Reebok was huge in the 90’s, yet has grown stagnant as brand. Reebok is searching for a new global creative and marketing agency as Reebok winds down it’s relationship with Venables Bell & Partners.

Reebok is cutting ties with Venables Bell & Partners by July 2019. Venables Bell & Partners will direct Reebok global marketing and media until a new agency is contracted. The move comes just months after the announcement of long-tenured Craig Allen’s retirement from Venable Bell and Partners.

In a statement to AdWeek, Venables Bell partner and managing director Kate Jeffers said:

“We recently made the mutual decision with Reebok to part ways as their AOR (agency of record)….We’re very proud of the work we’ve done together over the past five years. We will continue our relationship until July 2019, delivering the global campaigns for 2019 and helping to transition their new AOR.”

The Reebok brand is owned by adidas, and for years lacked a narrative or company direction stylistically. Reebok has given off the impression of being an after thought in the company hierarchy. Now Reebok will likely be an after thought with it’s marketing agency for over half a year.

Divided attentions meant the brand was less than fully successful. Divided attentions with Reebok’s direction are a symptom of the same problem. Reebok has split it’s time sponsoring both the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and trying to show women it is authentic brand that cares and focuses on women’s needs.

The UFC plans on having Greg Hardy as a main attraction wearing Reebok. With several other domestic violence headlines in the UFC’s recent past, the messages do not mesh well. A female fighter was a victim of domestic assault, and still wanted to fight in the next UFC event. There was a missed opportunity by all brands and executives to address the issues.

Reebok pulls in a fraction of the revenue of parent company adidas or former competitor Nike, dipping under one billion while the top two bring in over $50 billion combined. Adidas and Nike dominate their respective athletic markets, with basketball joining both types of football as the main focus for each.

Reebok and Nike were the biggest endorsers of NBA player edition sneakers in the 1990’s. To most passive consumers, Reebok gave up judging by the revenue and marketing effort behind their core endorsers and products.

Allen Iverson is an icon. The UFC has icons. Reebok has some classic shoes in it’s stable, but has stagnated on refreshing and renewing it’s offerings. With all of the logo changes, only the most knowledgeable sneaker head, UFC fan, or Reebok loyalist would know the brands’ present logo.

Reebok has fallen off in several areas, visibility and cohesive brand narrative just a couple of many. Specifically, it is almost 2019 and Reebok does not even have a dedicated reddit page. Most brands have thousands of loyal followers posting brand news. In the world of social media, Reebok is timid is not all but mute.

Find more than one store in the mall carrying higher end Reebok’s, or retro classics like the Question or Kamikaze. Running lightly branded basic model shoes through Famous Footwear, Academy, and eventually a Burlington Coat Factory or Marshalls, is not a sustainable model if Reebok is serious about gaining momentum in the market.

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted has boldly stated plans to make the fledgling brand profitable by 2020. Reebok is again trying to leverage athletes and social influencers like Gigi Hadid, a leading voice in the “Be More Human” campaign. The idea is wonderful, but the narrative needs support for there to be a ‘Reebok’ conversation.

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Senior brand manager Arnna Johnstone recently spoke at Reebok event announcing a colaboration with Gigi Hadid, saying she believes highlighting and promoting female-empowerment and increased celebrity collaborations endorsement deals will score Reebok some meaningful points and a larger piece of sneaker market revenue.

The focus now is to open up the conversation to include the female consumer…One of our key focuses was to show up in a compelling way and communicate who we are today not what Reebok was yesterday. “We believe if you’ve got a platform you need to be able to use it to create a positive impact on the world…For us it’s been about unlocking potential and having conversations where people can be the best versions of themselves….We can start and continue a conversation in the social world but in order to truly connect with them you need to be able to bed it down so people can have direct connection with the brand.

Founding partner of The Projects agency Jack Bedwani said at the event:

“In 2018 customers are looking for brands that have a little more depth to them…Our objective as an agency is to find ways to put on an event and show a different perspective. So instead of putting Hadid on a runway, we put her on a panel.”

Instead of performing in the spotlight Hadid spoke in depth as part of the event’s panel. The event called for something more than a scripted performance with distracting lights and effects. This was all part of the plan according to Bedwani. Entertainers both of concerts and sporting courts are wanting their own voice to be the soundtrack of their story.

“Traditional methods of advertising are good for awareness but that’s about it….Customers want deeper relationships with brands and experiential gives a brand more immersive opportunities to engage with its customer base….People get to see what a brand stands for and that’s what customers are looking for – a human interaction.”

