Gotnext Women's Basketball Boards

SuziQ · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Phoenix

Nike's website includes photos, descriptions and ordering information for the new Air Taurasi. And DT herself sports them on court. Yet I have not seen a single ad, print or broadcast, for the shoe. WTF? You'd think the folks with the swoop would spend some money for some ABC or ESPN2 ad time during WNBA games to advertise it.

Anyone have any notion as to why there's been no marketing of a name-sake product for one of the league's most marketable players?

kitkat310 · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 303

the broadcasters last night said Taurasi's shoes would be out soon..so maybe they actually haven't hit the stores yet..

SuziQ · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Phoenix

Thinking that maybe I had jumped to an unfounded conclusion (huh- wouldn't be the first time!), I checked Google, and could order the shoe from Footlocker, among other retailers. So that's not it, kitkat, although I shoulda checked BEFORE I posted.

Does DT just have crappy management? Can't get her a national ad deal w/ Gatorade, Spalding, or anyone besides 8 o'clock Coffee? I'm not trying to be critical, she's just so darn recognizable and still successful in this league. Need to be selling and hyping her ass while the selling and hyping's good, KWIM?

kitkat310 · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 303

I believe she has the same management as Serena Williams. I think she does have a couple of deals in the work..but I'm not sure..this is according to an article I read awhile ago.

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

hmm, DT's manager is the same person who manages Serena Williams, so maybe they have their hands full with her, LOL

andypanda · Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 354 Location: Santa Fe, NM

You'll probably get to see your ads soon enough, but for how long is anybody's guess.

Broadcasting & Cable Advertising & Multichannel who keep the demographics for advertisers and stations carrying WNBA games report her appeal has declined somewhere around 30% this year just since the season began, and the fans voting Sue Bird ahead of her has slowed the process of bringing the product and the ads in to the market place. DT's consiserably less marketable than last year and also noticeably less telegenic from the weight gain, which TV advertisers hate. (Remember that putting bums in seats - which is also declining for her games - doesn't count for TV advertisers. The Merc make bad TV basketball, for whatever reasons.)

It also bothers advertisers if there's dissension on the team, word's floating around on that and Dee's name comes up and whether true or not, advertisers hate *that* kind of controversy. (It doesn't matter whether it bothers us or not.)

Years back, when Kobe Bryant was coming into the NBA, Michelle Marciniak signed a deal with adidas, and they did a picture shoot, the whole nine yeards. BET wouldn't carry the ads because the offcial ABL shoe was Reebok, and no Marciniak ad ever hit the airwaves and the shoes never hit the stores. The plan had been to partner the then adidas Bryant line with Michelle's, but the whole thing fell apart when Marciniak's Portland Power started 0-every game they played until Coach Bruce was fired in December, and she was on the bench halfway through the season.

No winnee, no shoe deal. Not a WNBA image player? No shoe deal. Cancer in the clubhouse? No shoe deal. Selfish player? No shoe deal. It doesn't matter if anything is true or not. It's all come up, the UConn basketball program, men's and women's, is in trouble with the NCAA for rules violations. Not Dee's fault? No, absolutely not. Does that matter? Nope. The NCAA coach doing the credit card ads is Coack K from Duke, not JC or GA from UConn.

When the crap starts piling up beside the losses, she can score 40 points a game and it won't matter. She'll be like Michael Jordan before Phil Jackson showed up.

But the league is so committed to keeping her at star level, the shoe will probably come out, and the ads will run, but I sure hope they shot them about 20 pounds ago.

1carol · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1048 Location: Phoenix AZ

That's very interesting. It does make sense when I think back. Mercury was the Cinderella team last year. We're going the other direction so far this season. I imagine that makes it difficult for media commentary to keep her name out there as a winning player, regardless of her personal stats. This season, when we played at Conn, she was greeted with a lot of applause. Later in the game, fans loyalty returned to the Conn team & they booed her (according to fans at the game). Last year when we went on a road trip to Indianapolis, there were many UConn & Merc #3 jerseys everywhere we looked & she received more applause during the game than is customary for a visiting team. Haven't gone on this years road trip yet. We're going to LA, which is always a mixed reception, due to her being from Chino Ca & the Sparks/Mercury long time rivalry.

I haven't heard anything about personalities clashing in the locker room or away from the arena. Not even a whisper. Dee is still the down to earth fan friendly person she's always been.

