retail

Sears Shoots, Scores With NBA, WNBA Pact

NBA/Sears Sears Holding, parent of Kmart and Sears retail brands, is looking for court-credibility for its new Protégé basketball footwear brand. The company has linked up with the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the NBA Development League to support the basketball shoes, which are sold only at Kmart and Sears.

The effort centers on an NBA event series called "Protégé Basketball Block Party," to be held at Kmart and Sears stores in eight cities through August. Protégé will also host separate "NBA FIT" Clinics, a healthy-lifestyle program that will be held in the same markets on different days.

The NBA says the Protégé Basketball Block Party is an 18-wheel, 53-foot show truck that transforms into a 4,500-square-foot basketball activity area. The event features free activities like shooting contests, basketball clinics, and appearances by stars, including current and former NBA, WNBA and NBA Development League players.

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Sears will promote the Protégé Basketball Block Party through such marketing channels as TV, radio, print and online content. Exclusive content will be posted to www.ProtegeMVP.com following each event.

Nick Grayston, SVP and president of Sears Holding's footwear division, said in a release that the company decided to expand experiential marketing efforts after seeing strong results from a test program in Phoenix early this year.

The Protégé Basketball Block Party will visit Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, and Chicago on weekends, as will the NBA FIT Clinics.

The Protégé footwear line, a new brand that launched this year, is the result of a partnership between NBA star Al Harrington and Kmart to make the court-ready shoes available nationwide in-store and online. The shoes, which Sears is marketing as an affordable alternative to uber-expensive competitors, start at $34.99.

An NBA spokesperson said this constitutes the league's first partnership with Sears. "This partnership is about tapping into the authenticity of all three of our leagues to promote the Protégé brand at retail at Kmart and Sears stores."*

As such, neither Sears, Kmart nor Protégé brands will be advertising during games.

Kmart donated 1 million pairs of shoes in February 2009 to Samaritan's Feet, a humanitarian relief organization that puts shoes on the feet of children around the world. Kmart's donation was distributed to children in the 42 countries in which Samaritan's Feet serves.

* Editor's note: The story was amended post-publication.

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