Effective immediately, and with comments by adidas stoking the fires, Reebok is showing intent to rejoin the Sneaker Wars in earnest. To do so, Reebok needs to find a niche where it can make strong, meaningful gains. So far, the market has responded to Reebok’s efforts halfheartedly, which matches the reviews of Reebok’s recent efforts and offerings. Reebok has experienced declining revenue in the 2018 third quarter, dropping 5 according to most reports.

Being owned by Adidas provides some obstacles. Adidas is now the main competition to Nike on fields and courts around the world. Under Armour leads a second tier of challengers. Adidas does not want to confuse the NBA market with more brands drawing away from the 3 stripes stars.

With that in mind, Reebok executives have spent years and millions trying to cultivate a space in the leisurewear, crossfit, and yoga crowds. Even Reebok’s biggest sponsorship deal with the UFC is an individual sport rather than a team play event. Reebok is going for the individual living the Reebok lifestyle, not just a replaceable player on a rotating team sport.

In doing so, Reebok has tried to have two separate conversations with each consumer market. Reebok wanted to use different language, but any cross ever effects of brand marketing caused some confusion. Reebok has split time between it’s two biggest players. In one market, Reebok does not seem fully committed. In the other camp, trouble is brewing.

Reebok has it’s attention split between UFC and Leisurewear markets.

However, Reebok’s two main markets, leisure and UFC, are on opposite ends of the spectrum. The two markets may use and wear some of the same gear throughout a day. However, the approach in introducing Reebok to each market is drastically different.

Relaxed and comfortable workout gear is a growing segment of the industry. The UFC is a behemoth in the fight game. In the athletic leisure market, there are dozens of options. In the UFC universe, Reebok is the only game in town. The requirements to satisfy each group at the same time requires a delicate touch.

Reebok has main slight gains and prevalence within the workout crowds, but the reception among the UFC crowd has been tepid at best. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Reebok have a recently established an exclusive sponsorship agreement that required all fighters to wear Reebok branded gear.

This took away freedom from fighters, and effectively silenced the individuals Reebok was supposedly supporting. Some fighters cite the restrictions from UFC and the Reebok deal as a reason for leaving the organization, sapping the brands of the stars driving revenue.

The UFC deal with Reebok has cost many fighters money. These fighters are usually lower level, undercard draw fighters who need every dollar to chase the dream of a title fight.

That punch of blame belongs on UFC’s chin, not Reebok’s, according Reebok senior director of combat training :Michael Lunardelli via MMA Fighting

“Some people are going to criticize the deal. They may feel that they lost some sponsorships as part of this apparel deal. The way we look at it is, we’re not deciding where the money goes. We’re investing into all these different things that relate to MMA and the sport, so we’ve put a lot of money into the UFC deal, we’ve put a lot of money into fighters, we’ve put a lot of money into gyms and trainers and coaches, things like that. But then there comes a decision point, and the UFC decides how the fighters are paid. That’s not something we get involved in at all. So I can understand that [Schaub is] looking at us and blaming us because it’s a Reebok apparel deal. It’s a little misplaced from my standpoint. But at the same time, we have to do what we have to do, and that’s focus on making great gear, supporting fighters, getting fighters to showcase as the face of our brand. If we do those things really well, then things will come around.”

UFC President Dana White, meanwhile, is performing the role of hype man to the end. He told the Telegraph in one particular rant:

“The backlash to Reebok was ridiculous but everybody thinks they know all about this shit and they have all the answers,” White recently told The Telegraph. “But let me tell you, this has been an absolute home run for Reebok. Home run for them.”

Some of White’s UFC roster want to temper that positivism. UFC welterweight contender and former champion Rory MacDonald aired some grievances on the MMA Hour show right after migrating from UFC to Bellator.

“I just think the UFC went about it the wrong way. They didn’t really think of the fighters, I don’t think, even though I think they’re trying to make it out like they were. There was no discussion. It was just, okay, this is happening and deal with it, kind of thing. And that’s not very respectful. I don’t think that was a very good move.”

In order to avoid confusion and be affected by this fallout, Reebok needs to find a way to show the UFC the gentle love it shows the leisure market. Reebok also needs to strengthen it’s message in the leisurewear market. Being passive and sticking to basic maneuvers has restricted the brand more than it has enhanced it.

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Reebok can manage to find growth and enhance it’s reputation on both sides of the market, but it must find one voice to do the job, not try to have two different conversations. Telling one group to have their voice heard while being partially responsible for suppressing the voice of UFC fighters is a bad look. Unless the new brand narrative can find the right tone, the brand’s message will fall on deaf ear and uninterested customers.