For once, don’t do it.
The case of George Floyd has raised many responses and demonstrations around the world. Being an alleged case of discrimination and police brutality, it has brought back similar riots that have taken place in the past to demand social justice. Different communities and people have taken to the streets to make their voices known. In addition, companies and brands have reacted to the situation on social media to make responses and state their stand on the real-time event that took place. Nike was among the first companies to react to the situation compared to other big sports brands. The brand created a video that was posted on social media, stating, “For once, don’t do it.” what caught my attention about this that it twisted its famous slogan of “Just do it” to fight against racial discrimination and brutality on innocent lives.
A few hours after they had released this post, other companies like Adidas created their response as well.
Although some individuals might think that corporate reaction to create a change in the occurring events is not necessary, it is important for the consumers to see the resilience of response. Nike did a great job of responding to the death of George Floyd by urging people to turn back from racism. The fact that they twisted their brand slogan demonstrated how serious the response to them. In addition, this was one strategy that can be used for marketing because Nike was the first to show its support for the movement among its rival brands. This illustrated its resilience in response to real-life events. The fact that it took the risk of changing its slogan in order to support its clients and the community was a big step for the company. This was important because it creates a good name for the brand as a strategy of marketing.
The other important point is that for a long time, the brand Nike has a policy that advocates for social justice. This means the company is against inequality and bigotry. By posting the video on social media, Nike was working on its company policy. The video was meant to inspire action against the outstanding concern in society. An innocent life was lost at the hands of police because of racial discrimination and stereotypic acts. In addition to this, the CEO sent emails to the staff members of Nike to show his concern about what was going on in society after the death of George. Nike used the video to keep its consumers updated with current situations. This is a strategy of marketing as well as supporting the community because its campaign was able to reach more people at ones.
Nike set the pace for other brands by responding on social media. The reaction also was in support of their campaign for social justice. Just like the many different communities that have taken to the streets to protest, Nike did a video to advocate for equality. In terms of marketing, this step was essential because it added on to the trust of Nike’s clients. The bold step of changing the slogan to fit the protest was a strategy of marketing. Additionally, the company was able to show their stand on the event. The mass protests conducted were all directed towards obtaining justice for Floyd.
