Behind the Nike, Kaepernick and Young Users of Social Media
Nike released a new campaign for their 30th anniversary of “Just Do It” campaign with Colin Kaepernick as the poster-boy. This caused great uproar, positively and negatively, due to the fact that Kaepernick hasn’t played a game in the NFL for two seasons. It only took a matter of days to witness the true aftermath of the campaign, which was the growth and quick spread of the campaign.
Colin Kaepernick is most known for kneeling during the national anthem. Some say he has yet to be signed by a team because of his political actions, others say it’s because he’s not as talented as other available quarterbacks. This campaign, with only one photo released, by a tweet sent out by Kapernick, was already nationally recognized as controversial.
After the first day, Nike’s stock dropped by 2%. After the first week, Nike’s stock grew and had a record setting stake that rose above 30% of increase. This is unfathomable, due to the fact that many thought Nike would no longer be as popular because it showed a political interest. That’s the catch. Nike didn’t go into this campaign with much worry. Much of the sales after the release came from people between the ages of 18–30. The young adult range, loved that Nike stood up for something and is a company that hold its values to the public.
That’s the thing, the generation of young adults that was mentioned before, loves companies that hold meaning and are relatable. For example, Dawn Dish Soap, was no match for more eco-friendly companies that were arriving onto the scene, but then they came up with the slogan “Dawn cleans more than dishes”, with a photo of a duckling that looks freshly cleaned. With that statement, Dawn was able to stay relevant and has maintained its status as the lead dish soap company.
With all of this being said, another aspect that helps with younger generations is the ability for a campaign to become a “meme”. Memes are altered photos that share a resemblance to the original photo, but now hold comedic value. Nike released their campaign and within hours, memes were being made. There were photos of Winnie the Pooh, Tim Tebow, and even Thanos from the Marvel Comics. I decided to use those three as examples because that’s how diverse the cultures of each meme can appeal to. On social media, especially Twitter, shares can go very far. One second someone is questioning why all these photos are coming up that look similar but follow a certain theme, and the next moment they are invested into the true meaning behind the actual campaign. Nike managed to do well in this department, which spread Collin Kaepernick, who is more of a national recognized celebrity, and made his campaign into an international forum. People across the world were able to relate and understand the message more clearly since they theme of the campaign was added into a different setting.
Many moons ago, this way of advertising wouldn’t succeed. People then, weren’t as well-versed nor quick with editing software. As for now, anyone and everyone can do it, and it willing to do so for popularity amongst their friends on social media.
As you can see, Nike did one real good job at conducting research of the audience and knew exactly what kind of business they were entering. Nike has always been a very calculated company, and it seems as if they will continue to be.
Let me know what your thoughts are on their tactics, and if there’s any otehr tactic you would use yourself. Follow me on twitter @martinverendia!
