Kobe More Valuable to Nike than LeBron?

lawdog1

lawdog1

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This morning I was listening to Dan Patrick's radio show and he had a "sports-business" reporter on who said that Kobe is more valuable toNike than LeBron. He supported this statement by pointing out that Nike picked Kobe to rep the Hyperdunk and that Nike had more "important"designers working on Kobe's new show than on the LeBron 6. Maybe this guy is right, but I would find it a little surprising. I was wondering what some ofthe Nike "insiders" on this board think.
 
Well it is possible...however the kobe hype in sports-business started to die down when lebron came along......I'd shoot forLebron on this one, even thoughI'm a Kobe fan.
 
Ya know, I was thinking the same thing the other day, in light of all the hyperdunk 'hype' and all.... I'm curious to see what others on the boardthink....
 
I disagree. They gave Lebron 50 million more and they made Kobe the face of hyperdunks true, but they made many lines of Lebron's shoes and attire in manycolorways. They know Lebron is gonna be the face of the league for a lot longer than Kobe, so since time is on Lebron's side, I would think they'rebanking on bron.

Another thing is, nike is so big and they own the market so much that they have the luxury of making them two equally big figures that just share thespotlight. They ride the wave of who ever is doing better at that moment. It's a long season.
 
kobe is more valuable as we speak!!! his story sells right now...the only reason y nike signed him to that big contract is just to out bid the rest of them andkeep them off their hands just in case he becomes the player he is supposed to be!!!
 
You win championships and are personable to your fans. KOBE hands down.
 
LeBron would crush the hyperdunk in 5 minutes. The shoe is more of a Kobe shoe no doubt. LeBron has always needed something robust for his size and style ofplay. Not saying one is more important to Nike than the other but Kobe does have more international pull right now. LeBron is still very young though.
 
I'd go with Lebron, for one simple fact: he's younger.

Kobe is what, 32? And we're only on the Kobe IV, if you don't include the 2K4 and 2K5 as his sig. shoe.

Lebron is 23, 24? And we're at the Lebron VI. His line has just started, and a lot of his shoes have been questionable so far. Lots of potential.


I look at it this way, if I'm a rival company and I can choose one of these players to move to my brand today (by their own free will of course), I'mtaking Lebron.
 
I think it's about a tie really. LeBron gets better (or more anyway) marketing in the states. Kobe is the beast in the Asia market (a HUGE focus for nikeright now). But like peto said, LeBron is likely to be around for MUCH longer than Kobe, so he's more valuable long-term...

I just hope they start to make both lines better. It's really up and down for both though.
All that said, I'm off both of them for this season, both their kicks suck deep, FELL BACK HARD.
 
Originally Posted by T21D


You win championships and are personable to your fans. KOBE hands down.
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Yea i agree with that statement Fred, your right on point with it.

-Tyler
 
i think they are banking off kobe now since like everyone mentioned he is the older one so why not cash in on kobe who is at his prime (although some maydiffer) but the point is he is in his 30s and so it would make sense for nike to see kobe to be more valuable now (milk everything from him while they stillcan) then focus more on lebron since he is ONLY 23. i think in the end nike is banking on both its just the timing. i think they need the two of them not justone, pure strategy if anything imo.
 
Yes and no....

But more so YES.

Nike gave Kobe the HyperDunk to basically make Kobe happy by putting his name out there, but to also have a GREAT name behind the product. As mentioned before,there is no way they could have done this with Lebron as he would have bottomed out the HD in his first trip up the court.

However Kobe had to be talked into endorsing the HyperDunk. My Sources tell me (lol) that Kobe was waaay against wearing it because he wanted HIS line to havemore juice and for there to be a plan behind his line. Nico Harrison who is Nike's Sports Marketing Rep basically sealed that deal and got Kobe into thatHyperdunk.

The fact that they had "better" designers on the HD is only because Avar is from the Kitchen.. and the Kitchen has its own Mystiq. Ken Link in hisown right has been regarded as one of the best Designers at Nike, but Marketing and Resources failed him I believe.

With Kobe being on a Team that has every chance of getting to the finals before Lebron and Lebron not having a Solid Resource of folks working on his line.Instead of shared resources. You guys might think there are hundreds of designers in Nike Basketball and Color Designers and such putting together than entireline every season but its about 15 guys all together.

That includes management.

If it were understood that EVERYONE in the industry is taking a hit right now on revenue in Basketball and Nike focused on just putting out some great designswithout cutting out the fat and having lower Margins.. Lebrons line would be TOPs.. and relying on stuff like Hyperdunks or 2k4's and such which are comingfrom the Kitchen..

