It has been announced today that PUMA is relaunching their Basketball Division, and JAY-Z has joined the company as the new Creative Director of Basketball Operations. The rap mogul will be helping oversee the company’s first foray into the world of NBA sponsorship in almost two decades.
“We’ve been working with Roc Nation for quite some time. They’ve been great partners to us for several years. We’ve done many different deals with many different ambassadors,” said Adam Petrick, PUMA’s Global Director of Brand and Marketing. When PUMA approached him about this opportunity, JAY-Z felt it “was something he wanted to be a part of,” according to Petrick.
As part of the relaunch the global shoe and sportswear company has announced the signings of top draft prospects DeAndre Ayton (Arizona), Marvin Bagley III (Duke), and Roc Nation Sports client Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech). Ayton is considered the unanimous top pick and will likely go to the Phoenix Suns in Thursday’s draft; while Bagley and Smith are also expected to go in the lottery.
As Petrick mentioned, Roc Nation and PUMA have built a strong relationship over the past five years, thanks in a large part to the tireless work of Emory “Vegas” Jones. As the creator of the #PumaLife tag, the Creative Director of Planes caught the eye of the German brand and they asked for his assistance in reinvigorating the PUMA name. His vouching for PUMA has meant Roc Nation family members football star Romelu Lukaku, Rihanna, Solange, Meek Mill, Big Sean, and Yo Gotti have aligned themselves with the brand. Last year JAY-Z entered into a major partnership with PUMA, and they have been key sponsors of his career and social works since.
As the Creative Director of Basketball Operations, Shawn Carter will lead the overall concept and direction of the brand, as well as have a hand in the players selected to join the PUMA family. “What’s important to him on a day like today is that it’s clear we’re making a serious push with players like Bagley and Ayton and Smith. We’re making a serious statement about the entry of the category, that we want to be a performance brand, but then also very culturally focused. It’s clear that we’re looking at basketball through the lens of culture, and thinking about the fashion of basketball, the music of basketball, all the aspects of culture around basketball as much as the on court presence that we will have,” Petrick told Complex.
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