I'm surprised to hear there may be trouble in UConn basketball. They've been amoung the elite. In my opinion, they shouldn't feel the need to resort to rule violations.

Dee has been spending a lot of time in the weight room bulking up (in her words). I think they always look heavier in the uniforms than in street clothes. I actually hadn't noticed a pudgey kind of weight gain.

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

But she already has the shoe deal, been paid, did the design, it's Nikes turn to make it work with their marketing magic.

Now about chemistry, I've not seen nor heard of problems except pouting by Plenette on court, and weight gain, WTF?? The girl may have gained a few (No where near 20) but it's nothing that the average person would notice, sheesh, they sure are hard on her.

kitkat310 · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 303

andypanda wrote: You'll probably get to see your ads soon enough, but for how long is anybody's guess.

Broadcasting & Cable Advertising & Multichannel who keep the demographics for advertisers and stations carrying WNBA games report her appeal has declined somewhere around 30% this year just since the season began, and the fans voting Sue Bird ahead of her has slowed the process of bringing the product and the ads in to the market place. DT's consiserably less marketable than last year and also noticeably less telegenic from the weight gain, which TV advertisers hate. (Remember that putting bums in seats - which is also declining for her games - doesn't count for TV advertisers. The Merc make bad TV basketball, for whatever reasons.)

When the crap starts piling up beside the losses, she can score 40 points a game and it won't matter. She'll be like Michael Jordan before Phil Jackson showed up.

But the league is so committed to keeping her at star level, the shoe will probably come out, and the ads will run, but I sure hope they shot them about 20 pounds ago.

Okay, I'm sorry..and I don't want to start anything, but I kind of feel the need to say this. Can we please not bring up players bodies in that type of way. Personally, I don't think that has anything to do with her marketability anyway, because Taurasi's marketability was never about her looks (not that she's bad looking, it's just that wasn't what made her popular.) But for me, personally a woman's body is just a sensitive issue, especially insults. (twenty pounds ago..) there are personal reasons as to why I feel this way, but I also feel that talking about a women's body, in a cosmetic way, is a bit too Debbie like..Once again, I'm sure you weren't trying to insult her or anything, but just be careful with that type of comment. (And truthfully she really hasn't gained weight, the Jersey makes them look heavier than what they really are Here's a pic of Taurasi in the jersey a year ago, and now..you can't really tell the difference

I hope no one feel that I'm trying to censor people or anything like that, that's the moderators job :D But I'm just trying to say, that a woman's weight, regardless of the woman, is a senistive topic..

In terms of marketing, Obviously it was going to go down. She has been out of the spotlight for almost a year (NBA All star game doesn't really count.) Last year she had just come off of a national championship, was on the Olympic team ect..She had all the hype of past year, and it created a lot of buzz, this year she didn't have that. The Merc's attendance, I believe has gone up this year...And about CT, for some reason, probably because the Sun made it so far in the Championship, but more people are actually supporting the Sun team..trust me, we still love Taurasi. And I'd still venture to guess that she's probably the most popular player in the league, I don't consider the all star voting all that reliable. Last we heard, Snow was the leading vote getter for Centers in the west...

1carol · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1048 Location: Phoenix AZ

I don't think the AndyPanda was being negative about Diana, including her weight, at all. She was NOT giving us her opinion. She was telling us the marketing peoples opinions. It's obvious she either works in the business or has connections somewhere. Unfortunately the weight thing is still true for many advertisers. It's getting better all the time, but still a ways to go.

The younger pre-teens and early teens (that I know of) are not looking for skinny role models any more. Many, unfortunately not all, magazines are realizing this & are portraying healthy, often somewhat muscular, models showing their merchandise. This all started with Brittany Spears & has trickled down to other singers like Hillary Duff. The Disney channel has a lot of teen type shows & are reflecting diversity in many ways. Many teens with varying weights is just one issue they addresss.

I see results of this in my 12 yr old grand daughter & her friends, who are of different sizes. I have a lot of hope for our next generation.

Diana has a huge following amoung the younger set. They are much more loyal to their idols than adults. I hope that Nike knows this.

I think BoFan's qoute from another topic says a lot.

