THE
Selk'bag Jalaiah Harmon, Champion Brand Ambassador Leather Head Sports for Shinola
26 • January/February 2022 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com
In a Challenging Environment, Brands Try New
Techniques to Differentiate. By Suzanne Blecher
STRATEGIES/TRENDS
OF BRAND STRATEGY
In the life of a brand, companies make many attempts to
meet specific, long-term goals. While the road may wind,
the ultimate endpoint is to sell, sell, sell. We've chatted up
some top industry executives to see what they are doing now,
during a difficult time, to stand out and get product into the
hands of consumers.
A = Tapping Artisans and Ambassadors
"The role of a brand ambassador for Champion is someone
who inspires others and embodies a true Champion – those
who are bold, authentic and bring their own style. For
Champion's first-ever Reverse Weave Week (celebrating the
franchise patent, finalized on October 14, 1952) celebration,
we teamed up with TikTok superstar Jalaiah Harmon. She
is the creator of the viral 'Renegade' dance, so we enlisted
her to create a 'reverse' version of the dance. Knowing our
fanbase spends a lot of time on TikTok (and wears a lot
of Champion on the social platform organically), it was
a natural evolution for our team to begin engaging with
content curators in the space."
John Shumate, VP of global brand marketing, Champion
"I have been working with Shinola since their beginning. They
first reached out to me to make a range of sports balls with
the Shinola logo. The relationship was a real game changer
for my business. We both focus on American manufacturing,
authentic design, American sourced raw materials and
