While the focus was on the players, Reebok might have been one of the biggest winners in the last couple of days. Due in part to Shaquille O’Neal and his unorthodox marketing approach, the brand has been on everyone’s minds. Whether it was football or basketball, the 7-footer was making bids to some of the game’s greats. His trajectory saw him go from the NBA regular season to the NFL playoffs in just 2 days.
The first instance was with Devin Booker, dropping 55 points in a masterclass of a performance. Immediately, the Los Angeles Lakers legend was on the bandwagon, “Hey @dbook. I know y’all aren’t happy with the sneaker launch. You should come with @reebok . We just getting started. Hit me.”
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But, the big fella wasn’t done. With the sights of the sporting world on Day 1 of the Divisional Round, the 2000 NBA MVP was in search of another target. While Lamar Jackson wowed the world and broke an unfortunate curse, Odell Beckham Jr. giving a tribute to Allen Iverson with his cleats caught the 4x NBA champion’s eye.
Almost instantly, Diesel was ready to make his pitch. “@obj come on over nephew to @reebok we got you” If this clever, albeit hilarious, marketing strategy nets positive results for his brand, it could further solidify Shaq on the marketing spectrum as one of the best.
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But, in both instances, O’Neal has shown the ability to identify the market and find 2 not-so-happy campers at the perfect time.
Shaquille O’Neal shows shrewdness in choice of athletes
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Waiting for the right opportunity to strike, the Big Aristotle would choose the perfect candidates in Book and Beckham. While their issues with Nike have been public for some time, Diesel made his mark at the most opportune moment.
With D-Book exploding for a season-high and OBJ on top of the world after a trip to the AFC Championship Game, the iron was hot. And so was Shaquille O’Neal.
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With a common enemy in Nike, could the three forces come together and give Reebok a major leg up? The script is set by the big fella. Now, it’s all about execution.