MercuryBoFan wrote: Recently, there was mention, that Taurasi is bulking up :D

I must say that she is looking quite sexy with her bulky self :lol:

edited to add: The All Star balloting is a joke. The teams with the most home games to hand out ballots are the ones with the largest number of voters. And naturally they want their own players represented. We have been on the road too much. More home games for us & Diana would have been a big winner. This only goes to prove what Andy was saying. The Advertisers don't care why - they only see the numbers.

DTFAN · Joined: 03 Jun 2004 Posts: 104 Location: Newington CT

I fell in love with Dee the minute she stepped on campus here in Ct.......it was her personality and finesse that grabbed me....NOT how she looked . Iam sure the majority of her fans feel the same way. I personally hadn't noticed a weight gain, but then again , I'm only seeing her on TV now.......when I saw her (and had a pic taken with her and my daughters :D )at Storrs in March, she was still very thin. The TV does add weight, I think all players look bigger than they are , on TV.
Anyhow, I don't believe her marketability ever depended on her looks. IMO she is a beautiful girl. Although I consider myself to be VERY biased.

My family can't wait til her sneaks are in the stores.........although I may need a small loan to buy them for myself and my two daughters............ :lol:

SuziQ · Joined: 17 Apr 2004 Posts: 288 Location: Phoenix

Wow, great analysis by all, very good points.

Nobody could maintain the kind of popularity numbers Dee had last year, my gosh, who else had a year like hers before or since!? Carol's right, she's still very popular all around the league (as well she should be, she's a LEDGE!). Nike should strike while the iron's still hot.

Besides, I'm awful proud of our Ledge, and want to see her beautiful smile on National TV, darn it! I went to the FanFest before the season began, and had fun watching Diana w/ all the fans. She was never bored, never shy (huh- imagine that!), always had a smile for everyone - in short, a promoter's dream. Sell her, baby, sell her! That's all I'm sayin'!

andypanda · Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 354 Location: Santa Fe, NM

I was just trying to précis what the TV advertisers think about Diana's viability as a national star, which is determined usually by - if not a majority, certainly a plurality - of men.

I've had emails in the past saying I'm a DT basher, and it's no secret I'm a big Anna DeForge fan.

But, being a fan of one player doesn't mean I can't appreciate another, and whereas I still think Lindsay Whalen would have worked better in the mix, let me go on record as saying I think Diana Taurasi is one hell of a basketball player.

The reason the *league* has a big stake in what the advertisers think is money. *I* don't think body-image should be an issue either. *They* do, and they write the cheques which will fuel the advertising that Donna Orender needs to keep privatising the league, which I *most heartily* welcome.

The last time we had a woman athlete who was marketable outside of the broadcasts of the sport she played in was Mia Hamm, who (briefly) did spots for Pert shampoo. That worked so well, WUSA is now (almost) out of business. The WNBA needs someone to attract *new* fans who aren't watching ESPN/ABC/NBA-TV. Dee was supposed to be it, and it looks more and more like she isn't, which is in *my opinion*, bad news.

Donna has a tough job ahead of her now, and a year was lost because the WNBA kind of disappeared behind the Olympics last year.

Me, I'd like to see *this* team, with the addition of Maria Stepanova, can turn itself around, and I believe it can. Do they need a happy, healthy DT for that? Yep.

And, to be fair, just because I like DeForge's game doesn't mean I can't acknowledge it's gone away since the start of the season, and that I sure hope it comes back fast.

My biggest beef this year is - sorry KH - I don't get the Lisa Harrison return, and I would have kept Tamara Moore instead.

I passed on what MultiChannel & Broadcast/Cable said, but the folks who make the decisions are the advertising buyers. The only solution to that is vote with your wallet.

To 1Carol, thanks for helping clear that up so well. :)

andypanda · Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 354 Location: Santa Fe, NM

This is for everyone who understood that we were talking about the shoe ads not being on TV and not whether Dee got paid for making them and they'd already been shot.

Ask and ye shall receive. I called someone who knows a marketing guy at The [name withheld by request] Shoe Company. (These people behave very much like secret agents.)

Apparently, in a couple of unnamed test markets, DT's ads have run and received "high scores" which I take to mean that people like them. Apparently there are two schools of thought about how to proceed, and one theory is to saturate the basketball airwaves with ads just in time so Suze will rush out and buy a pair when school resumes in the fall.

The other school of thought is "let's not wait until then because we don't know how high profile and popular the ads will be if this turns out to be a bad year for DT". Marketing departments usually have a lot of these people writing ad copy in crayon on brown paper bags. They get fired and move on to reality TV.

