By Naomi Aoki, Boston Globe Staff February 28, 2005
Are you in it for love or money?
In a national ad campaign that begins this week, the Boston sneaker maker New Balance aims to set itself apart from the Nikes and the Reeboks of the world.
The idea behind the campaign: If you want to wear the same shoes as NBA stars Allen Iverson or LeBron James wear, buy Reeboks or Nikes. But if you're in it for the pure love of the sport, New Balance is the shoe for you.
'' 'For Love or Money' felt so natural to us because it was something that only New Balance can stand in front of," said Paul Heffernan, executive vice president of global marketing at New Balance. ''It's all about everyday athletes playing for the love of the game."
Well, Reebok International Ltd. and Nike Inc. might ask, ''What's so different about that?" After all, they're also courting the everyday athlete. But their ads are slick and filled with sports and entertainment celebrities. This month, Canton-based Reebok introduced its ''i am what i am" campaign, featuring actress Lucy Liu and tennis player Andy Roddick.
In its new campaign, New Balance features amateur athletes and high-school sports teams. As opposed to ads featuring pro athletes, these ads are unconcerned with how polished the athletes appear or whether their foot placement is just right.
In addition to four 30-second TV spots, the campaign also includes print, billboard, and online ads that pose a series of questions about values in sports today:
''Can a losing coach still be a good coach?"
''Is fighting in sports ever justified?"
''Which teaches a player more, winning or losing?"
Tobe Berkovitz, an advertising professor and associate dean of the College of Communication at Boston University, gives New Balance's strategy a thumbs up. New Balance's customer isn't a teenager -- an all-important demographic in the youth-oriented sneaker business. It's the 21- to 55-year-old who's working toward a personal goal, rather than working to impress someone.
The $1.4 billion company has to defend that turf against far larger rivals with far bigger marketing budgets. The company didn't say how much it is spending on the ad campaign, but said it is spending significantly more on advertising than it did last year.
Berkovitz predicts the ''For Love or Money" campaign will reinforce its customers' brand loyalty and potentially expand their appeal among people who are moving into the New Balance niche.
''If they can grow by just 3 or 5 percent, or even if they can just keep the other guys from eating them alive, that's a win for New Balance," he said.
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