Nike: Goddess Of Context Branding - the brand builder blog
1 of 4
SEARCH BLOG
FLAG BLOG
http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/2006/01/nike-goddess-of-context-bra...
Next Blog»
Create Blog | Sign In
ATOM 0.3
« Home
Woohoo! »
Nike: Goddess Of Context Branding
Published 20060130 by Olivier Blanchard | E-mail this post
Helping companies fine-tune their:
- Relationship with their customers
- Branding and marketing strategies
- Communications architecture
- Reputations and buzz-worthiness
- Creativity and market relevance
Office: 864.289.4557
Mobile: 510.284.9893
Bat Phone: 864.630.7398
email me
I dig Nike. I really do.
Nike does two things exceedingly well: The first is product design. The second is
marketing.
But I'm still trying to wrap my mind around whether or not Nike purposely focuses
its innovation on cooler products rather than better products.
(Yes, there is a difference.)
I'm a triathlete, so I know a lot of runners. (And by a lot, I mean A LOT!) Not one
runs in Nike. Zero. Zip. (Okay, maybe the track kids, but track cleats and super light
racing flats are different from regular running shoes.)
Guess what running shoes most runners with a few years experience use: Mizuno,
Asics, Saucony, Brooks, Pearl Izumi, even.
Who?
Exactly. Unless you're an athlete, you've probably never heard of any of those
brands.
What you know is Nike. Adidas. Reebok. New Balance.
Olivier is at home in Greenville
Twitter Updates
My workday is done. What should I write about
tonight? http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/ 4
minutes ago
@ Aerocles In about a week or two, I am going to
blow your mind with how I use @ thebrandbuilder.
about an hour ago
Working on the genius little project of the day. Now
could just figure out how to monetize it, I would be
rolling in puppies. about an hour ago
@ maddd Konichiwa, Maddd Sensei. about an hour a
@ sellphone Rock on. I'll be returning the favor. ab
an hour ago
follow me on Tw
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog are m
own and not necessarily those of SYNNEX or any of
affiliates and partners.
learn mo
11/10/2008 3:29 PM
Nike: Goddess Of Context Branding - the brand builder blog
2 of 4
http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/2006/01/nike-goddess-of-context-bra...
click he
The truth is that despite all of its innovation, all of its patents around the Air product
line(s) and all of its marketing, almost nobody runs in Nike. (At least not for very
long.) Most people who wear Nike shoes wear them to make a statement about their
identity. Their lifestyle. Their place in the world. They don't wear Nike running shoes
because they're going to help them run faster or further or more comfortably.
Branding Wire
read mo
Subscribe to the BrandBuilder blog
People who run in Nike shoes might look cool, but they are also the ones I see
limping into running stores looking for a solution to their aches and pains.
The reason I bought my Nike Triaxx sports watch was because it looked cool and
unique. When I run with a purpose, I switch to my Timex Ironman watch, or my
Polar heart rate monitor. The only reason I swim in Nike briefs instead of Speedo is
because the Nike swim brief looks better. It has nothing to do with performance. I
never wear my Nike running vest to run. That's what my Pearl Izumi vest is for. The
Nike vest is what I wear before and after I run because it looks cooler - and because
I don't want to ruin it by drenching it in sweat every day.
Search this blog:
Previous posts
Woohoo!
Hey! PR Professionals! Over Here!
Emotional Connections & Purchasing Habits
Pay-Per-Pope?
The truth is that Nike is the Tommy Hilfiger of the sportswear world. The locker
room's Kenneth Cole. The stadium's DKNY. Nike is all about blending sports with
style. It's about making jocks look trendy, and the trendy look sporty.
Friendly Skies - Part 2
WOMMA Video Coverage
Friendly Skies - Part 1
The Experience Begins... Now.
What Nike really is, is a sports couture house.
"Also In"
The BrandBuilder Blog Joins Corante
Nike, like DKNY, Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole and Brooks Brothers, provides us with
clothes and accessories that help us define an image. But, to be fair, the same could
be said of Adidas, Puma and Reebok.
What makes Nike different from anyone else in that regard is the focus of its
advertising. Every year, Nike produces at least one ad that transcends image and
takes us to a whole different place: Feeling.