To me.. Lebrons line could be .. COULD BE phenonminal.. but it won't be, just as Kobe's wont be because they are all using the same folks to do thesame things. The only thing that seperates the two is Kobe's Outside Management and Lebrons Outside management teams. There's a huge difference. butI'll stop there.

Im tryin to get work.. lol
 
I would say Kobe. China has the biggest market potential in the world, and Kobe is head and shoulders above the Lebron in China. Here it may not seem that waybut over in China....Kobe is killing every player in the league combined. Did anybody see the Olympics? I think it shock Lebron's ego, because he gets allthe attention and Kobe is still more popular than him. I would also argue that Kobe is the most popular player in the states. Kobe has had Boston, NYC, andAtlanta fans chanting MVP when the Lakers came to town. Lebron has never had that. I don't think Lebron has earned the amount of attention he is given byESPN and Nike. IMHO!
 
Better designers for Kobe? Eric and Jason collaborated on the HD and Kenzo is another tremendous designer, you can't really go wrong with either of thosedesigners. Both players have tremendous markets with extensive shoe/apparel lines; I feel they both have the SAME value to Nike. They do seem to advertiseLeBron's shoe much more heavily than Kobe's, but then again, having Kobe be the face of the HD was a massive marketing ploy there and really got peopletalking about that shoe.
 
It think Kobe is more valuable in the short term because he's a proven champion. If LeBron is provided with a strong supporting cast, like Jordaneventually was with the Bulls, his stock would rise exponentially.
 
Originally Posted by DeezyVSOP

I'd go with Lebron, for one simple fact: he's younger.

Kobe is what, 32? And we're only on the Kobe IV, if you don't include the 2K4 and 2K5 as his sig. shoe.

Lebron is 23, 24? And we're at the Lebron VI. His line has just started, and a lot of his shoes have been questionable so far. Lots of potential.


I look at it this way, if I'm a rival company and I can choose one of these players to move to my brand today (by their own free will of course), I'm taking Lebron.
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he's 30. imo, every single one of lebron's sig shoes have been ugly so far. but that's just my opinion. and you DO have to include 2k4and 2k5 as his sig shoe if people are considering hyperdunks his sig shoe.
 
Originally Posted by Koopa2410

Originally Posted by DeezyVSOP

I'd go with Lebron, for one simple fact: he's younger.

Kobe is what, 32? And we're only on the Kobe IV, if you don't include the 2K4 and 2K5 as his sig. shoe.

Lebron is 23, 24? And we're at the Lebron VI. His line has just started, and a lot of his shoes have been questionable so far. Lots of potential.


I look at it this way, if I'm a rival company and I can choose one of these players to move to my brand today (by their own free will of course), I'm taking Lebron.
Click to expand...
he's 30. imo, every single one of lebron's sig shoes have been ugly so far. but that's just my opinion. and you DO have to include 2k4 and 2k5 as his sig shoe if people are considering hyperdunks his sig shoe.
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2k4, 2k5, & Hyperdunks are NOT "Kobes".

promoting a shoe is different from a signature shoe.

2k4/5 and hyperdunks = nike basketball

Id also say both are important to Nike equally. Kobe is the face of the NBA, in exchange, Nike uses him to promote basketball shoes Nike releases ex.Hyperdunks. Lebron is important in the long run because sooner or later, he will become a huge asset and face of an NBA thats expanding oversees. Why elsewould Nike be releasing "China" cws of every sig shoe he releases? And Kobe being 30 can make a difference in how long the brand will last. Lets sayhe has a good 5-6 years to go. His sig shoe ends at Kobe 9/10. LeBron is basically 3/4 years off of Kobes last sig and will be 27/28 which i would believe orcould be his prime. I dont know though, but it seems to me that both are important; Kobe = now, Lebron = future.


 
Originally Posted by bigtimejerky

Originally Posted by Koopa2410

Originally Posted by DeezyVSOP

I'd go with Lebron, for one simple fact: he's younger.

Kobe is what, 32? And we're only on the Kobe IV, if you don't include the 2K4 and 2K5 as his sig. shoe.

Lebron is 23, 24? And we're at the Lebron VI. His line has just started, and a lot of his shoes have been questionable so far. Lots of potential.


