Bardi gang just put their money where their mouth is. To support the launch of Cardi B’s first-ever shoe collaboration with Reebok, fans bought nearly every pair.
The Cardi B x Reebok partnership features Cardi’s take on the classic Club C silhouette. She was heavily involved in the line, which features two styles — the Club C Cardi ($100) and the Cardi Coated Club C Double ($80) — in three different colorways that are available in both women’s and children’s sizing. On Friday, the Club C Cardi style sold out on Reebok.com in the U.S. in under 30 minutes.
For Reebok, the collaboration has proven to be a success. And the evidence was there. To tease the launch, Cardi released limited pairs of one colorway of her Reebok shoe in celebration of her Oct. 11 birthday, and it sold out in 18 hours. According to marketing platform Launchmetrics, her one Instagram post promoting the drop generated a total of $1.7 million worth of Media Impact Value.
The data is telling. Despite her unvarnished takes on social, Cardi B can certainly move merchandise.
“It boils down to two pieces: authenticity and shared values,” said Caroline Machen, Reebok’s global VP of marketing, about the ingredients for a successful partnership. “It can’t feel forced. Who Cardi is and what her fans love about her — those are the same values Reebok has. And then, it’s accepting and bringing that [message] forward into product.”
Her social media reach also adds to her allure for brands. According to a Social Studies Intelligence Report, her Instagram following grew nearly 50% over the past year, adding more than 25 million followers for a total of 78 million. During a single week in October, she had 40.82 million interactions spanning only 11 posts. While Instagram has been a useful tool to communicate with fans, it can also be a detriment for the rap star.
Cardi B for Footwear News. CREDIT: Jora Frantzis
“It’s hard. There’s a lot that I want to keep to myself when it comes to my personal life, but sometimes people get an inch of my personal life and they start with the rumors. I feel like I’m going to shut it down and address it. That’s always been my issue,” she told FN. “Nowadays, you cannot even be real because if you don’t have the ‘popular answer,’ then it’s the wrong answer and it could just jeopardize so many things, which is sad because I want to speak my shit. I want to be putting so many people in their place. There’s so many people that just have the most miserable comments and they want you to feel miserable with them. It’s so hard. My realness bothers them, [but] I don’t give a damn.”
To see Cardi model her new Reebok sneaker, click through FN’s exclusive gallery.
