MEET THE CURRY 4 REIMAGINED WITH MODERN PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY
Source: INTRODUCING CURRY FLOTRO
In 2017 Golden State won the Chip and KD was celebrated as the MVP. Under Armour had failed throughout the season to celebrate Curry. KD, a Nike endorsed athlete, had diminished Steph’s light and some would argue Nike and KD slowed Under Armour’s momentum in footwear. The reality was Under Armour was in flux. Under Armour had tried to buy its way into Connected Fitness, buy its way into fashion with Under Armour Sports and instead of highlighting the one powerful asset in their arsenal, Steph Curry, they rested on the NBA and Steph’s laurels to bring attention to their work. It was so bad at one point of me tracking the brand, that a tire company was creating better marketing materials than Under Armour. As a matter of fact, Under Armour hadn’t done any marketing at all for the Curry 4. Under Armour Didn’t Make 1 Video To Market The Curry 4 | Marketing – JmksportStore-USA
Men's Under Armour Halftime Ribbed Beanie | FLOTRO
An obvious play on Nike’s Protro, created by Kobe, Flotro is based on the outsole tech featured in Curry’s latest signature release the Curry 9. The 9 wasn’t as aesthetically cool and instead of rocking the latest models on the path to his fourth championship, Curry opted for a fusion of the last sneaker he won a chip in, the 4. Under Armour sat back and grafted the new onto the old and became a part of Steph’s first Finals MVP. That story is amazng in itself and once again creates a defining moment for Under Armour and Steph Curry. The long-term viability of the brand and standalone Curry Brand relies on memorable moments and this season was loaded with moments which will resonate with fans for years. As a matter of fact, there isn’t a single player in the league who has the defining moments Steph has created, but the Flotro arrives in a moment of flux for Under Armour and the company appears to be reverting back to Curry 4 habits.
The Flotro 4 has everything needed to make the shoe a crossover option for the brand. I’ve long stated that the decline in basketball shoes accelerated as every company began relying on knits and synthetics to reduce weight. What made traditional sneakers become foundational in sneaker culture is they felt more premium. Jordan 1-14 all featured a combination of suedes and leathers with mesh. Those sneakers are the foundation of Jordan Brand. The latest flagships for Jordan Brand have all been knit and socklike fit, and those shoes didn’t and haven’t performed as well. This is also a time of more options so that has a lot to do with the success of basketball sneakers but think about a shoe like the Harden Vol. 1. That shoe did well. Since that model, the knit construction has made the models less structured, so colors aren’t as defined. The sneakers don’t look quality, and the sales have suffered. Empty toebox design and no lines in basketball sneakers killed the division. The Curry 4 originally made it into my top sneakers of 2017. The design reminded me the Jordan 11. Even with a socklike design, the panel around the sneaker allowed for different materials. On this Flotro, in these pictures, that suede construction makes this shoe unlike any other basketball sneaker delivered in the last few years.
With all that the Flotro does right, here is where it has reverted to Curry 4 status. Under Armour did one video for the Curry 4. This was on par with the decline in marketing for Curry as he became more popular. I documented the marketing from Curry 1 to Curry 5, there was a serious slowdown in marketing materials, specifically on YouTube, where a more captive audience sits with video from 1-3 minutes. UA dropped from over 15 videos for the 1, to 1 video for the 4. Where a brand like Nike doubles down on an athlete, it seems that Under Armour assumes the athlete can carry the brand and product. Marketing matters… especially in a segment that has been declining because there are so many casual options available. Right now, a visit to YouTube, the biggest video platform for digital media, and the closest thing there is to traditional television because of how video is delivered on the platform (you don’t flick and scroll as quickly as you do on TikTok or IG), on Under Armour’s YouTube channel there has been one Curry video in the last six months. Under Armour T-Shirt most of their time on other social platforms. Without insight into engagement, I can’t say if this is smart, but the NBA on YouTube has over 18 million subscribers and even summer league videos on YouTube are viewed at an average of 39,000 views. A quick comparison to Nike’s YouTube shows a startling difference. Nike is constantly posting shorts and videos. Many are unpolished and “organic”. Under Armour’s most recent videos are below and you need to note the stark difference in views. Note the two most recent videos racked up views. As a YouTuber, I know the only time these spikes happen is when a channel runs an ad campaign. There isn’t anything wrong with this when it’s strategic, but a more consistent video schedule would increase viewership organically, which is stickier. Note the most recent Curry video was the three-point record video. If Curry Brand is to develop a consistent stream of content should be available and not just from sneaker culture as basketball doesn’t sell there.
Under Armour has a winner in Curry and they’ve created a winner with Flotro 4. Unfortunately, it arrives at a time when basketball isn’t as in demand, but this sneaker overcomes that issue. It’s a sneaker waiting to be styled and delivered with an edge. It’s a sneaker looking to be broken down. I recently wrote a post on Puma’s Stewie 1. In that post I showed a picture from the show Chef on Netflix. For years I’ve stressed that discussions with design teams are powerful tools requiring very little work for brands. I’ve explained that technical analysis with athletes signed to the brand can be informal marketing tools. The Curry 4 Flotro deserves its own impromptu catwalk stroll, but Under Armour probably won’t act. They just replaced a CEO, supply chains are a mess, and macroeconomic forces are slowing down even the biggest company, but at some point, Under Armour needs to hire guerilla soldiers and get dirty. Your performance gear just won the NBA Championship, act like it.