Turning a Negative into a Positive
When the identical twin founders of the athletic shoe company – APL (Athletic Propulsion Labs) started in March 2009, they never envisioned that the NBA would ban their sneakers. Adam and Ryan Goldson were at first crushed and felt dunked upon. How could the NBA prohibit their high-tech sneak?
APL makes revolutionary products that symbolize the intersection of luxury and performance. Based on technology, unlike other sneaker brands, their Concept 1 basketball shoe featured a groundbreaking Load N’ Launch® technology that adds a vertical leap to a player. The NBA said that their sneaker gave an unfair advantage and competitive edge to anyone wearing these shoes. This happened in 2010.
As they thought about it, the brothers realized the PR goldmine that they were sitting on as they realized the publicity value that occurred.
What’s the Big Lesson About Reframing a Negative Event?
Sometimes, when someone is told NO – it is a market signal to YES.
- When schools in McMinn County, Tennessee, banned the graphic novel MAUS, it made it to the top-selling books on Amazon.
- Cuban cigars have a reputation as the finest cigars in the world. In 1962, they were banned by JFK as part of the embargo of Cuba during the cold war. The black market for these cigars boomed – because they were forbidden, and the publicity created juiced the demand.
- Products like Beluga caviar or Foie Gras grew in popularity in the black market once banned. Once off the market, the product’s demand exploded.
- Does anyone remember prohibition? The demand for hooch only grew as adults wanted what they weren’t allowed to have.
- There is no greater incentive to seek it out when the music gets censored. Same with art, dance, and other Avante Garde activities. From Elvis to Rap – once parents tell kids what they can’t listen to, it is only human behavior to want it naturally.
- When our team built the Slim Jim brand in the 90s, we heralded to kids – your mom doesn’t want you to eat this product. Then we got out of the way.
We Often Want What You Can’t Have
PR companies try to get the kind of awareness that the Goldson twins stumbled upon. But what they did was to realize that this banning in the NBA meant there is a world of kids who would love a little boost to jump a few extra feet with little effort.
So they leaned into their ban. Their marketing revealed in the world’s only sneaker so good; the NBA banned it!
Although the business pivoted toward the luxury sports shoe (aka fancy and expensive sneaker) market, in 2014, the company pioneered the “luxury performance segment” of the athletic footwear market in connection with the launch of its running and training shoes for men and women. The combination of APL’s world-class patented technologies and its unique, innovative design vision has enabled APL to be carried in over 300 of the finest luxury retailers in the world.
Sometimes the world’s best marketing comes wrapped up as a gift by being prohibited.
You can learn more about the details here in this YouTube video.
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Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
