Foot Locker steps up outreach for sneakerheads via Google Slides hub

Dive Brief:

Foot Locker has created an online destination for Nike Air Max fans that leverages Google Slides to offer an evolving digital experience focused on sneaker culture and entertainment, according to a press release. Links throughout the site take users to the Foot Locker site to purchase showcased sneakers.
"The Endless World of Air Max" hub, which is optimized for desktop and mobile and found at www.discoveryourair.com, will feature livestreamed art sessions, Air Max trivia and more. Visuals will regularly change in real time thanks to a team of illustrators, typographers and graphic designers.
As the online marketplace for sneaker culture grows in importance, Foot Locker does not want to be caught flat-footed and has enlisted well-known sneakerheads as competitors in livestreamed art competitions and as hosts of quizzes and classes to provide tours of their own sneaker collections.

Dive Insight:

With brick-and-mortar businesses struggling, Foot Locker is working to remain relevant with young sneakerheads through unique digital experiences. The brand previously invested in sneaker resale market GOAT and e-commerce and content platform NTWRK. Through its new entertainment and e-commerce hub, Foot Locker hopes to capture the imagination and dollars of Nike Air Max enthusiasts. Offering both engagement opportunities and an e-commerce function, the destination is intended to be a one-stop-shop for Air Max sneakerheads. The new effort is part of Foot Locker's ongoing "Discover Your Air" campaign launched with Nike in 2018.

Touted as an experience created by sneakerheads for sneakerheads, The Endless World of Air Max showcases Foot Locker's extensive array of Nike Air Max models, while offering a variety of engagement opportunities. The goal is to create a fun shopping environment for sneaker fans by leveraging Google Slides, a digital tool that is "endemic to sneaker culture," Richard McLeod, Foot Locker's vice president of marketing, North America, said in the release.

The online market has become an important channel for sneaker manufacturers and retailers. Foot Locker, for instance, invested $100 million in GOAT group last February, and brands such as Nike and Adidas have used the online resale markets to launch new products.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which has kept many shoppers out of brick-and-mortar stores and in-person events, these resale marketplaces have looked to engage sneakerheads through online and social media campaigns. StockX, for instance, launched an interactive social effort encouraging fans to show off their best at-home looks. Stadium Goods, meanwhile, launched Sneaker Showdown, which let users vote on a sneaker to be sold at a reduced price on eBay.