The Mastermind Behind the Air Jordan Empire

TAP: As a U.S. Manager of Public Relations and, eventually, Jordan Brand Manager, what exactly was your job? What was your working routine?

Patton: Whenever we dropped a new sneaker, commercial or whatever, I had to create the awareness surrounding it. Whether it was an interview or a press release with media  about the new Air Jordans, I had to spread the word. I had to let people know, “here’s a picture of the shoe that’s hitting the streets over the holidays,” then I had to shoot the picture over to “Slam” Magazine and have them write a story on it, which emphasized the new commercial featuring Michael Jordan. I would have the media come behind the scenes and make sure they were able to interview Michael, et cetera.

When there was controversy, I was the spokesperson. When kids were killing each other over a pair of Jordans and it was featured on  “Nightline” and BET’s  “Teen Summit,” I had to handle it. So I was working the brand from all angles because I could relate to the audience. I was not just a corporate spokesperson making excuses. I had an authentic sensibility and supported the community to which I spoke.

In terms of footwear and the Jordan brand, I did the typical thing and made sure all the athletes were wearing them. But I made sure that we started sending product to the hip-hop artists like NAS, A Tribe Called Quest, KRS One and several others. Then I took it a step further and looked within the community to see who had the greatest influence in the youth market.  It was the barbers! For example, when we came out with a new Air Jordan I was going to certain markets in L.A., Chicago and New York and I would make sure the barbers had the new Jordans first. They would have them months before they were even released. Being a product of urban culture, I knew that in that market, people wanted to have things first and they wanted things to be exclusive. In many respects, the barbershop is the epicenter of urban culture, and is an intergenerational place where male bonding is inevitable. So I knew that they had influence on not only the younger kids, but also the older folks who still played ball on the weekends and had an affinity for the Nike brand. Having an understanding of what was relevant and knowing the touch points for the market segment led me to an opportunity to be the Marketing Director. So I ended up engineering and launching the official Jordan brand in ‘97.

TAP: Even today, Jordans are still rather trendy to young kids on and off the courts. What do you think it is about a pair of Air Jordans that made them so popular then and now?

Patton: What’s interesting about the Jordan brand, in particular, is that people weren’t buying them to wear on the court. The Air Jordan was a movement within Nike. Believe it or not, so many people at Nike didn’t think Jordan could sell shoes once he stopped playing basketball. What I understood was that it was an iconic product that was as much connected to lifestyle as much as it was a performance shoe. There’s a premium that was associated with the shoe. Products with a brand premium are always going to last through the long term like Mercedes, if you will. It’s the notion of the remix. We applied the same concept to a sneaker. It was: let’s take a classic, remix it a little bit and make it contemporary. But it is that basic understanding of consumer culture that you really need to make these things happen.

TAP: Now eventually you left Nike to start your own company, can you tell us about your marketing firm, The Mastermind Group?

After I left Nike I started my company TMG in 2002. I wanted to create an agency that was focused on the urban market but bringing the right dimension to it and the proper understanding of it – as well as the focus of brand management consulting.  I didn’t want to limit it to advertising or marketing or P.R., I wanted to have a firm that essentially could provide all of those things to our clients. There are different segments that are within the urban market and I wanted people to know that it’s not such a monolithic audience. I wanted people to know that it was more than just getting Snoop to say “fo-shizzle” about your brand. I was about finding the full dimension of the audience and discovering distinct ways to get them to experience different brands and products.

TAP: What inspired you to write the book “Under the Influence”?

Patton: Because so much is being created, folks within the culture, oftentimes, don’t stop to acknowledge the weight or the gravity behind the fact that things become disposable. Music, to a large degree, is what I’m referring to here. You have an artist that’s in and then they’re out  and then people begin to wonder what’s next and who’s next.  There’s a lot of that which goes on within this culture and it constantly comes back to ‘what’s next?’ I don’t think we’ve taken the time to acknowledge the full gravity of the impact we’ve made on pop, consumer culture and really the fabric of this country.

So I was compelled to chronicle the influence this generation has had on pop culture, the sports industry and branding itself. It has been a very significant window of time from the late eighties until now.  We’ve seen major strides and I  thought it was the appropriate time. My story is very unique in terms of possibilities and I wanted to be the narrator, if you will, to communicate and explain what was really happening on a much broader marketing level. To me, it’s a story that needs to be told so that there would be a full understanding and appreciation for the generation who, for the most part, came from very humble beginnings and are now using their creativity to change pop consumer culture and building entrepreneurship within it.  Another reason why I wrote the book is because I think the next business generation has to realize the magnitude of the opportunity potential that they have at their disposal to go out and say, “let’s build that machine.“

We have all the parts so let’s just go ahead and build it.” Sort of like a blueprint. I’m a “Gen. Xer” so when I was coming up, my parents were into breaking “the glass ceiling” and being the first black president of some big corporation and the next generation pretty much said, “skip, that. I’m just going to go and be the president of my own corporation. Never mind if I don’t have the infrastructure or have properly planned the business, I just know that I don’t want to spend my life working for someone else and making someone else rich. I can make it happen.” With time,  I think we’ll start to see a whole lot more of this taking place.

TAP: Let’s talk about how hip-hop has affected consumerism. With the highlight on higher-end cars, designer labels or just the extravagant lifestyle that hip-hop perpetuates, what do you say to people who believe that it’s that type of imagery with emphasis on materials that is damaging, in particular, to the black community?

