Foot Locker on Tuesday unveiled a year-round basketball brand platform titled “Hoops Lives Here,” per details shared with Marketing Dive. The retailer wants to reinforce its standing in basketball and sneaker culture and celebrate how the sport lives in everyday moments.
“Basketball has always been foundational to Foot Locker. It sits at one of the most powerful intersections of sport, style and culture, and it’s a space where we’ve earned the trust of the sneaker community and hoops fans for more than five decades,” said Foot Locker CMO Brett O’Brien over email. “The game continues to shape sneaker culture and influence how our consumers show up on and off the court. For us, that means leaning in with greater intention and consistency in a space where we naturally belong.”
Created with agency Someplace, the campaign spans broadcast, social, digital, out-of-home and in-store channels, along with e-commerce and limited-time gift-with-purchase elements in key markets. The platform is rolling out across NBA broadcasts and social platforms including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitch and Reddit.
“We see platforms like Twitch and Reddit as community-first spaces, not just media channels. That’s where basketball and sneaker fans are already having passionate, informed conversations, and our job is to show up in ways that feel natural to those communities,” O’Brien said. “The audiences on these platforms know the culture and can spot quickly when a brand isn’t showing up authentically. For us, it’s about adding value to the conversation and reinforcing our credibility in basketball culture.”
A 30-second hero spot features NBA and WNBA stars Payton Pritchard, Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren and Jewell Loyd as players who have turned Foot Locker stores into their homes. The athletes are also ambassadors for different sneaker brands: Pritchard with Converse, Banchero with Jordan Brand and Holmgren and Loyd with Nike.
“Bringing together NBA and WNBA talent across our brand partners at Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse made the story feel authentic to the basketball community we serve and the consumers we connect with every day,” O’Brien said. “[The players] were the right fit because they each represent different dimensions of today’s basketball culture, from performance and style to influence and connection. Together, they helped bring the platform to life in a way that feels relevant to today’s basketball consumer.”
“Hoops Lives Here” is the first major work under O’Brien, who was appointed when Dick’s Sporting Goods closed its acquisition of Foot Locker’s portfolio of brands in September. Prior to his appointment as CMO, O'Brien worked in various marketing capacities at PepsiCo for nearly 25 years, most recently as chief sports officer.
“We are very enthusiastic about the future of Foot Locker,” Ed Stack, executive chairman of Dick’s, said in a statement at the time of the deal’s close. “The world class team we have assembled is committed to returning Foot Locker to its rightful place in our industry. We are committed to investing in and growing Foot Locker through its strong culture, led by the Stripers, and creating a more powerful experience for consumers.”
