Some brands like Nike may have also
taken time to research and ask their
customers what they really want in
relation to the future and worked towards
giving it to them.
Many people have put the millennials and
GenZ’s in a box and tried to map out their
behavior, character, emotions, needs and
wants but it is impossible to keep up with
their evolving need for self-acceptance
and belonging. The environmental and
social issues of this generation that have
gone unchecked by governments are now
top of the agenda for the growing voice
of the community we live in. Only brands
that can relate in this space can tango
with them into the future.
Using this knowledge, Nike took a wild
card approach with the Kaepernick
campaign
probably
because
they
understood the type of society their
future target customers are headed for
and designed an approach to prove that
they would sail with them through the
good and bad times.
Nike uses a very inclusive hero model
Nike uses a very
inclusive hero model
for their campaigns.
At all times, their
brand positioning
represents a hero.
The
personality
that Nike brings
out at every touch
point inspires their
audience to become
a hero. Nike revolves
around inspiration
and desire for
mastery. They use
verbs that imply
winning,
doing,
success, being the
greatest, achieving
and speak to ‘you’.
08 MAL27/18 ISSUE
Many marketing studies reveal that customers
want an association with a brand that associates
with a cause or takes part in cause activities.
Yet Nike’s move seemed to drive many
advocates and propagators of cause marketing
up the wall. But, the antagonists seem not to
be the audience they were targeting because
the customers they hoped to reach now love
them more than ever before. This behavioral
model speaks to a shift in the preference of
the customer – not just their interests, but
also their worldview.
for their campaigns. At all times, their
brand positioning represents a hero. The
personality that Nike brings out at every
touch point inspires their audience to
become a hero. Nike revolves around
inspiration and desire for mastery. They
use verbs that imply winning, doing,
success, being the greatest, achieving and
speak to ‘you’.
As brands learn the power of speaking
in first person speech and creating an
imaginary two-way dialogue environment,
personality is the focal point. This
personality helps forge emotional
connections and loyalty. Traditionally,
Nike works with the best athletes in the
world including Tiger Woods, Serena
Williams, Christiano Ronaldo, Lebron
James, Kobe Bryant among other greats.
Their imagery captures heroic messages
and performances in whatever arena these
athletes produce their greatness.
stand with greatness that inspires other
people to be who they really believe they
want to be – beyond the physical.
The campaign was rolled out using a
black-and-white image of Kaepernick
featuring the Nike logo and "Just do it"
slogan, along with the quote: "Believe in
something. Even if it means sacrificing
everything." Nike inspired millions to
stand up for what they truly believe in.
Nike also taught three other fundamental
lessons with this campaign.
First, not every customer who is with you
needs a product; some just need a sense
of belonging. Sometimes they need to feel
an emotional connection with others just
by using your product. The social media
conversation that played out around this
campaign taught many people that their
problems are not unique.
With Kaepernick, Nike took the extra
step and dived beyond the physical. They
moved into an uncomfortable space,
where consumers would not allow brands
to consciously hit. Nike went for heroism
in supporting belief ’s and loyalty for
values. In doing this, they also took a
stand and side. They stood for what they
believed, side-by-side with Kaepernick
and millions of customers in search for
that change. Police brutality and racism in America
fell into the limelight with the campaign
dubbed ‘Black lives matter.’ The world
followed the scenes on international
media with great interest, but Nike
took the opportunity to empathize with
its consumers by taking a stand. This
positioning by Nike made consumers
understand the brand as wanting an
interaction beyond a product relationship
into developing a connection with things
that really matter to them.
Many customers may have burned their
shoes because they felt like Nike had
moved into their personal space and they
needed to move with them. But Nike was
really just saying they are also ready to Secondly, use an old product in a new
way. Nike made a single shift away from
their macho stunts into building a strong
emotional wall. They used the same pivot
model to diversify into the evolving