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Saturday, October 2, 2010

Sports Beat: LeBron, Dr. Dre release new line of sports performance headphones

Music is the life blood of any professional athlete and it comes as no surprise that the sports and entertainment industry have embraced the notion of cross collaboration, creative thought and integrative athlete and brand marketing to further add value and legitimacy to their products. With the release of powerbeats by Dr Dre., sports performance headphones and their place within the industry will forever change the way in which athletes and musicians utilize their assets to reach out to and garner support for new and intuitive markets. With LeBron as the cornerstone figure of the franchise, look for similar others jump on board and support the integration of sport, music, celebrity and marketing as a way to increase brand loyalty and awareness to the new wave of sports business consumers. The powerbeats by Dr. Dre boast one of the most advanced sound amplification systems yet to hit the market, and with their sleek, contour design have revolutionized the way athletes can wear, obtain and utilize their personal music devices to allow for ease of training in the gym, on the court and in their lives. The stylish red, white and black color combinations allow for consumers to personalize their headsets, while also adding that signature Dr. Dre touch that makes his products, in particular headphones, into some of most recognizable pieces of eye candy the entertainment industry has ever seen. Being able to train free of obstruction, to be able to move laterally and in bursts in the field of play or during training without having to re-adjust one's headphones or worry about their surroundings due to a lack of awareness of outside noise are all traits that the powerbeats system was designed to combat. These changes allow for greater spacial awareness during practice and enhance the users ability to focus entirely on the task at hand, regardless of the intensity, duration or type of exercise being performed. In fact, the powerbeats by Dr. Dre encompass a four fold approach to product design which focuses on amplified sound, comfort, outside access and product engineering. In regards to sound the powerbeats take into account the demands of balancing on court and off court distractions and variations in noise by, "allowing both ambient and amplified sound to coexist naturally allowing athletes and enthusiasts to perform at their best, safely." By negating this noise, players are able to enjoy their music while they train, but can also be in tune with their surroundings as a means of still communicating with others on court, notifying each other of equipment or personnel obstructions and allowing the sounds of the game to ring true which provides a unique user experience. The second feature focuses on affording the athlete a high level of comfort and mobility. According to powerbeatsbydre.com this, "Unique sport design directs sound with secure comfort and stability. Powerbeats by Dr. Dre provide a secure fit for any active endeavor, while delivering the best sound. Soft, flexible earclips, an additional extension cable and multi sized ear tips provide for a customized fit." Gone are the days of those iPhone ear buds falling out, or having to use over sized and bulky alternatives to insure that you reach maximum sound quality which usually prohibit additional movement and are cumbersome to carry around. This small set of headphones is tailored towards your individual needs and boasts an additional level of comfort that's sure to impress. The remaining two features focus directly on what I call outside access and engineering. Features on the headphones also allow you to utilize, "Monsters exclusive ControlTalk Technology, an advanced cable system that allows users to access music and answer calls on iPhone or Blackberry." That combined with advanced product engineering centered around maintaining sweat resistance and UV protection provide for an extremely durable product that has withstood hours of coordinated on court testing. All these feature aside I am more than impressed with Dr. Dre's ability to design products that meet the needs of not just the everyday music enthusiast or DJ, but to design and develop products specifically designed to meet the needs of amateur and professional athletes. Having developed relationships with these icons and thought of ways to use each others 'brand' to further implement a campaign focused on the relationship between music and sport, I look forward to the notion that these two industries are building up speed for what could eventually become a naturally occurring cross industry, or cross promotional tool, to raise awareness and generate revenue in both the sport and entertainment fields. With the popularity of cross collaboration in music today, particularly within hip hop, the ability to tap into and integrate within markets, between heavy hitters like LeBron and Dr. Dre, will only serve as a catalyst towards the development and implementation of similar market strategies with products here in the future. Having witnessed the immersion of music into the sports landscape through innovations like the Nike+ running system with Apple, the use of Dr. Dre's signature headphones by NBA players before games and during warm ups, as well as the seemingly large number of athletes seen during post practice or post game interviews with headphones around their neck only serve as a means of solidifying musics place within the sports industry. The ability to incorporate music into your pregame routine, warm up, in game elements, half time festivities, post game celebrations, interviews, commercials, and advertising are all ways with which these two cultures have integrated into one another and utilized the notion of collective thought to increase the overall game environment for fans, players and enthusiasts alike. There no long stands a barrier between industries and more now than ever, especially with Jay-Z and his position with the New Jersey Nets, Tupcas relationship and passion for Mike Tyson and Boxing, Snoops desire to coach and expand his youth football league and Ice Cube's undying love for Raider Nation as a member of the notorious rap group N.W.A, team pride and affiliation amongst the industries elite has been building momentum for quite some time and has only scratched the surface as to what these two mediums are capable of doing in the future. So while this new wave of Dr. Dre signature sports performance headphones may be a revolutionary or well executed step in the right direction, the simple fact is that sports, hip hop and music have been building up this movement and feeding off this unique aura of love and genuine support for each others craft for a while, and will continue to do so here in the future. *For a look at the new sport performance series of headphones, Powerbeats by Dr. Dre, simply click on the title of this article

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