Everyone has seen the new photos of the Lebron 9 and everyone has their opinion. Whether you love them or hate them, you have to appreciate the direction Jason Petrie and the rest of the Nike team have taken the Lebron line. From a line with early questions of longevity and success, to creating some of the most beloved silhouettes, to having people drool at photos of PE's and Samples.
The question I want to pose to you, is whether showing early photos of the Lebron 9 will hurt or help the sneaker. Today a photo of a Sample showed up online. Supposedly this sneaker is going to a be a holiday release, whether that means Lebron will wear the shoe on Christmas day is yet to be know. The sample is made up of a predominately tan upper, with what seems to be a hemp inner panel. For myself, I was not the biggest fan of the Lebron 9 as it was in a black/red color scheme, now this sample has almost brought it down a notch for me.
Ultimately, If the photos of the Lebron 9 never surfaced, would that have hurt or helped sales of what is sure to be a hit either way. Think Burroughs pack or We Are New York packs of recent time, with only days or sometimes hours to get ready for a release, sales sky rocketed. If the Lebron 9 was only shown a week before release, would that produce higher sales? Or does having the sneaker shown months in advance create the buzz necessary for this sneaker to sell out?
I think it really all depends on the show on whether the leaked images help or hurt. For example, I did not like the images, and don't plan on purchasing the shoe. Now it's release isn't even on my radar. However if they had not leaked, I wouldn't have known this until right up to the release date. I still probably wouldn't have copped, but I wouldn't be answering all the people asking me if I saw it that "No, I thought they were wack."
ReplyDeleteUltimately though, the shoe could get copped by people like me who don't like it, if we hear rave reviews of on court performance. Not saying that always sways me, but it's an option.
However, if the shoe is in the "no question" realm like the Lebron VII seemed to be for a lot of Lebron fans, then showing the images early only increases the hype and demand.
In the end, it's a risk the brand should probably take. Those who think it's hot start driving the hype. Those that don't fall back. However regardless, people are talking about it, and those that don't like it, probably wouldn't like it either way. It's really a win-win situation. You aren't losing any buyers by leaking the images early, you can only create buyers by doing that.
Just my two cents. Nice article.