Denuo - denuology.com

Fellow sneaker heads, we are not a secret society.

There is a group of us out there that agree there are few feelings better than scooping an exclusive pair of your favorite sneakers (whether that’s Air Max 95s, Jordan Vs, or Dunks in my case). There are numerous sneaker shops throughout the country (and abroad – don’t sleep) that are always good for that unexpected gem that completes your collection (until you come back next time) and leaves you on cloud nine with a reward for your sneaker sleuth skills.

Unfortunately, technology and innovation are ruining that euphoric feeling for me. Whether it’s the traditional email/newsletter or the constantly growing social media landscape, shoe companies are making it tougher to get my hands on their exclusive goodies. A culture once dominated by word of mouth is now fully embracing the tools of the digital word of mouth landscape. Woot for them. FML for me.

As a self-described brand loyalist, I’ll reference the few examples I’ve run into with the only two sneaker brands to grace my feet: Creative Recreation and Nike.

As an up and coming brand, Creative Recreation leverages the traditional email/CRM approach to notify me that I can get my hands on their latest looks. A brand built on unique colors and texture combinations is great for getting that “Where did you get those?” from fellow sneaker-lovers, but that opportunity becomes far and few when they are delivering that same combination to everyone’s inbox. Not to mention the semi-regular offer for 20-60% off of the purchase to sweeten the deal. They make great use of their CRM program with only valuable communications tailored specificly to me (and anyone else clever enough to sign up).

On the other side of the spectrum, the established and loved sneaker giant, Nike, uses Facebook and Twitter across all their categories and regions. Where I was once able to get a heads up from the local sneaker pusher (aka: sales associate) on new shipments, they are now distributing this same type of “insider” information through the digital megaphone known as the internet. The result is longer lines for those limited edition Kobe Vs or, even worse, seeing other feet in my “rare” Air Max 90s. When not engaging in sport conversations, Nike does an exceptional job of giving me relevant “content” for my sneaker-addiction via my social feed of choice.

These brands (and their competition) are doing what every brand wants to do: take trusted 1-to-1 conversations and make them many- to-many conversations thanks to social tools. It doesn’t hurt (them) that these conversations are directly tied to purchasing their products. The (personal) downside for those of us previously in the inner circle is that our group just went from VIP to P.

And I just realized by writing this I’ve just made it even harder on myself to keep that exclusive leg up. SMH.