This past week, Big Baller Brand hosted their first ever International Basketball tournament in Prienai, Lithuania. The tournament brought in teams from Poland, Latvia, and Slovenia round robin tournament while the league is on break. If the name of the tournament wasn't enough marketing for Big Baller Brand, the tournament coincided with the release of the G3 shoe, LiAngelo's signature shoe. This is just another chapter in the Ball family story and another opportunity for LaVar to take center stage and promote his brand. While he is no where near on the same level as Nike and Adidas, BBB is slowly establishing itself in the Basketball industry and this tournament is a step in the right direction to promote the brand in Eastern Europe. The company already has 1.3 million followers on Instagram and that is sure to increase following the tournament.
While Big Baller Brand seems to have some supporters in the United States with people buying their apparel, do you think that in Lithuania the people, especially in the small town where the Ball's live, will be able to afford BBB? Do you see Big Baller Brand becoming a common household apparel in the United States or abroad?
SOURCE:http://lonzowire.usatoday.com/2018/02/19/liangelo-lamelo-ball-big-baller-brand-international-tournament/
PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/p/BfZKx9JAKuC/?utm_source=ig_embed
I think that the price of the brand may be an issue for some people in Lithuania and other places. To me, if people are going to spend money, they would most likely tend to buy a brand like Nike or Adidas because they know it is a well-known and quality brand. I also don't think that Big Baller Brand will become a popular brand in the United States. I had never heard of this brand prior to reading these articles and it seems like brands that represent certain athletes never truly compare to Nike and Adidas. The only popular brand that represents an athlete I can think of is Air Jordan which are produced by Nike. The fact that they are produced by Nike probably makes it more of a product that someone would want to buy.
ReplyDeleteI think the price of these shoes makes it difficult to sell in any locations. I think the Ball brand did make a good decision making their sneakers so expensive. it is a good marketing strategy on their part. I think they are aware that their family has become so popular for other things than just basketball, so selling large amounts of shoes at low prices was going to be a bad financial decision for the unproven Ball brothers. By selling these shoes at a very high price, they're is a humorous aspect to purchasing the shoe. They will always be in demand and will never have too much inventory. The BBB shoe will never reach the heights of Nike or Adidas but they may find success in the way that Kanye West's Yeezy shoes found success.
ReplyDeleteI agree that selling these shoes in areas such as Lithuania will probably not be successful. Though these people may be more interested in the product since they're closer connected to it with the Lavar's living there, I don't think enough people will actually be able to afford it.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I could foresee it becoming popular in the United States. People in the U.S. love to show off name brands, and if they could make the Big Baller Brothers name more well known, they would have a large market they could sell to. That being said, this takes a lot of work, and they need to start promoting themselves and their name before promoting the shoe. If they become popular enough, and people see them wearing their own shoes, it may become very appealing for people to purchase them. They should market the shoes saying "you can be good at basketball too if you wear these shoes" or something of that nature. I could see this really resonating with youth players aspiring to be pro basketball players.
- Siobhan O'Loughlin
COREY RIGGENBACH: I don't think that BBB will become a respected brand in the U.S. due to the way Lavar is portrayed in America. I think that their target market should be European basketball as there aren't many other brands that are desperately trying to break into that market. The shoes are ridiculous expensive, especially for small town kids and potential fans. But I do think that the high, unattainable price for the shoes could create some sort of connection with high quality basketball shoes (even though they aren't) within the Euro basketball market.
ReplyDeleteReaching out to the Eastern European market is an interesting strategy for Big Baller Brand. The market certainly has a much different demographic, considering cultural differences, than the home country of the Ball family. To me, a shoe with the same price point as some iPads might be out of the reach of the citizens of eastern European countries. However, the BBB brand would without a doubt have major recognition for hosting a tournament such as this one. Especially because most eastern european countries are crazy about basketball.
ReplyDeleteBBB will never become the major basketball brand. They will always be out-competed by more recognized companies like Nike, or Adidas. They would need a marketing genius and a financial wiz for BBB to ever get to Nike’s level of influence on sports gear.