I look at it this way, if I'm a rival company and I can choose one of these players to move to my brand today (by their own free will of course), I'm taking Lebron.
Click to expand...
he's 30. imo, every single one of lebron's sig shoes have been ugly so far. but that's just my opinion. and you DO have to include 2k4 and 2k5 as his sig shoe if people are considering hyperdunks his sig shoe.
Click to expand...

2k4, 2k5, & Hyperdunks are NOT "Kobes".

promoting a shoe is different from a signature shoe.

2k4/5 and hyperdunks = nike basketball
Click to expand...
that's what i'm saying. if people are saying hyperdunks are his sig shoes, then they would have to include 2k4 and 2k5. if peopledon't include 2k4 and 2k5, then people can't include the hyperdunks.
 
Yes imo. the Hyperdunk,2k4,and 2k5 are all "Kobes"; no Nike didn't send out a press release saying these were his sig shoe, but they all wouldhave been(or heavy contention) if not for___________. In the public or general shoe head eyes they all associated very very very close to Kobe, hence peoplecalling them Kobe's. Guilty by association sort of thing
grin.gif


I don't have any official sales numbers but I believe the "Kobe" line and the official Kobe line (1-3) have done better than the Lebron Sigs andtrainers

Kobe's the player you hate in some respects but admire his game. Lebron is the type I like and enjoy watching, no strong feelings. Until Lebron gets thatedge on the court (love/hate), Kobe will be ahead of Lebron in Beavorton (sp).
 
Kobe is the future and the present of the NBA! I think they have done a great job getting kobe out there with the Marty Mcfly release and the youtube videos togive him a grassroots approach to bring in more people to the black mamba movement, I think if he keeps on working on his image, his sneakers will be the newhype and I'm sure nike knows that
 
Originally Posted by tmukg21

Yes imo. the Hyperdunk,2k4,and 2k5 are all "Kobes"; no Nike didn't send out a press release saying these were his sig shoe, but they all would have been(or heavy contention) if not for___________. In the public or general shoe head eyes they all associated very very very close to Kobe, hence people calling them Kobe's. Guilty by association sort of thing
grin.gif


I don't have any official sales numbers but I believe the "Kobe" line and the official Kobe line (1-3) have done better than the Lebron Sigs and trainers

Kobe's the player you hate in some respects but admire his game. Lebron is the type I like and enjoy watching, no strong feelings. Until Lebron gets that edge on the court (love/hate), Kobe will be ahead of Lebron in Beavorton (sp).
Click to expand...
True you can associate Kobe with the Hyperdunks NOW... but further down the line, it will not be remembered as a Kobe signature shoe. Im prettysure Nike has used this marketing scheme before. They come out with a shoe, associate it with a popular figure, and promote it like crazy. And all theseexclusives/limited releases have only heightened the hype without any additional promotion (the less they spend, the more profit). But truthfully it doesntmatter because at the end of the day, its all going to Nike.
 
Originally Posted by tmukg21

Yes imo. the Hyperdunk,2k4,and 2k5 are all "Kobes"; no Nike didn't send out a press release saying these were his sig shoe, but they all would have been(or heavy contention) if not for___________. In the public or general shoe head eyes they all associated very very very close to Kobe, hence people calling them Kobe's. Guilty by association sort of thing
grin.gif


I don't have any official sales numbers but I believe the "Kobe" line and the official Kobe line (1-3) have done better than the Lebron Sigs and trainers

Kobe's the player you hate in some respects but admire his game. Lebron is the type I like and enjoy watching, no strong feelings. Until Lebron gets that edge on the court (love/hate), Kobe will be ahead of Lebron in Beavorton (sp).
Click to expand...

That's what I was the most curious about. Just based on my own personal observation where I live, I feel like I see more LeBrons around than Kobes. I waswondering what the overall sales figures are -- not that sales numbers alone equate to greater "value."
 
You guys keep saying Nike is hyping the player with all these exclusive releases, but most of you don't realize that most of the General buying publicknows about these releases. When one may see an HOH shoe.. its nothing but a crazy color shoe that youngster is wearing.

It actually IS the hypocrisy of Nike. They don't want to give credance to the "Sneaker Head" because thats not their core consumer, but yet theynow cater to you because they see a chance for more money when in fact it could be ALOT more money.

This could end up biting them in the ++$ until those TNT HDs come out and the guys Hype that shoe EVERY Show because Kenny finally has a shoe he can call PARTof his.. Charles will clown it and Ernie won't know what to do.. other than Chime in and be appreciative..

Hype comes when Media outlets get ahold of the Youtubes and TNT hypes the shoe.. Other than that.. only WE on the MEssage Boards Hype the shoe..
 
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