For Love or Money?

[maleficent]

Linky

BOSTON, February 28, 2005 – New Balance celebrates the pure motivation and effort of athletes who play for personal reasons, and reinforces the brand’s long-time dedication to performance with the launch of the “For Love or Money?” advertising campaign for 2005.

“We believe our ‘For Love or Money?” campaign will strike an emotional and relevant chord with today’s performance athletes who recognize what it’s like to push yourself for love of the sport.” says Paul Heffernan, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Design & Development for New Balance. “This campaign also offers a counterpoint to what everyone else in the industry is doing and looks to stimulate national dialogue on the motivations and values in sports today.”

The full campaign tag line reads “There are two motivations in sports. Which is yours? For Love or Money?”

“This campaign is unique to New Balance because of our long-standing brand values – such as our Endorsed by No One philosophy - that have always celebrated the spirit and authenticity of the true athlete who has heart for their sport,” says Heffernan. “These values are clearly our biggest point of difference and our strongest advantage compared to our competition.”

The “For Love or Money?” multi-media campaign utilizes television, print, outdoor, radio and online advertising to reach performance athletes. The primary media target is 25-49.

The campaign launches during the week of February 28 with a series of teaser ads in USA Today, online and in multiple mobile outdoor locations in four key markets (Boston/Chicago/ San Francisco/Atlanta) featuring thought-provoking questions about the values in sports today. Sample questions include -- Can a losing coach still be a good coach?; If no one was watching you play, would you play just as hard?; Which teaches a player more, winning or losing?; Is fighting in sports ever justified? Consumers are directed to www.newbalance.com/vote to vote on each question.

The “For Love or Money?” campaign includes four 30-second television spots that will run in a national cable buy and local market spot buys in 9 key markets, including Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami and St. Louis. The spots break March 12 and will have heavy emphasis in the March/April and September/October timeframe.

The four television spots look to capture the essence of New Balance’s core beliefs and values. The spot titled “Coach,” celebrates the unsung hero in the lives of amateur athletes. The “Cross-Country” spot showcases true love of the sport of running and pure motivation by emphasizing the “rewards” of amateur athletic competition and highlighting the brand’s heritage in performance running.

The “Basketball” and “Multi-sport” spots capture the energy and effort of doing the fundamental drills in amateur sports. They also highlight New Balance’s product strength outside of running and expansion into other team sports.

The campaign also expands into two additional print components. The first includes brand ads in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated that celebrate the spirit of the amateur or everyday athlete.

The second showcases New Balance footwear and apparel products through a “Check” campaign. “The Check campaign highlights how New Balance rewards our athletes with better performance and how they will be “paid” with specific performance elements,” says Heffernan. The Check ads highlight the technical attributes of footwear and apparel products in categories including running, apparel, tennis and training. The campaign appears in vertical running and health/fitness national and regional magazines starting in March including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Outside, Health, Fitness, Shape, and Tennis.

“This is New Balance’s first national campaign that fully integrates our premium performance footwear and apparel as well as our licensed products such as sockwear, headwear, bags and sunglasses,” says Heffernan.

Boathouse Inc. of Needham, MA developed the creative and handled the media buy. Euro RSCG 4D handled the online media and creative components of the campaign.

New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA, is a leading manufacturer of technologically innovative width-sized performance footwear and athletic apparel for women, men, and children. The range of product categories includes running, walking, cross training, basketball, tennis, adventure, and kids. New Balance employs more than 2,600 people around the globe, and in 2004 reported worldwide sales of $1.46 billion. For more information please visit http://www.newbalance.com

They've been running for about two weeks, I just happened to catch a series of them tonite...They're a very well done campaign... and you don't see the new Balance logo til the end of the spot (Least I didn't notice it til the end)

Will this ad have any kind of effect?

[Cross-Over]

Originally Posted by maleficent

Linky

They've been running for about two weeks, I just happened to catch a series of them tonite...They're a very well done campaign... and you don't see the new Balance logo til the end of the spot (Least I didn't notice it til the end)

Will this ad have any kind of effect?

I saw the one of the commercials a couple weeks ago, but I don't know which one for sure. In theory, it is great. I like the questions that the article mentioned, they are thought provoking. However, I think that the question, "for love or money", at the end of the commercial is an unfair to professional athletes. Included in this campaign, I think New Balance should chronicle the poor working conditions of NBA players in the 1960's, and how the players union had to fight like hell to change things. How about players like Michael Jordan who, when earning 25 million for one season in the 1990's, was worth more to the economy than his salary. He has an incredible passion for the game, yet owns a lucrative sports company. Should we separate his love for money and the game? Sports are a multi-dollar business, and players are employees who should try to maximize their earning potential. Owners have, and will continue to try to, paid players as little as possible to keep them on the team. Not happy, just on the team. I realize that this ad campaign is going beyond that, and is not an opponent to professional sports. Nonetheless, I think their choice of words "for love or money" just doesn't apply well, and undermines professional athletics.

[Blackthorn]

With all due respect to the previous post I'm not sure how this campaign could be undermining professional atheletes. If you look at the content of the ad campaign they are simply creating brand awareness by encouraging public discussion on topics relevant in the world of sports today. One of the poll questions asks is fighting in sports ever justified? I argue that the recent fight at a professional basketball game between players and fans does more to undermine those players involved and the state of their sport than does this ad campaign.

Brand awareness is what this is about and at the end of the day I think they will achieve their goal among their target demographic consumer of their products: The self motivated performance athelete who isn't about doing their "thang", whatever that may be, for anything other than personal drive, desire, and dedication to performing.

[Cross-Over]

Those who designed the marketing scheme used the word money for a reason. I don't definitively know why they did, but I think it is fair for me to speculate that it has something to do with a public belief that many athletes are overpaid and money hungry. As I mentioned, the questions are thought provoking.

I realize that this ad campaign is going beyond that, and is not an opponent to professional sports.

I don't dislike or disagree with the ad, but I wanted to look at it form a different perspective.

[NCB]

I haven't seen any of the ads, but I've always lived by one rule when it comes to athletes and money: When they say it's not about the money, it's about the money

[maleficent]

You can find the spots here:
http://www.newbalance.com/clubnb/ads/