Five seconds into the spot, no matter what you happen to be doing, you find yourself
looking up at the TV. Fifteen seconds into it, your competitive juices are flowing. By
the time it ends, you're ready to head out the door and set a new personal best. It
doesn't matter if your sport is baseball, running, surfing or bull riding. The message
is this: You're an athlete. You're a champion. Now go out there and unleash your
superpowers.
Just do it.
Nike goes beyond making sports cool and glamorous and sexy. Nike actually makes
us feel that we are part of a community. A brotherhood/sisterhood. We're athletes.
Nike channels that need, that basic component of the human psyche to belong and
to feel that we can do something meaningful and courageous and brave and
extraordinary. Nike, in becoming synonymous with sport, becomes the vehicle
through which we experience our own athleticism.
In short, whether or not we run to the store to buy Nike products, Nike starts fires in
our souls. How many brands can claim to do that?
When you buy a Nike product, you are buying into that promise. That image. That
culture. When you wear the Nike swoosh, you are making a statement: I'm an
athlete. I'm one of them. I'm one of you. You're also spreading the gospel of sport.
The Nike brand completely transcends its products by making them seem like mere
tools of the trade. Athletic accessories. Parts and components with which to
customize your own athletic experience.
Your own athletic journey.
11/10/2008 3:29 PM
Nike: Goddess Of Context Branding - the brand builder blog
3 of 4
http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/2006/01/nike-goddess-of-context-bra...
Obviously, I love all of Nike's designs. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of Nike's
products. Nike's fabricks rock. I was very impressed with what Nike's Mike Parker had to say
about innovation and the creative structure inside his company. (Thanks to fellow Corante
contributor John Winsor for the interview.) Nike's relentless pursuit of new technologies is
awe-inspiring. I love Nike's ads. I love Nike's websites. Yeah, I'm a big fan.
But there's a price you pay for focusing on designing cool, inspiring products rather than
actually making better products: You end up appealing only to beginner and very light usage
athletes.
The rest of us, the millions of runners, cyclists, swimmers, hikers, skiers, skaters, mountain
bikers and triathletes, we aren't really buying Nike's stuff anymore. We can't run or ride or
trek in their shoes. We know their clothes won't last if we wash them every day. Their optics
aren't the best. All in all, Nike just isn't making products for us anymore, and it's too bad...
because we all wish they would.
We'd all buy Nike stuff in a heartbeat if we knew it were designed with performance in mind.
You know... like in the good old days.
Nothing's stopping you, Nike. You have the talent, you have the production capabilities, you
have the distribution outlets, you have a captive market, and you still have the authenticity
of your brand. So... please, please, please get out there and build us a real running shoe.
Just do it.
And if you've forgotten how, I can dig up a few hundred thousand folks who'll be more than
happy to help. :)
Call me crazy, but whether Nike is still Nike twenty years from now may very well depend on
whether or not you start working for them again.
0 Responses to “Nike: Goddess Of Context Branding”
Leave a Reply
SV_thebrandbuilder=1226356091620; SN_theb
Name (required)
SV_thebrandbuilder=1226356091620; SN_theb
Website
Previous posts
Woohoo!
Hey! PR Professionals! Over Here!
Emotional Connections & Purchasing Habits
Pay-Per-Pope?
Friendly Skies - Part 2
WOMMA Video Coverage
Friendly Skies - Part 1
The Experience Begins... Now.
"Also In"
The BrandBuilder Blog Joins Corante
August 2005
September 2005
October 2005
November 2005
December 2005
January 2006
February 2006
March 2006
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
December 2006
January 2007
February 2007
March 2007
April 2007
May 2007
June 2007
July 2007
August 2007
September 2007
October 2007
November 2007
December 2007
January 2008
February 2008
March 2008
April 2008
May 2008
June 2008
July 2008
ATOM 0.3
Remember me
11/10/2008 3:29 PM
Nike: Goddess Of Context Branding - the brand builder blog
4 of 4
http://thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com/2006/01/nike-goddess-of-context-bra...
www.flickr.com
What is this?
Powered by Blogger and Blogger Templates
11/10/2008 3:29 PM