is crazy, however, I'm just waiting for Nike to sign me up for a shoe contract. That way they can attract techie people and graduate students to their shoes.