Jennifer Collins and Larry Eder, photo by The Shoe Addicts
When I first started in the business in 1981, the only women I knew in sports marketing was Jan Lester of Onitsuka Tiger then, and now ASICS America. The next generation of women professionals in sports marketing was exemplified by Jennifer Thomas, who spent tenures at both Reebok and adidas, and is now an executive in global running at adidas. Both Jan and Jennifer have done well in a business that is still pretty male dominated. They have done it by communicating well, staying focused and possessing finely tuned senses of who they are. Both Jan and Jennifer were also fine athletes: that love of sport and understanding keeps them at the top of their game.
In this newest generation of women sports marketers, Jennifer Collins of HOKA ONE ONE sat down with The Shoe Addicts and Larry Eder of RunBlogRun during a very busy week at the Boston Marathon. Jennifer is a marathoner with a PB of 3:09, and has a genuine love and respect of the athletes she manages. Jennifer Collins also understands social media and that the goal with social media is not quantity, but quality.
What I also find quite fascinating, is how Jennifer Collins encourages the brand development of the individual athletes, such as Leo Manzano, Sage Cannaday and Magdelana Lewy-Boulet. “When their brand is strong, so is HOKA ONE ONE.”
This is the first part of a several part series on Jennifer. Special thanks to Ms. Collins. Thanks to the Shoe Addicts, digital partners of the Running Network and parent company, Fortius Media Group, LLC.
