Ideas Make Manifestos
brand development by sarah feeney
Performance Meets Culture.
At a time when brands like Nike and Adidas dominated by emphasizing peak athletic performance, PUMA shifted focus.
The brand repositioned itself as a fashion-forward, lifestyle brand by embracing culture, music, and entertainment.
This strategy blurred the lines between sport, fashion, and culture, targeting consumers who valued culture over performance alone.
As Head of Global Entertainment, reporting directly to the CMO in Boston, I was part of the small international team responsible for PUMA’s resurgence by repositioning it through fashion, music, and entertainment.
The PUMA resurgence was a subversive strategy in the athletic footwear and apparel market for one key reason. . .
We didn’t just target consumers with a top-down approach but immersed PUMA in grassroots movements, embracing niche influences in music and fashion scenes.
This made the brand feel organic and community-rooted (a practice that would later inspire the rise of other lifestyle-driven brands).
This approach revitalized PUMA, transforming it into a leader rather than a follower. It also created a playbook for merging fashion, entertainment, and sport that many brands emulate today.