NIKE's Unusual Business Strategy to to Market itself & make Billions? (Business STRATEGY Case Study)
Executive Summary
A Think School marketing case study of Nike's 2018 'Dream Crazy' commercial featuring Colin Kaepernick. The presenter explains the backlash, the polarisation, Kahneman's two systems, Nike's customer demographics and the 'golden loop' of publicity with the media. The caption text ends where he introduces the lessons and a book recommendation, so his closing lessons are not covered here (partial coverage of roughly the last minute). The sponsor mention for an audiobook app is only in the closing lines. The presenter's sales, stock, sentiment and demographic figures are his statements, not independently checked, and the political context (police brutality protests, a presidential tweet) is described as he tells it. This is a marketing case study, not a political position. Captions are automatic with errors. Topics are untimed; metadata follows YouTube. Source: https://youtubetotranscript.com/transcript?v=6DEOW9ZQ2BI
Key Takeaways
The controversy
He says Nike's 3 September 2018 ad drew a presidential tweet, shoe burnings and a boycott trend, yet sales rose 31 percent, quarterly earnings by 129 million dollars and the stock by 36 percent.
Background
He describes Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality, then going unsigned by all 32 teams for 2017.
The backlash numbers
He cites Brandwatch sentiment figures showing a sharp fall from mostly positive to heavily negative right after the ad, and 2.7 million posts referring to Nike.
Polarisation
He explains one group saw courage and the other saw an insult to the flag, so Nike was labelled anti-national by that second group.
Two systems of thinking
He uses Daniel Kahneman's system one and system two to argue that appealing to the emotional brain and a shared purpose builds trust, quoting Simon Sinek's line on why people buy.
Who Nike's customers are
He cites that 18 percent of Nike buyers are black against 13 percent of the US population, and that about 75 percent of buyers are under 34, so most customers were likelier to resonate.
Free media
He describes a 'golden loop' where sensational things get covered and coverage makes them more sensational, and says Nike gained about 163.5 million dollars of media buzz at no cost.
The Conversation Breakdown
The controversy
⏱ Untimed topicHe says Nike's 3 September 2018 ad drew a presidential tweet, shoe burnings and a boycott trend, yet sales rose 31 percent, quarterly earnings by 129 million dollars and the stock by 36 percent.
Background
⏱ Untimed topicHe describes Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality, then going unsigned by all 32 teams for 2017.
The backlash numbers
⏱ Untimed topicHe cites Brandwatch sentiment figures showing a sharp fall from mostly positive to heavily negative right after the ad, and 2.7 million posts referring to Nike.
Polarisation
⏱ Untimed topicHe explains one group saw courage and the other saw an insult to the flag, so Nike was labelled anti-national by that second group.
Two systems of thinking
⏱ Untimed topicHe uses Daniel Kahneman's system one and system two to argue that appealing to the emotional brain and a shared purpose builds trust, quoting Simon Sinek's line on why people buy.
Who Nike's customers are
⏱ Untimed topicHe cites that 18 percent of Nike buyers are black against 13 percent of the US population, and that about 75 percent of buyers are under 34, so most customers were likelier to resonate.
Free media
⏱ Untimed topicHe describes a 'golden loop' where sensational things get covered and coverage makes them more sensational, and says Nike gained about 163.5 million dollars of media buzz at no cost.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Two systems - Kahneman via the presenter
Emotional appeals reach the fast system that drives trust.
Purpose over product - Sinek via the presenter
People don't buy what you sell, they buy why you sell it.
Golden loop of publicity - presenter's term
Sensational gets covered, and coverage makes it more sensational.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Check whether your campaign's purpose matches what your own customers care about, not the general public.
- ✓Segment your buyers by age and group before predicting backlash.
- ✓Look at the sentiment tools and sales data himself cites, such as Brandwatch, before drawing conclusions.
- ✓Read the book he recommends, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, for Nike's own story.
Notable Quotes
“People don't buy what you sell, they buy why you sell it”
“anything that is sensational, gets covered by media, and anything that gets covered by media becomes sensational”
“Nike ended up getting $163.5 million worth of media buzz at zero cost”
The One Thing to Remember
A purpose-driven campaign can polarise the public while deepening loyalty among your own customers.