How to Debut a Shoe

Take notes, Class—Angel Reese just put on a clinic in sports marketing 101.

Alongside Reebok and NBA 2K, she (& her team) delivered a well orchestrated rollout that checked every box in what I call The Four Framework:

1. The Hero – Who is the conversation starter?

2. The Moment – When does the story break?

3. The Product – What are we trying to sell?

4. The Medium – Where and how are we telling the story?

Let’s break it down:

Reese is the hero.. She’s the most-followed woman in the WNBA and a cultural force beyond basketball.

The moment? Her cover reveal for NBA 2K26, a huge spotlight and inflection point for women’s hoops. It’s also a week before the WNBA All Star game.
To capitalize, Nike just sold a Kobe PE (a Player Edition shoe) for Caitlin Clark in time for All-Star buzz, with a large billboard placement. Breaking News: it’s absolutely brutal that she’s not going to be able to play. But, I digress.

The product? Her new Reebok signature shoe.

And the media? A multi-platform rollout timed with precision.

• The shoe was photographed in time for the 2K cover.

• Teasers began in the tunnel with pre-game looks.

• A co-branded Reebok x Reese Instagram post dropped the day of the reveal—shared directly to her 5 million followers.

• She wore the shoe on court the same night, and a courtside photo even mirrored the 2K cover image. You can’t script this stuff better.

It’s incredibly rare that all four of these elements line up this seamlessly. But Reese and her team nailed it.

One Catch…
The only thing missing? You can’t buy the shoe yet. It doesn’t release until 2026. That means we’re previewing product months before it hits shelves. And she’s not alone. A’ja, Shai, Haliburton…all had long runways until their product is set to go on sale.

So here’s the question:
Do you build hype now and make people wait?
Or hold back and drop it closer to launch like we used to?

Let me know what you think.

Inspiration:

It was a Big Sports week.
Here’s a thread of great Wimbledon tennis ads.

Tough for New Balance & Bose to rollout these items for Coco Gauff and then she gets beat in the first round 😫

Bose did some great custom headphones for her as well.

Eugene Healey is one of my favorite follows this year. He breaks down what’s happening in the world, how that affects social media…and what brands should do about it.

Education :

The BrandFathers new episode is out NOW: This week, the Fathers sat down with Nicole from PLTFRM for a special episode.

Blessings :

Story is how we connect to people and companies.
I’ve been fortunate to be spending time with some founders recently.
Hearing their stories makes me such a big fan of their brands.

It’s easy to judge from the internet or pass by products & people. But they all have a story.
It’s the way to connect.

Stop and hear them. You often won’t regret it!