We all should know by now that 50 Cent is crafty businessman. The Queens rapper has been leveraging strategic partnerships to foster the growth of his SMS Audio headphones—with the latest brands to join the fold being Reebok and Marvel.
Reports Fortune:
SMS has existing partnerships with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (it is the only headphone brand available at Disney World and Disneyland) and with Lucasfilm’s Star Wars. It also has a relationship with Intel, which Nohe says “is spending an enormous amount of money globally on our biotech product.” And now, Fortune has learned exclusively, SMS has cut two more partnerships, with Reebok and Marvel.
While the former makes sense, since headphone marketing is so tied to fitness and sports, the latter may be a surprise. But Nohe and Jackson say it’s about brands that have staying power—whether that’s a tech company, shoe maker, or comics giant. “Those brands don’t go anywhere,” said Jackson. “They’re not going away.”
The Marvel-branded SMS headphones will be at a lower price point, around $99. And SMS says it will keep the Marvel branding subtle. “It won’t look toy-like,” said Nohe. “All that stuff we do, it’s classy. Like on The Avengers headphones, it won’t be a picture of Thor running around. It will be a little symbol, and have the same colorways.” The Reebok-branded headphones, meanwhile, will complement that company’s recent pivot toward a “fit-gen” (fitness generation) image, and be sold at some Reebok store locations and online.
Kids and weekend athletes? Looks like Ferrari knows how to reach different demos. 50 also acknowledges that Beats By Dre is a goliath in the space, but insists there’s plenty of room for his product. while throwing some shots.
Always, in the background, Beats By Dre looms. Jackson gives them credit. “Beats was the first time you saw a record company realized as a marketing company,” he said. “You saw Gaga Beats, Bieber Beats, Diddy Beats. And when that many people connected to a major record company have product placement, the unestablished artist who purchases a pair of headphones puts that in his clip so that he feels like he’s got that cool too. It worked in a big way. And it’s not necessarily about the product they sell. It doesn’t have a great sound system.”
50 added, “Beats is Nike, and we’re Adidas. It’s more international.”
Got it?
—
Photo: WENN.com
