With the aim to take their basketball sneaker category to the next level, PUMA has signed Jay-Z as their president of basketball operations.
Jay-Z will take on the brand’s creative direction for marketing campaigns, identifying upcoming NBA players and entertainers suited for the brand to sign and he will have a voice on both the lifestyle and performance products.
The move follows the recent signings of Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and Zhaire Smith, which three of them have secured multiyear footwear and apparel endorsement deals.
“We’re making a serious statement about the entry of the category, that we want to be a performance brand, but then also very culturally focused,”
“It’s clear that we’re looking at basketball through the lens of culture, and thinking about the fashion of basketball, the music of basketball — all the aspects of culture around basketball, all the aspects of culture around basketball as much as the on-court presence that we will have,”Adam Petrick, the brand’s global director of brand and marketing, told Complex.
PUMA will soon be unveiling its new basketball sneaker.
source: ESPN