Patton: That’s a very valid question. In terms of the imagery, one thing we know is that hip-hop music and the culture has a tremendous influence on the young people, and not just African Americans.  We know that the greatest consumers are people in the suburbs and Caucasian kids. But it can be particularly damaging to those in certain environments where the lack of access combined with culture and music that promotes excess can create a challenge for certain individuals because they desire a certain lifestyle or to have certain things and that can create issues. But I think we have to realize it’s about personal responsibility at the same time. Be the program director to what your kids take in from TV, music, radio stations or whatever it is. Parents have to be the ones to accept the responsibility and be accountable for the messages and imagery that their kids are exposed to. Now there are some, unfortunately, who come from more challenged backgrounds where they don’t have that filter and don’t have a parent or both parents to make those decisions.

I think the lifestyle that is being articulated can be positive in a sense of wanting more. But recognize what the journey has been since the birth of hip-hop in the Bronx in the late eighties into the early nineties. You had this generation who, out of necessity, had to create a way out of no way. It was a struggle. And to celebrate the journey, to me, isn’t a bad thing. Individuals desire high-end and luxury brand items. It is just the American consumer culture overall that elevates premium, high-end and luxury. That’s part of what the hip-hop generation used as a way to measure success.

I do think there are times where music and the culture can conflict in terms of the message. I think that it’s a function of this generation’s desire to create unique experiences. There are brands that aren’t even marketing to an urban segment but the urban artists find a way to uniquely express themselves around that product. I think it’s an extension of the creativity within the generation.

In the book, I use the example of Hpnotiq. There has been a very significant influence within the spirits category, and it’s also one that equates to status and lifestyle. Hypnotic is a fruity blue color, right? And men weren’t drinking it for that very reason. It’s not a very masculine drink. The number one drink for urban males was, at the time, Hennessy.  So the bartender realized that and mixed the Hennessy with Hynotic and it turned green, so now you have the “Incredible Hulk” and it spread from South Beach to New York, L.A and it went viral. This drink became so popular profitable!

TAP: In the video on your website, you said that you’re wanting to stay ahead of the game and sort of shape the path of hip-hop through branding in a positive way. In theory, the point is to  progress the image and culture of hip-hop. Where do you see it in five years?

Patton:If you’re talking about reaching someone within the next five years, look to the 18-49 demo. That’s it. This generation is trans- cultural and diverse. This generation is the new mainstream. In the book, I talk about the seven ciphers, which are seven segments within the urban market. I reference the core urban or inner city and I tag someone like 50 Cent to that segment- to contemporary urban, which is your 30+ segment who are somewhat settled and who has the cars, the houses and money. There’s also organic urban which would be India Arie, Jill Scott and Common. So even though there’s a niche market for all things urban and it’s mainstream, within that there are distinct populations that have a unique perspective that brands should recognize. I think it’s created an opportunity for this generation to channel that creativity towards not just consuming but producing. For the longest time, this generation has been identified primarily as consumers. We consume media, we consume products and companies have realized that we consume disproportionately when compared to other populations. In my perspective, the next move is into the production side of things and taking advantage of things like content creation or other platforms that are available like digital media or social media. Embracing and mastering these things would then usher in the possibility of becoming the producers and distributors. To me that’s the real end game and I think that’s what we’ll start to see happening in the next five years or so.

TAP: What’s the hold up? There are plenty of mainstream artists who not only have the potential and star power but also the monetary wherewithal to make these things happen like yesterday. What do you think is the real hold up?

Patton: I think part of it is once they’re [celebrities] in the system, and even though some possess some entrepreneurial ambitions, it becomes an issue of resources. Individuals who are in certain positions become accustomed to having a certain machine that’s operating and constantly revved up and ready. I think sometimes it’s hard to take a step back from that and say, “well, maybe there’s another machine that can operate that same way. Maybe we need to go into development for a minute to get the new machine on the same level as the operating machine.” It’s more difficult for some to figure out what’s it’s going to take to get out there, pull resources and create a similar machine. What has to happen, not just to celebrities but those of us who represent this generation and have access to the same opportunities, is that folks will need to get out there to create and build these business models and alliances. It’s going to take people putting the pride and ego aside and say, “If I have this business and you have that business and we put our two together, we can really make something happen.” So the whole notion of cooperation is something that has to be embedded in the education system and elsewhere at a much earlier point. We need to do a better job at educating the future entrepreneurs and executives.  There’s strength and power in collaborations and joint ventures. The future business owners should know how to go about making those things possible and to have that mindset, as it relates to business, because right now it’s, ‘I’m going to get mine or I got to make this happen.’ When it should be, ‘I have a market, I understand the market, I can bring value to the marketplace and at the same time I’m going to need to create partnerships and alliances.’

TAP: Who would you recommend read  “Under the Infuence ?”

Patton: . This book is a tool kit for students and professionals who want a blueprint for niche marketing strategies. Anyone getting into the field of marketing, branding, P.R., et cetera. Anyone who is interested in understanding hip-hop culture and consumer behavior. I would say people who want to know how certain things happened in the branding industry in relation to sports and popular culture. Casual readers like parents who want to know why certain brands and products are significant to their children and their generation.

TAP: Mr. Patton, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today and good luck with your book!

Patton: No problem, it was my pleasure. Thank you.