Nike Marathon Part II
Last month I wrote one of two posts on my experiences at the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. For this entry, I’ll pull out the marketing lessons from Nike’s wildly successful event. Using the lens of the 10 Cravings, we’ll look at how Nike is reaching the Connected Generation in relevant and powerful ways.
The ATHLETE booth
Craving: Shine the Spotlight
At the end of summer, Nike Women’s launched the ATHLETE campaign. In the TV and Web ads, Nike female athletes spoke into a giant megaphone (unscripted) and told the world what being an athlete meant to them.
In the ATHLETE booth at the “women’s fitness boutique,” participants and their friends were given a similar opportunity to record a video message about what being an athlete meant to them. Each with the chance of getting featured in a digital Nike commercial, thousands of women entered the booth to share their stories—myself included. (Click here to check out our stories on the Nike Women’s website.)
Below are two of the 40 featured stories on the site.
Melissa of Orlando, Florida explains her powerful journey as an athlete.
“Being an athlete to me means being 225 lbs lighter and raising $25,000 or more to fight leaukemia. Being an athlete to me means going from not being able to walk around my block to (switches TNT hat with Ironman hat) to being an Ironman. That’s what it means to me. I am an athlete.”
Teresa, accompanied by her two daughters, spoke and signed (using ASL) about what being an athlete represented for her life.
“I am athlete. I was born an athlete. When the other kids were all playing with Barbies, I was the tomboy who was playing football with the boys. For me, as a single mother of 2 beautiful girls, being an athlete is the cement that keeps my life together and that gives me the strength. I am athlete and thank God I am an athlete and I hope my girls will continue to become athletes themselves.”
The Cause—The Leukemia Lymphoma Society
Craving: Give Back, Go Inward
The marathon raised more than $18.6 million to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which had over 5,300 runners from its Team in Training Program in the race. Although there was a wide range of motivations among the marathon participants, many of the women that I spoke with at the race mentioned the banner cause as a core reason for running.
I did not participate in the TNT program, however it was very powerful to feel apart of something greater than the event itself and to contribute to an organization with such a meaningful mission.
In addition to supporting a great cause, the marathon represents significant personal achievement as women push their physical and mental limits, set and reach goals and, perhaps, have a transformational experience. And Nike gets to be at the center of all that through this event—talk about having an emotional connection with your consumers.
Virtual Marathon
Craving: Bring it to Life
During the four-day event, Nike used Union Square to bring their campaigns and products to life. On the main stage, Nike athletes shared their stories while participants recorded their own messages to support the ATHLETE campaign.
Under the instruction of on-site employees, participants learned about and tested the Nike+ running system (which works in conjunction with the iPod Nano to track running progress) using treadmills and Apple computers.
For those that couldn’t come to San Francisco but still wanted to participate, the company also created the Nike+ Virtual Half Marathon. Those that registered for the virtual marathon ran the 13.1 miles in their respective cities using the Nike+ technology and then uploaded their results to the Nike+ website. Everyone who completed the run received a Nike Sports Essentials finisher’s t-shirt and an official finisher’s keychain designed by Tiffany & Co. Of those that registered, 2,362 runners completed the virtual half marathon.
The Teal Box
Craving: Give Me Brand Candy
Although I’ve only participated in three marathons, I’ve come to expect cheesy medals and oversized sleep shirts from the events. Nike, not one to follow convention, has decided to put a stop to all that and has used design to give them an edge over other running events.
The whole marathon seemed to be about brand candy. (Sometimes literally thanks to Ghirardelli and its chocolate mile.) The finisher’s t-shirt, part of an entire line of beautifully designed Nike-Women’s-Marathon-specific apparel, is cute, functional and made for a woman’s body.
Even more exciting (and perhaps the most talked about piece) was the Tiffany & Co finisher’s necklace, which I’ve heard dubbed as “the only medal you’d actually want to wear.” The apparel and necklace are not only fashionable but also serve as great talking pieces to share stories about the marathon experience.
Other Cravings
Beyond those already mentioned, the women’s marathon touched on other cravings including Raise My Pulse (all too literally) and Make Loose Connections—particularly for those that participated in the TNT program. This event, similar to other more personal marketing avenues that Nike is pursuing (see the NY Times article: The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life), effectively reaches thousands of people in powerful and relevant ways. It serves to connect the brand community members to each other and therefore to the company as well. I can’t wait to do it again with my friends next year!
This post was written by Cassie Pruett
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