ANALYSIS: NIKE GETS CRAZIER
The Nike brand has become synonymous with being socially progressive. Its campaigns for the past 25 years have solidified that intention, starting with the 1995 “If You Let Me Play” campaign that advocated for girl empowerment in sports. (Banet-Weiser, 2018) Though at times its political campaign strategy may seem gimmicky to some, Nike has been relentless in consistently mixing its brand appeal with social issues it champions. It’s never a one off. The most memorable campaign in recent times that has done double duty as the most inspirational is 2019’s “Dream Crazier,” the 90-second spot narrated by tennis great Serena Williams and featuring highlights of bold female athletes. (Sweeney, 2019) With this campaign, Nike aimed to bolster its brand awareness through an increase in both share of voice around female empowerment and social media impressions.
THE FIRST CRAZY IDEA
To commemorate the 30 years of its “Just Do It” campaign, Nike opted to go big and risky by cementing itself as a social activist brand. The sportswear giant cast National Football League player Colin Kaepernick, who had been ostracized by the league for protesting police brutality against Blacks, as the face of its celebratory “Dream Crazy” spot. The move ignited a wave of controversy, triggering threats of boycotts and even a “Just Burn It” social media frenzy that showed people burning their Nike products. However, the $43 million worth of media exposure the campaign generated coupled with the 31% jump in online sales, far outweighed the ashes left behind from those it offended. (Novy-Williams, 2018) Yes, Nike’s stock dipped a bit and left many disgruntled sports fans, but for the company, the risk was worth it.
A CRAZIER STRATEGY
Building on the heels of its success with “Dream Crazy,” Nike decided to take it up a notch with “Dream Crazier” as a way to increase brand awareness around gender parity and female-empowerment. To maximize its impact, the Swoosh brand opted to debut the new campaign during the Academy Awards, which averaged nearly 30 million viewers during the telecast. The timing was ideal, as the world prepared for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France that summer.
The second part of Nike’s strategy was to deploy the campaign simultaneously on multiple platforms to boost reach and engagement. The ad placement on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook maximized the reach and created synergy with the TV ad placement. (Brouwer, 2019)
Finally, producing a spot that was carefully curated with some of the biggest female trailblazers in sports, and placing super influencer Serena Williams as the star and narrator at the helm, inspired others to run with it. Publishers including NowThis, theScore, and LADbible, as well as influencers like FIFA player Carli Lloyd, Women’s National Basketball Association player Sue Bird and comedian Reese Waters were all compelled to share the ad on their social channels because it felt like a call to action to join the movement.
DID IT WORK?
Nike’s “Dream Crazier” campaign was indeed effective in boosting its brand awareness, and using the key performance indicators of share of voice and impressions to measure its strategy, validate this assertion. The push helped Nike clench its goal of boosting its share of voice on female-empowerment, owning 42.69% of digital buzz on the night of its debut. (iSpot.TV, 2019) Diving deeper into the third-quarter numbers post launch, the ad boasted 31.6 million views and 665,000 mentions on Twitter, and placed it at the top of Instagram’s most viewed ads with 19 million. (Brouwer, 2019) And remember the publishers and influencers who connected with the “crazier” message? Each one of their platforms, including William’s own social channels, generated over 1 million views and collectively pulled in over 81 million views. Analyst also noted that the overall sentiment of the brand mentions were positive.
THE CRAZY BOTTOM LINE
Nike’s crazy idea to get crazier with the Serena Williams campaign is innovative on a few fronts. Part of its brilliance is knowing how to maximize TV ad buys, like it did by launching this particular campaign during the Oscars, essentially creating ripples of earned coverage and organic conversations on social media with no added cost for an extended period. The other part of Nike’s savviness is its ability to conduct a PESTLE analysis to leverage the socio-cultural and technological elements in effectively meeting its objectives. As long as consumers continue to support Nike’s initiatives, the Swoosh company will continue to design “crazy” campaigns that align with its social values.
Atherton, J. (2020). Social media strategy: A practical guide to social media marketing and customer engagement. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Banet-Weiser, S. (2018). Nike, Colin Kaepernick, and the history of “commodity activism”
Brouwer, B. (2019) Nike’s “Dream Crazier” Ad Wins the Show at the Oscars
Novy-Williams, E. (2018) Kaepernick Campaign Created $43 Million in Buzz for Nike
Sweeney, E. (2019) Nike’s ‘Dream Crazier’ spot with Serena Williams celebrates female athletes
