Sneakers Take Center Stage at IMEX
Skift Take
At this year’s IMEX America conference held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, sneakers took over the convention center floor. Every variety was on display: blingy, platform, athletic, sneaker dress shoes and, of course, logoed.
Comfort and style were the priorities for Megan Henshall, strategic solutions lead at Google, who chose Converse All Star platforms. “Because they’re platforms, I feel very cool. It’s like walking on a cloud,” she said. “I’m in my 40’s, but I can still rock a trend.”
Teri Agosta, general manager at Signia by Hilton Atlanta, was sporting a pair of sharp Nike Court Legacy Lifts. She said there was much discussion about sneaker guidelines for employees at her newly opened hotel.
“We wanted to allow comfort, but keep a professional look. Like mine, we decided they had to be either black or white, needed to be clean and fresh, and couldn’t have any logos or pictures outside of the brand name. We were very specific, and showed pictures of sneakers that were approved and sneakers that weren’t.”
Sneaker Showdown
There was also a spontaneous sneaker showdown. It started when Ken Holsinger, senior vice president of strategy at Freeman, challenged Dahlia El Gazzar, founder of Dahlia + Agency. Tahira Endean, IMEX’s head of program, was named the judge.
Eduardo Valenzuela, CEO of King Size LED, visited the Backtrack booth, where Co-founders Jordan Walker and Hunter McKinley were spreading the word about the contest. Walker noticed his signed Gary Vee sneakers and invited him to enter.
And he won. “This has been the best thing that has happened since Covid. I’ve been working on getting back into the industry and this show has given me the purpose again. Winning the sneaker showdown was the cherry on top,” said Valenzuela.
Sneakers and Events
Holsinger said the events industry can learn a lot from the sneakers community.
“The way sneakers are marketed unlocks an opportunity for the events industry. At its core is scarcity, nostalgia, and hype,” said Holsinger, who owns lots of sneakers, many of which are limited edition.
He often participates in “sneaker drops” on apps where a limited number of sneakers are made available.
“Think of these drops parallel with registration. How do you incentivize potential attendees? You can do it by saying we’re only going to drop X number of tickets throughout the process. That creates hype, buzz, and a must-get-in.”