Short version, either you'll see the ads broadcast aggressively as the end of summer approaches - and there *is* talk of running them elsewhere besides WNBA broadcasts, which theoretically helps create new fans and is therefore good - or you're going to start seeing them almost immediately now the test market results are in.

dionneza11 · Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 28 Location: houston,tx

when is the other shoes coming out?the one w/ the 3 on the sides

1carol · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1048 Location: Phoenix AZ

Quote: "andypanda"
Ask and ye shall receive. I called someone who knows a marketing guy at The [name withheld by request] Shoe Company. (These people behave very much like secret agents.)

Apparently, in a couple of unnamed test markets, DT's ads have run and received "high scores" which I take to mean that people like them.
WOW - Thanks for all your efforts beyond the call of duty & the good news

PS: I'm beginning to think you're as obsessive as I am :lol:

andypanda · Joined: 12 Jun 2003 Posts: 354 Location: Santa Fe, NM

Dionnezall, I'm no expert on the shoe biz, but Jack (the person I asked to get the info) thinks they'll definitely have the "3 shoes" this summer, and he suspects well before the playoffs.

I guess if I were doing it, I'd launch the ads during the All-Star Break, and plaster them over the airwaves then, but that's just a guess. Sooner rather than later, and All-Star games pull fans in who may not watch regualr season games, which is a good time, keeping in mind all The Big Shoe Company wants to do is sell shoes period, without caring particularly who buys them.

1Carol, believe me, you have no idea how obsessive I can be. :) I guess you'll find out soon. I'm worse around women's soccer, believe it or not.

kitkat310 · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 303

I'm sure you weren't trying to be a "dee basher" or anything, but I was just pointing out that comments like the "twenty pounds ago" comment, is sensitive, that's all (especially when she truthfully looks like she maybe, might have gained 5, not 20)..and I would have felt the same way if you had said it about Anna or Lisa ect...

That's good news about the shoes. I do think Diana has the capability to bring in more fans. She has the ability to bring in people, men especially, that don't truthfully pay attention to the WNBA. Almost every sportshow has had at least a couple of WNBA jokes, yet when talking about Diana..there is nothing but respect. (Where as, when they are talking about someone like Sue..it's always about how pretty she is. Or the fact that Lauren Jackson's name was only mentioned after she posed nude.) The men know Diana is a damn good player, and between her game and her attitude she is very marketable to that demographic. She's also very marketable towards younger girls, which IMO, is a better market anyway. Younger girls are starting to get interessted in sports, and most little girls just love Diana.....

Also, Diana signed with a new agent, this sounds impressive..
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/ian_thomsen/06/15/jax.kobe/1.html (scroll down)

dionneza11 · Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 28 Location: houston,tx

cool! :D thanks

ThatGAgirl · Joined: 08 Jun 2004 Posts: 118

FYI-

Seems like no one knows, but Dee's shoes are out already. They came out on June 3. I have them in my hands right now as I type and I have already battle tested 'em :D They were a part of a big two-page ad in the last SLAM magazine advertizing all of the *hot* new shoes coming out this month.

caune · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1562 Location: Phoenix

So take a picture of your feet and post it girl :wink:

BlznTr33s · Joined: 05 May 2004 Posts: 128 Location: Phoenix, AZ

Here's at least one place that I know of that has them online and in stock:

http://www.eastbay.com/catalog/productdetail.cfm?TID=5555-51290521460151210675771-0&module=sideNav&action=keywordSearch&supercat=other&sku=11244161&model_nbr=60570

1carol · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1048 Location: Phoenix AZ

A choice of colors should make them sell better. A girl needs to match shoes to her wardrobe. Hmm..... red, blue, black for winter, white for every day, red & 2 shades of blue :wink:

dionneza11 · Joined: 09 Jun 2005 Posts: 28 Location: houston,tx

i mnt the one w/ the 3's on both sides i thnk she wore it on media day......

hellcat · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 5:42 am Post subject:

Where's the burnt orange pair? :shock:

Some nice shoes though.

taurasi2156 · Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2005 6:59 am Post subject:

as soon as my pay check comes in im gettin 'em!!! i would get the red and blue ones but i camp i got a really nice pair of uconn sneakrs that are blue and red so ill prbly jsu getthe blue ones